Latest / Nashville Movie Dispatch / The Cinema Chronicles, Vol. 44: 'Resident Evil' and More!

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The Cinema Chronicles, Vol. 44: 'Resident Evil' and More! · Nashville Movie Dispatch

• 0:18
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to another volume of the Cinema Chronicles right
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: here on Nashville Movie Dispatch. I am your host, Mr.
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: Big Shot Brandon Vick. I'm a member of the Southeastern
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Film Critics Association and a board member of the Music
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: City Film Critics Association. And we're back. September is almost over.
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: I think it's starting to finally feel like fall outside.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: We had a Had a pretty big event happen this month.
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Yours truly has turned the big 4-0. I had, like
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: my parents and other people asked me, how does it
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: feel to be 40? And it doesn't really feel that
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: much different. I should probably stretch more. I take more vitamins.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: I take more medicine. But what made me, because, you know,
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: once you turn a certain age, the other birthdays don't
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: really mean much. A whole lot. So, you know, 18
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: is a big one. 21 is a big one. 30
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: is a big one. But after that, it's kind of
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: every 10 years because I don't think anybody. I mean,
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: quite frankly, gives a shit about like, hey, you know what?
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I turned 37 yesterday. Or hey, guess what? 43, 43 tomorrow. No,
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: it's just from here on out, it's going to be
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: every 10 years. But it made me think of how
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: much life. has been lived from when I was 30
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: to when I was 40, because I met my wife
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: when I was 29, but we didn't start living together
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: until I was early thirties. We didn't get, we got
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: engaged and married in my mid thirties. We got a
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: house together. We have a son together. I found I've
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: went through a few jobs before I found the one
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: that I'm currently at now. It's been over seven years.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: So the, how does 40 feel? I don't know. It feels,
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: it feels, feels like it did the day before. And
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: it feels like, you know, I have a feeling it'll
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: probably feel somewhat the same tomorrow, but the 10 years
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: in between the, from 30 to 40, that it's pretty
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: crazy to look back and think of just how much
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: stuff I did and And, oh, I forgot I got
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: my tonsils taken out in my 30s too. And so, gosh,
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: what a life. God, I bet so many people are
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: jealous hearing this right now. So anyway, what did I
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: do for this big number? You know, I actually went
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: out on a boat. Went on a boat with my
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: family and my parents and my son has never been
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: on a boat before. He's never fished before. He got
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: to do both. I didn't catch anything, but he looked
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: pretty cool with his sunglasses and his Spider-Man fishing rod.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: And then met up with some friends on Saturday, including
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the EIC Stoney and his wife and his mom. And so,
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: you know, I don't really celebrate. Um, I don't really
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: have big crowds anymore, but, um, it was nice. And
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: so 40 is 40. Um, I'm actually one of the
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: last ones in my friend group to turn 40 by like,
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: I don't know, four months. Uh, our buddy Brett turned
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: it last month. So, but I don't know. We all
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: look the same. I think we all feel the same.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: So that's good. Um, we, I am currently right in
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: the middle of the Nashville film festival. So, um, I'm
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: gonna say it's going well. Um, seen a lot of
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: fun stuff, good stuff. We actually, you can check out
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: the podcast that we did a little kind of preview for.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: I reviewed a few movies that I already got to
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: see on there. And so as you probably know, before
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: I get into the three movies that I'm going to
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: lay on you for this month, obviously all of our
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: work is at NashvilleMovieDispatch.substack.com. I got reviews of Coyote vs. Acme.
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: I've got a review of Hope, the South Korean creature feature.
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: I got one that actually is, I think is a
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: little bit of a sleeper because it's coming out within,
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: you know, it's come out in September after things have
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: kind of calmed down from the summer blockbusters. But it's
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: a movie called The Weight that stars Ethan Hawke and
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: Russell Crowe. It's great. It's a great throwback Western survivor,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: survival movie. type thriller, have a review of that. Go
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: check that out. And I was talking about the weather.
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: Fall is indeed in the air, I think, finally. Stoney
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: just released his favorite fall movies last week, so check
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: that out. And then podcasts, we've got Movie View Rewind.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: We've got a Nicole Kidman podcast up there with Practical
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: Magic 2 that came out a couple weeks ago. And again,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: we've got a little preview for the Nashville Film Festival
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: for those that are going to that. All the podcasts,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: you can find them wherever you listen to them. Just
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: search Nashville Movie Dispatch. So now, I got three pretty much,
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: for the most part, three bangers for this volume. So
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: let's start with The Weapons Guy making a video game movie. Next.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: Resident Evil has another adaptation. I'm sure there are probably
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: thousands of games. I'm not much of a gamer. I'm
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: pretty sure I've talked about this before, but I pretty
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: much played either Tiger Woods Golf Game, some Madden, and
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: then like wrestling games. And I don't really think I got,
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: I know I've played a little bit of one of
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: Metal Gear Solid and Call of Duty, but I don't
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: even know which ones. And that was like at least
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: 15 years ago. So, but I would imagine there's a
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: ton of video games that could be made, but this
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: is like the eighth adaptation of Resident Evil. But honestly,
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: now that I say that out loud, because of how
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: most video games that get turned into movies are kind
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: of crappy, maybe that's why there's so many that haven't
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: been made into one yet. As far as Resident Evil,
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: I honestly couldn't tell you when I last played a
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Resident Evil game. It's honestly quite possible that maybe I
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: never did. But I'm sure, I'm almost positive, I at
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: least saw friends play it back in the day. Or
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: saw different stuff. I've always kind of known about the games.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: So I feel like if I didn't play it. I'm
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: sure I saw. I'm sure I saw it being played.
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: By some other human. Either way. Like I said. I
• 7:38
  Speaker 1: know how the Capcom games work. I do wonder. Kind
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: of right off the top. I do wonder how the
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: die hard gamers. Will embrace this. This movie. Because it's
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: more inspired by. than anything else. And that may not
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: satisfy the fans of the, of the games. This was
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: a piece in the, in the Hollywood reporter. It was
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: an interview where Zach Kreger, who is the writer and
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: director of barbarian and weapons. And this, this film, uh,
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Kreger mentioned that he believes there are several types of
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: fans within the franchise and which category he belongs to.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: He said, they're very different kinds of, of Resident Evil fans.
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: There are fans like me who love the experience of
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: playing the games and think there's never been a movie
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: that has represented what it feels like to play Resident Evil.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: That's how I categorize myself as a fan. Then there
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: are fans of the games who specifically love the lore
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: and the characters and the nitty gritty details of the backstory.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: But my movie is not spending a lot of currency
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: on those things. I'm not putting any of the legacy
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: characters into this movie. So, Per Rotten Tomatoes, from the
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: mind of the visionary film filmmaker Zach Kreger comes a
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: thrilling and terrifying reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise. In
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: an all-new story, it follows Brian, played by the great
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: Austin Abrams, who is also a scene-stealer in weapons, as
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: a medical courier who unwittingly finds himself in an action-packed,
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: non-stop race for survival as one fateful, horrifying night collapses
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: around him in chaos. Uh, Crager has said that he wanted,
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: he wanted to do this Resident Evil and he wanted
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: to make it feel like we are playing the game
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: rather than telling a video game story, which aligns with
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: what he said in the interview in Hollywood Reporter. He's, he,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: he's that, uh, version of a fan. And honestly, he
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: effing nails it. He, I mean, Besides the impressive technical stuff,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: he really captures the spirit of Resident Evil. There's the
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: gore and the gnarly monsters, the blood. He has these
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: first-person POV shots, a lot of different camera work to
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: make it feel like you're sort of in the video game.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: You're grabbing guns, but then you have to go somewhere
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: else in some random drawer to find the bullets for
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: that gun. And it keeps checking with how many are left,
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: how many shots does he have. And each new scary
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: set piece feels like a new level of And you
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: have to get through it to continue with the mission
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: at hand. But it also feels so remarkably fresh and original.
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: So listen, for those out there that gave Krager shit
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: about his vision, just F off, okay? Per IGN, says
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: when talking about the reception to Resident Evil, Krager says,
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: I think I was naive. I thought fans of these
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: games like me would be thrilled that somebody was coming
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: along and turning Resident Evil into a survival horror movie.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: I was like, that's great. I did not really appreciate
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: the sentiment that we've been waiting forever for Leon's story.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: And I appreciate that, and I'm sorry that's not the
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: story I'm bringing. I get it. I understand the frustration.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: I understand it so well because I haven't seen the
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: earlier Resident Evil movies because they don't look like the
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: Resident Evil that I love. So how can I be
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: frustrated with fans who have that same attitude? Okay, fair enough,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I guess. But he has absolutely nothing to apologize for.
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: He's relentless, throwing down a supremely sinister, suspenseful, and hilarious
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: Resident Evil experience. As a perfectly cast, Abrams runs for
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: his life to make a special delivery. The suspense is unreal,
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: cranking it up higher and higher as Brian runs through
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: every incredibly insane set piece. It's terrifyingly immersive. The creature design,
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: they are impeccable. The cinematography is gorgeous and the score
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: is sublime. It's also funny as hell, and apparently it
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: was too funny at one point. In that same Hollywood
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: Reporter interview, says Crager revealed that there were some significant
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: changes made following the test screenings, though not in the
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: areas one might expect. One aspect of the film had
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: to be removed. One aspect that had to be removed
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: was the fact that the test audience felt the film
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: was too funny, so it had to be cut. I
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: learned that people really liked the movie, but they thought
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: it was too funny, Krager explained. So over the course
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: of my testing, I stripped out as much of the
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: jokes as possible. I then found that not only did
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the movie a lot more. A little bit of humor
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: goes a long way in a horror movie, and there's
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: not a single joke I took out of this movie
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: that I miss. So that perspective, he says, was really helpful.
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: To me, not only does it have the right amount
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: of humor, it also has the perfect amount of horror
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: and discussed with some good running jokes. Abrams is sensational.
• 12:48
  Speaker 1: He played, he's just this everyday guy who has no
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: idea what kind of weird shit he's just been thrown into.
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: And he really is just trying to survive. I've seen
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: his character explained as kind of this, um, uh, inexperienced
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: video game player. And I, and I, I, I see that. Um,
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: Every decision or reaction that he makes and the cursing,
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: the over and over cursing up a storm, it all
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: feels very natural. It also is funny considering what this
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: dude has had to go through to just deliver this package,
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: but it is a quite significant package as we come
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: to find out. I think me and I think everybody
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: else in the theater that I was in felt right
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: there with him. Through every shocking moment, every scream he
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: lets out, and every gunshot that he fires. Krager runs
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: absolutely wild with Resident Evil. But there were a couple
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: of the games that actually did influence him. when taking
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: on this very known IP project. This was per the playlist.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: This was during a live Reddit Q & A. It
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: said that Krager can get remarkably specific about which games
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: shaped his movie. When he was asked which installments had
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: the biggest impact on his storytelling choices, he singled out
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil 7 Biohazard for very
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: different reasons. He says, 7 is when Ethan comes into it,
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: and I like that you're just kind of a normal
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: dude going through this horrible situation. Resident Evil 4, meanwhile,
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: provided a model for the movie's relentless forward momentum. 4
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: has the rhythm that I really like, where you're moving
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: from set piece to set piece, location to location to location.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: It's such a big game. He also goes on to
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: say that 4 is actually his favorite Resident Evil game. So,
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: This spectacular survival thriller, it never lets up and it
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: has really no redemption. It's scary and it's gross and
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: it's tense. It's just a blast at the movies. Is phenomenal.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: So my hope. Is rather you love the games. Or
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: have never even played them. Or maybe you think you
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: saw someone else. Play them like me. Can we just
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: be thankful. For Krager and his tremendous talents. Haven't we
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: had enough. Of those shitty Resident Evil movies. This is
• 15:44
  Speaker 1: a review from RogerDebert.com. Says make no mistake. This is
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: one of the most video game inspired. Cinematic experiences. You
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: could possibly have. From the dwindling supplies of its protagonist
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: to what feels like a mission-based structure wherein he has
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: to accomplish a series of increasingly impossible goals, this movie
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: doesn't just take the Resident Evil name. Not only does
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: it understand the foundational appeal of a horror survival game experience,
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: but it should work equally well for those who have
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: never picked up a controller. Most of all, it's a
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: relentless good time, a movie that starts its horror action
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: before the title card and keeps amping up the tension
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: through to the final memorable shot. If this Resident Evil,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: which I believe he has come out and said he
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: is not doing anymore, but if this is truly just
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: a one-off for him, Krager does give us easily the
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: best Resident Evil film and arguably the best video game film.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: When you look at this with Weapons and Barbarian, what
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: a run he's on as a filmmaker. So I have
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: to end this with, and I tweeted out a thing about...
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: I saw this in 40X. Now, I don't... I've only
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: seen one other movie in 40X, and it's because it
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: was free, and it was called Novocaine. It had Meg
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: Ryan's kid in it from The Boys. It also had
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: Jack Nicholson's son in there, too, Ray Nicholson. And it
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: was fine. I mean, it didn't enhance the experience at all.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: But me and... Brett actually went and saw this together
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: in 40 X and it was, this is why they
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: make these type of theaters. It is made for movies
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: like resident evil. It, you feel it. You're, you're immersed
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: in it. Like there are even parts that are very quiet,
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: but also very scary. But the seat kind of like
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: leans you over or leans back or you lean to
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: the side, almost like making you, want like making you
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: look at things that you don't want to look at
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: or you don't want to look around that tree or
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: you don't want to look around the around the car
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: um it was it was an honestly i'm i'm curious
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: to what the experience is i mean it's not that
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: it's for some reason the movie's not a great horror
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: movie i don't think that but the 40x really did
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Elevate the experience of watching it and it was really
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: a lot of fun So if it's still playing in
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: 40x where you live, I highly recommend it it is
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: It is a hell of a ride when you're When
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: you're in those 40x chairs, so Resident Evil gets a
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: solid four out of five stars from the old VIXX
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: flicks and coming up next two sisters their memories of
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: and a raw dog. Next. Forgotten Island is DreamWorks Animation's
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: newest flick. DreamWorks Animation, if you're not familiar, have given
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: us some of the biggest and best animated franchise in history.
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: It's home to Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls,
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar. I went back and looked at
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: kind of basically the past five years of DreamWorks animated movies.
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: In 2022, they had The Bad Guys and Puss in
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: Boots Last Wish. 2023 was Ruby Gilman Teenage Kraken and
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: Trolls Band Together. In 2024, it was Orion in the Dark,
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: which was actually a Netflix one. That DreamWorks Animation did.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: Kung Fu Panda 4. And The Wild Robot. That was
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: all in 2024. And then last year was Dogman. So.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: would say out of that bunch Wild Robot and Puss
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: in Boots Last Wish are the best and definitely the
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: most memorable so the question is does DreamWorks Animation have
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: another great one with their latest here Forgotten Island Purr
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: Rotten Tomatoes while celebrating their last night together Joe and Raisa, Rasa,
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: stumble upon a mysterious portal that transports them to the
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: fantastical land of Nicali, packed with magical and mythological creatures
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: they grew up hearing stories about from their Filipino families.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: Some of these figures will become friends, some foes, joined
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: by a well-meaning but hapless were-dog, Raul, that's R-A-W-W, voiced
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: by the one and only Dave Franco, and a small
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: but mighty pack of piles. Joan and Raisa must face
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: the dreaded Monongal, the most feared creature on the island.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: When they discover that the memories of their entire friendship
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: are the price for returning home, Joe and Raysa will
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: race to find a way to leave the island before
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: they forget each other forever. So, to answer my own
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: question from about two minutes ago, the answer is a
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: booming yes. Forgotten Island is stupendous. told by using breathtaking
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: styles of animation to create an incredibly imaginative, enthralling, and
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: exciting world painted in vibrant colors. It brings this punk
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: rock attitude that is wildly contagious, while also serving as
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: a shocking reminder of a little movie called The Hangover.
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: That's right, you heard that. The whole movie just pops,
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: which makes sense once you realize this is actually directed
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: by the same duo that directed Puss in Boots Last Wish,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: which had this fresh and fantastical animation that was like
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: this marvelous mix of 2D textures and 3D, generating this
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: exuberant and vibrant paint-like imagery that pops off the screen.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: It was loaded with poignant themes of regret, forgiveness, belonging, fear,
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: and death, and appreciating the gift of life. So a
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: lot of these in one way or another, end up
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: transferring into this film. And while Forgotten Island is definitely
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: a vivacious and fast-paced adventure comedy, its own themes have
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: an excellent emotional core that involves the power of friendship,
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: to feel like you exist, to feel like you belong somewhere,
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: and how our memories are worth cherishing and make us
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: who we are. The friendship really hit home with me
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: because I don't know if some of you know this,
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: but Stoney and I have been friends since we were
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: like five or six. So we're talking like over three decades, right?
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: Our journey growing up together and becoming the dudes we
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: are now is honestly, it's pretty crazy. And the possibility
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: that that could have changed at any point or just
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: be straight up forgotten is a horrible thought. So with
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Joe and Raisa, When they have to confront that, or
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: I'm sorry, as they have to confront that, but as
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: their friendship forms, it reminded me of the good old
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: days when we were young and wild. The voice cast
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: is great. Her, she plays Jo. Jo has the struggles
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: that revolve around abandonment and loss. Um, and Liza Saburano
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: is Raysa. It's either Raysa or Raysa, Raysa, Raysa. But
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: I really also dug DeFranco as raw. Jenny Slate's fantastic. Uh,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: Leah Salongo plays that dreaded man and goal who looks stellar,
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: but will certainly scare little kids. Uh, she is a
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: singer and a Tony winning actress. And I just read
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: that she became the first Filipina to receive a star
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: from on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. So how about that?
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: Forgotten Island is a phenomenal, fun-filled fantasy that celebrates Filipino
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: mythology with magnificent, magical creatures and imagery. It's a little
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: dark and demented, especially for a family movie. But to me,
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: that was thrilling to watch. And it's got some good laughs.
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: It's got some pretty, it's got some wonderful surprises in
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: there too. An awesome soundtrack. And of course, a huge
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: heart throbbing I talked about those franchises at the beginning,
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: and as far as Forgotten Island, franchise it up, DreamWorks.
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: Franchise it up. Forgotten Island gets a solid 4 out
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: of 5 VixFlix rating. Coming up next, A Man and
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: His Dog and J.K. Simmons. Next. Next. Heart of the
• 24:47
  Speaker 1: Beast is what I'm talking about. That's got Brad Pitt.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: And yes, J.K. Simmons is in it. This isn't a spoiler.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: He's really the only human that Brad Pitt talks to
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: towards the beginning. But it's really a man and man's
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: best friend here. Per Rotten Tomatoes, after surviving a plane crash,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: a former Special Forces soldier, played by Pitt, finds himself
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: trapped in the unforgiving Alaskan wilderness with his combat dog,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: named Odin. Together they battled the elements and other animals
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: in a harsh landscape that would likely kill any other
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: man or dog. So this is directed by David Ayer.
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: He's been in the Jason Statham business with his last
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: two movies, The Beekeeper and A Working Man. But he's
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: also been behind the camera for movies like Suicide Squad,
• 25:40
  Speaker 1: Will Smith's Bright, the Netflix movie that had Joel Egerton
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: in it as well. And I would say his two
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: best films are being End of Watch, which had Jake Gyllenhaal,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: and Fury, which also starred Brad Pitt. His latest, Heart
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: of the Beast, is a familiar, though quite gripping and stripped-down,
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: survival story about resilience, amazing companionship, and unshakable loyalty. If
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: you love dogs, and who doesn't, you won't walk away
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: without your heart being touched. It's an emotional journey for
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: Mann's best friend, Pitt's portrayal of James, he's the rugged,
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: retired military guy, is nuanced and somewhat vulnerable with a
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: serious physical commitment. The things he's doing out there and
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: that Alaska wild is very impressive. I don't quite remember...
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: seeing him kind of go to these lengths, at least
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: in his later part of his career. But anyway, he's
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: a solid presence on screen. I mean, that's probably a
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: given at this point. But Odin, the dog, whose real
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: name is Uber, is spectacular. Their bond that's formed through war,
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: which also translates into their survival, and the love that
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: is shared between them is the heart of the film
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: and is a hundred percent why it's so effective and
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: heartfelt where it counts. Um, fun fact, Odin is played
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: by a real life retired search and rescue German shepherd. Uh,
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: an animal trainer found, his name was Andrew Simpson. He
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: found Uber in retirement and trained him for the film
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: in five weeks. And Uber was joined on set by
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: his three sons, who also acted as his doubles for
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: various scenes. So, how about that? But Odin, he is
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: such a delight. Ayer keeps up a nice pace with
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: some tense, treacherous adventure sequences that are, I mean, they're
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: expected in a movie like this, but still have you
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: holding your breath a bit. The cinematography is breathtaking, capturing
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: the stunning Alaskan wilderness that also happens to be inhabited
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: by some ugly CGI bears and wolves. So be careful
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: out there if you're in Alaska. There's some ugly, ugly
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: CGI animals running through. The movie is very pro-military with
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: a bit centering around PTSD. It's touched on throughout, but
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: it mainly serves as kind of this window for us
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: to witness some of the hell that they experienced at
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: that time while they were in the battlefield together, but
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: also how they were able to save each other and
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: be able to get out of it. Heart of the
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: Beast is easy to like because of the dog. Let's
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: be honest here. Sure, Pit's pretty cool, but even he
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: can't compete with Uber. However, It is conventional in a
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: lot of ways and quite predictable. I have to admit,
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: I did think that just because with Pitt's involvement, I
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: thought there would be something either deeper or more maybe
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: complex story-wise, but that's not the case at all. It's
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: pretty straightforward stuff. However, I did just read a report
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: about apparently there were two competing cuts between during post-production.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: There's one that Pitt wanted that was kind of more
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: psychological and obscure, which one of the producers, Damien Chazelle,
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: which that Damien Chazelle, the Oscar-winning filmmaker from Whiplash, Babylon,
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: and La La Land, supported. But apparently, Ayer's more broader
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: and more traditional was... apparently scored better with test audiences,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: which is basically the version that one that you see
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: in movies. However, it did apparently have, um, still a
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: lot of heavy influence from Pitt. I, I just find
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: that interesting. And it does kind of make you wonder like,
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: what if Pitt totally got in his way? Would it
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: have been, I mean, would have, would it have even
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: made a difference? I mean, I don't know. I do
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: think at the very least, I don't think heart of
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: the beast would have played it as safe as it does.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: But unless in Pitt's version the dog dies, then no thanks,
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: because he can take his seven head in a box
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: out in the wild somewhere else, because ain't nobody want that.
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: But for what it is, Heart of the Beast accomplishes
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: its mission through the tenacity and devotion of a man
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: and his dog. Seeing a dog's unconditional love up there
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: on the big screen never gets old, never gets old.
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: Heart of the Beast gets a VixFlix rating of 3
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: out of 5. And that will do it for this
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: month's volume of the Cinema Chronicles. Thanks for joining me.
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: It has been a pretty wild month. So I'm just
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: happy to be able to sit here and provide this
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: to you all. Again, check out all of our work. NashvilleMovieDispatch.substack.com
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: All the podcasts are wherever you listen to them. Just
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: search Nashville Movie Dispatch. And until we do this again,
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: same time, different month, on a Monday that probably should
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: be the end of the month, just go see a
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: damn movie.