Latest / Cigars and Cinema Podcast / "Halloween Series 1: Backrooms" Ep. 123 10/8/26

Transcript

"Halloween Series 1: Backrooms" Ep. 123 10/8/26 · Cigars and Cinema Podcast

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to another episode of Cigars and Cinema.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_01: Grab a cigar, something to pair it with, and let's journey into another episode of Smoke and Screen.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Today's episode of Cigars and Cinema is coming to you from the OGT Cigar Society.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_01: Enjoy a five-pack premium custom cigars each month at an undeniable price.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: Join the community and smoke with us on the Oakland Tobacchinist YouTube channel as we delve into the rich experience of OT Craft Cigars and many cigars and vitolas custom made just for our membership.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_01: If you're interested and if you want to find out more about the subscription and the whole host of DT cigars, visit us at www.s.com or find us on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok at OGT Cigars.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hello everybody.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome back to another episode, Cigars and Cinema Podcast.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: We are back this Tuesday to talk about a pretty popular like movie.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of buzz around this movie.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so thank you guys for joining us on the podcast tonight.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: We meet every Tuesday night to study film, study a cigar.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Eric Drazen from Oakland Tobacconist on the East Coast, and on the West Coast, we have Curtis Bailey, uh, who's also a fun fact, if you guys didn't know this, our really awesome uh logo for OGT Cigar Society that we just released on our shirt.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: Curtis is the guy who designed it.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: So Curtis, thank you for that.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, in fact, I need to I keep forgetting I need to pick me up one of those shirts if you still have any.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: I just need to put it in the reminder.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So next time I ship out, which will be on Thursday, when I ship out your variety pack, I'll send you a shirt your way.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: Right on.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: So for sure.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_01: But thank you guys for yeah, thank you for joining us tonight.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, drop down in the comments, as always.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we want to know your opinions of this movie, of the cigar we're smoking, what you are smoking tonight.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Curtis, I know that you're always pairing something tonight.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: Do you have anything special?
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh just basic well.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, there you go.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, uh, let's see here.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Mike Ross is saying he's enjoying the culture vulture.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: I I have to say that that cigar, which uh sneak peek, we're gonna be featuring in the variety pack.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: It is bonkers good.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_01: Like I am a big black label fan, I'm a black big Black Work Works studio fan, but if I were to look at those two companies, Culture Vulture is probably my favorite that Black Works has ever made is that good.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's I like chain smoked it back to back.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Those are some strong words.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_01: They are strong words, uh, but I feel well deserved.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we have a lot to talk about tonight and getting into our cigar, but if you don't mind uh indulging me for a second, I have a special one-minute announcement that um I'll be posting because we have something really special happening in two days on our podcast.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: So, Curtis, if you don't mind, I have a quick let's do it.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I did this in it by way of real form, which I'll be posting later, but take a look at this.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_01: You're always on the hunt for some of the rare and hard to get cigars, and sometimes that hunt can take a while.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: What if it took over two years?
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I've got in my hand right here.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: This is the very hard to find, very difficult to obtain Foundation Fabrica 1810.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_01: This is a three-pack in a wooden box, Box Press Perfecto Broadleaf.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a big fan of Foundation.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, Foundation is one of the longest-lasting brands in the OGT Cigar Humidor.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: And since the beginning of this brand, I've been trying to get my hands on it, and that day has finally come.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: It's also in your reach as well.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: You have the opportunity to secure your three-pack.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_01: That is why we are hosting founder of Foundation Cigars, Nick Melillo, on our podcast.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to delve into cigar community, delve into the cigar culture, learn about the tobacco process, the tobacco growing process for cigars, our OGT Cigar Podcast is a perfect way.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're hosting Nick from Foundation Thursday, 9 o'clock Eastern Standard Time.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: I invite all of you to be on that show, watch it live, but also have a sneak peek to secure something as the Fabrica 1810.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: Beautiful display.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_01: This one's a long time coming.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: What's one of the rare cigars you're on the hunt for?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: Put that down in the comments.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: All right, so that is uh his event-only cigar, which is a box press broadleaf.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: It is, I'm not even joking.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: I've been trying to be able to offer something like this, and it's usually only available at like in-person events.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: So I reached out to Nick, a foundation.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: We've had him on the show a few times.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: It's been almost a year, and I was like, we'd love to have you on the show.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, since we're doing a virtual event, can we offer this with like if you purchase, I don't know, X, then you are gifted this.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, let's make it happen.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: So we're super excited for it.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: That's happening Thursday night.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, really, really cool.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that being said, let's let's say you we jump into our cigar tonight.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Hell yeah.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we have chosen out of the variety pack, we are going to be smoking the call to arms.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: This is a oldie but goodie.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is coming from the Rojas Factory, Stolen Thrones cigars.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: This is the second blend they ever released.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: It sports a Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: And this is in the 5x50 Robusto closed foot, semi-closed foot.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm sure you've smoked this, Curtis, but it might have been a while.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember smoking it recently?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh no, I think you're right.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_02: I think it has been a while.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh but solid.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, like I I don't know that I've ever really smoked one of these and paid super close attention to it.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: So that'll be interesting tonight to actually try to like pick it apart and see what's going on.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like all of Stolen Throne stuff is great, but Crook of the Crown always kind of steals the limelight.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's so good.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_02: So understandable, yeah.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I see some comments dropping down.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Let's get a uh cut on this, let's get a cold draw on this and see where it starts.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this kind of ended up on the variety because I was like, we really haven't let people try a lot of Stolen Throne, and I was smoking this and I was like, this cigar is so good.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_01: So we gotta see where it starts.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like dusty.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: It is dusty.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: Dusty, salty.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe a hint of that, like um you can think of what that sort of artificially strawberry flavor from a Pop Tart tastes like.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Archie, right?
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a sweeter note you're able to pick out.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: There you go.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, good open draw, dusty strawberry pop-tart.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: All right, well, let's get this lit up and see where it starts.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_01: Every cigar leaves an impression.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_02: However, it's not until you take a moment and analyze the full experience from construction to flavor to profile that you can truly appreciate it.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_01: So enjoy your cigar as you light it up.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: Take the time to toast it, smell the room notes, and experience the first notes as they come alive.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_02: In the same way, movies can tell deeper stories or show us things we haven't noticed on the surface.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_02: So journey with us as we take a more detailed appreciation for the craft of cigar and movie making.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_01: Those are like the things that are originally coming to me.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're all tracks for me.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say, like, overall, right off the light, it feels very bright and treble forward.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm right there with you.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_01: Really good smoke production, a little bit of a hint of spice on the retro hill, but overall pretty smooth in terms of like body and expression.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: But you're right, very bright.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: That lemon zest is really interesting.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think you're banging on with the baking spices too.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: I like I love a good Sumatra.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: When Sumatra's done right, I really it's a hard tobacco for me to beat.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, dare I say, I probably more often than not would choose a Sumatra wrapper over a Habano wrapper, to be honest.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: I just like how dynamic it is.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe like way in the background, a mild, uh like shortbread cookie kind of thing.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: I can see that.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's like a hint of sweetness, but it's like you said, in the background, it's not really up there in the front.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: No.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Good start.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very good start.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Very good start.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Uh let's see here.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: Temporal night is on tonight saying, hey all.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: Good to have you on.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Lady Driven is saying we're here enjoying the El Mago Offender solid stick.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: Also, Sumatra.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so we are kicking off.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_01: This is the first week of Halloween like horror series, whichever you want to look at it.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we did last year, and uh, if anyone watched our month last year, it was kind of a flop.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: It was rough, man.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: It was rough.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: We had Barbarian, we had weapons, we had together.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: I think together might have gotten that one fared the best.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, it still wasn't perfect, but like I I could see myself watching it in the other ones, nah.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: The the the barbarian was so bad, I was like, man, that was a waste of time.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I really wasted my time.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you'd you you'd have to pay me to put my eyeballs on that again.
• 9:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and I think you had mentioned it was the same type of experience with you.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: You had like friends telling you how good this movie was.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and critically too.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: You know, I mean, for the most part, those movies we did last year were um you know pretty popular with um the critical community as well.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_02: And we're just we were obviously on the other side of it, yeah.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_02: Didn't care for them.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, no.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: Uh nice Sumatra all night long.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so tonight we decided let's kick off our Halloween series, which is something a lot of people have been talking about, a lot of also high praise from critics.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: So tonight we're gonna be talking about backrooms.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Backrooms is somewhat of a like horror in the in the horror film culture, sort of a phenomenon.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was made this year, came out this year, it is rated R with a runtime of two hours and six minutes.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_01: Clark, an angry architect, chases the source of impossible power failures when a glowing gap opens his basement, but the yellow maze beyond threatens his sanity, his friends, and Mary.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_01: Now, it is it is directed by Kane Parsons, which is sort of his breakout film.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: The dude, when he made this movie, was only 20 years old.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's wild.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: Which yeah, crazy.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: And it's honestly a lot of unknown, or at least like not massive names.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: Chiwital Ijafor is the most recognizable person in this.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_02: He was the guy that was in the picture you were just showing.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_02: Because you know, he's been in Marvel movies and stuff like that.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: So generally people know him, but but everybody else, I I I had never seen them before.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_02: If I push somebody up forgetting, I don't think I think they're all um, you know, um kind of indie actors or whatever.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_02: So that was kind of cool.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was, it was, and I I know I'm gonna butcher this name, but even uh the sort of heroine Mary is played by Raynette Re Reserve, I believe.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um not sure.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we went when she was on, we're like, have we seen her in something?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: We're like, nah, I guess not.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, this is gonna be an interesting one, and I certainly hope you guys watching uh please drop down your comments if you have seen this movie.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: We also want to know what you think about this.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I almost feel like it's kind of watching it through the lens of two different ideas for me, and that being like, okay, separating everything I know about who's behind this movie, how it came about, and just watching it for what it is, and at the same time realizing this was made by a 20-year-old.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: So sure, yeah.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of that going on.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, so for for overall, I guess first impressions going into this movie, what you knew about it, what you didn't know about it, what was that like?
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_02: Well, um, first off, I want to comment on something that you alluded to that this is was, you know, kind of a phenomenon.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there were there were two like kind of surprise horror movie hits this summer.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_02: We're gonna be potentially doing the other one obsession later this month.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_02: But backrooms, like you said, made by a 20-year-old.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think for very much money grossed more money than Minions and Monsters, Star Wars, The Mandalorian, and Grogu, Moana, Disclosure Day, a Steven Spielberg movie.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, uh, super girl, like bananas, completely bananas.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_02: But you know, uh, I have known for a long time since I worked at Blockbuster that um horror is a kind of uniquely positioned genre in that you don't really need um high budget for effects, you don't need a high budget for star salaries, because the thing that puts butts in seats uh for horror movies is the premise.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: That's that's the number one driver.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: And for horror movie heads in particular, you know, they're just like you know, constantly starving, like, give me more.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_02: So um, because of that, uh, you know, like you said, this 20-year-old kid could make this thing based off of his YouTube shorts, where it seems to be a thing for people that age to kind of like have this um I don't want nostalgic isn't the right word, but you know, they they find the retro feeling of the 90s to be like really cool and interesting.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_02: And so, you know, all of this like 90s dilapidated office space stuff with the night with the camcorder type footage and all that kind of stuff.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it it definitely gives this movie a vibe, right?
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_02: And I would say that I think that's where it's strongest is just in, you know, um, you know, making these weird places and finding, you know, different ways to position objects in them and have kind of like, you know, the the particular lighting that they have and all that kind of stuff.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_02: That stuff is pretty strong in this.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um I'm not as convinced that uh the ideas about you know what they are trying to say about this place and how it reflects the psyches of the characters and all that kind of stuff.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of that in this movie feels a little half-baked, or that they didn't quite know how to pull it all across the finish line.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so that's kind of like my broad take on it.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think we're gonna have similar type of discussions tonight because it is kind of hard.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: I will I'll just be straight up objectively.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's hard to knock it in terms of visually and kind of the overall feeling it puts into you while you're watching.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: It's a pretty stellar, pretty tightly knit, uh, clean bow at the end.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, a lot of my trepidation was on is that a complete thought?
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like, did they did they flesh this out?
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I'm sure we're gonna talk a lot about that.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: I figured though, what's kind of cool is you had mentioned with like the horror film genre, um, how many, whether you want to look at actors or directors, how many big names got kind of started, launched, or really put on the radar through horror films?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_01: Which is so I have a very short list I wanted to pull up.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_01: These are famous names that uh they either was a first appearance or really was significant within like the first four movies that this person had started in their career.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_01: So, first of which you have uh Leonardo DiCaprio in Critters Three, first appearance, Matthew McConaughey uh in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, of course, Johnny Depp in Nightmare on Elm Street.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, that's a big one.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: You have Tom Hanks in He Knows You're Alone, which was the first appearance in a movie, which I didn't know about.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: Didn't know about that either.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we had uh Jennifer Aniston in Leprechaun.
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_02: That one I did know.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and then just a few more.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Kevin Bacon, of course, Friday the 13th.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um Jim Carrey.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: Now, this was his fourth appearance in a movie, but uh Once Bitten was was a movie that he had done.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: Never even heard of that.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean either.
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then finally, uh Chloe Grace Mortz, who her first appearance was Amity uh horror, amity uh the amity Phil horror.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_02: Got it.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, you're right.
• 16:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's a very unique uh industry, and I think though, because of its uniqueness, there's some strengths and there's some weaknesses.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like this is also a genre where it's heavily saturated with not great movies.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: So there's that kind of push and pull that you have, but when it's on, it's on.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, I mean uh when it comes to horror for me, like broadly, I think it's a genre that can be really interesting, but usually it has to be for my taste.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_02: I don't like I'm not judging if you like, you know, the the millionth haunted house movie that's gonna come out this sometime later this year, probably.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_02: Like if you enjoy those, cool.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: But um I I usually don't get a lot out of them unless there's something really strong in terms of the themes or the the narrative, you know, if it's a unique take on the genre as far as how like the story is constructed, really good performances, that kind of thing.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so yeah, just your bog standard, you know, we're gonna throw a bunch of uh you know attractive young people in a room with a guy that stabs the stuff.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I I'm not I'm not here for that.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I don't care.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um so this one does get points on that for you know uh being a relatively unique concept uh in terms of um you know um at least stuff that that gets like a theatrical level treatment, right?
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um yeah, that's cool.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's uh you know, this is one of those things where I will be very interested to see what this filmmaker does in the future.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: If they can parlay this into more fully realized, fully developed, uh kind of thematically resonant uh uh features.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: That'd be really cool.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: Now, as you had mentioned, the the counterpart or the other phenomenon that happened the same year was obsession.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: And both these movies, of course, were on a lot of people's radar.
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_01: If you enjoy movies, backrooms out of the two was the one that I was most excited for.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_01: I felt I felt in terms of like how it was portrayed in the trailer, the the spectacle of it all, that really ominous, like pale, uh like yellow type of ambiance that it goes with.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, this concept's really cool, and it definitely wins points for me in its concept.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_01: From what I understand, of course, there is a video game, backrooms, but um, this is also heavily influenced by the director who did sort of a web series on this.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when you watch this in the theater, I I'm assuming, did you stay for the end, like the small snippet at the end?
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_02: Uh credits.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_02: I'm pretty sure that I did not.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: What was it?
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_02: So what he did, I thought it was a little bit of spoilers.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_01: It has honestly, it's pretty well removed from the movie, but they basically chose one of his YouTube like webisotes that was like seven to ten minutes long, and they've played that after the credits.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of cool because then you get a feel for uh like what it was originally and where it kind of ended up.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you guys have HBO Max or if you rent it, you can watch it and you can go to the end and watch that.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: It's really it's it's it's very different than the movie in terms of it's so shrouded in mystery with no explanations.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's where this movie has a little bit of trouble because he already on his side has that mystery.
• 19:50
  SPEAKER_01: The way this movie opens, and it's all done through first person camera quarter, that 90s filter.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of I think one of my more favorite scenes is how it opens, and you have this guy that's struggling in the backrooms, you have no context, no idea what's going on, and then he basically gets attacked and we get thrown into the movie.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so what are your thoughts on like first time viewer, the way it opens up, the way it jumps in, all that sort of thing.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree with you.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_02: That first scene is strong.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_02: It did throw me off for a little bit because I didn't understand yet that it was trying to provide uh, you know, obviously give a glimpse into the horror mechanics and stuff like that.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_02: But um, you know, we don't really come back around to understanding that there is um uh a facility and you know, people involved with this thing until very near the end of the movie.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: I think there's one scene kind of early on where they show him being you know monitored through cameras or something like that.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: But I kept thinking that that guy from the beginning was gonna be somehow you know involved in the main story that we were gonna come back to that guy rather than it just being a hey, here's a little taste, right?
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: And then we're gonna get you to the main narrative.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_02: So that threw me off for a little bit.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 21:06
  SPEAKER_02: But um, yeah, it's a great way to introduce a movie like this.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: And um I sorry, I I was just thinking of a of a comparison.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: Oh yes.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: Um, did you ever see a movie called Lights Out?
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_01: No, I know what you're talking about, but I heard it wasn't the greatest, and so I didn't watch it.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_02: That was yeah, that was another one that you know started life as an internet short and you know, really simple premise, right?
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the lights are turned on in this lady's house, everything's fine.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: When she turns the lights off, a figure appears in the darkness, right?
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_02: And just just you know, that's the kind of thing that in a three minute short on YouTube works great.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: But when you try to turn it to a feature film and like, okay, we need to actually tell a story now, things kind of fall apart a little bit.
• 21:55
  SPEAKER_02: I don't think this one uh uh fails near as badly as.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Lights outdated because yes, that movie was pretty bad.
• 22:03
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but I still get a little bit of that that thing going on where it's like, okay, yeah, we had this idea for this you know moody thing, this suggested evil, and you know, when we it it survives because of that ambiguity, that's what makes it work.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so when you go to do a story where you have to start trying to like you know put characters in it, actually, you know, have them go through you know kind of some kind of thematic arc and then also maybe try to explain this place a little bit more, then maybe that robs the the premise from some of its inherent you know weirdness because you know, again, that not knowing the ambiguity is kind of what makes it work.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_01: No, I would agree with you.
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_01: And to borrow kind of one of your analogies or phrases that you've used before, it's like the best comedies aren't always the SNL skits that worked for the skit.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_01: Because it doesn't, and and I'm not saying it suffers from the same thing, but I do think there's enough that there's some similarities going on.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_02: No, I think that's yeah, that's a fair comparison for sure.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's echoed by, I mean, if anyone has seen this movie, and again, guys, drop down in the comments if you have overall thoughts about it.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the movies that the moments in this movie that are gonna stick in your mind, I feel like the most are of course when they're in the backrooms, in this other dimension, whatever you want to call it, because that's where it pulls you in.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: And you hit sort of the like uh crisis element of when about three-quarters of the movie, when it kind of explains a little bit of this is what this place is and what it does.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: It's those really high moments of these backrooms starts to dwindle a little bit.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I mean, uh you have uh this guy, Clark, who owns the this failing furniture shop and he's divorced, you never really learn what happened to the wife.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so he stumbles across these back rooms and he starts exploring.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: I can't help but think though, like it and this is rampant in the horror film genre, but so many decisions.
• 24:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, why are you doing this?
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like if you stumbled on this, it's like, well, the first thing I'm gonna do is go deeper and deeper.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_01: Not like, okay, hold on, hold on.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: What am I dealing with?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I don't know, maybe that was personal.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you dealt with that stumbling block or not.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, well, I it's funny.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_02: I was actually prepared to ask.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_02: I was like, all right, if you're the in this dude's shoes and you walk through that wall and you find this place, do you uh go, hmm, this is an opportunity to explore?
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_02: Or do you freak the hell out?
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_02: Because that's so like you know, I mean, obviously, for the the sake of making a movie, um, uh, you know, you've got to have him be, you know, a little bit weirded out, but still curious so that he and investigates.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_02: But I think if that happened to anybody in the real world, like your mind would like explode.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_02: That's so surreal.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_02: Um you have to be constantly thinking, like, wake up, wake up, wake up.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_02: It's a dream, it's a dream.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: You know?
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_02: Um, but yeah, no, uh, I mean, I I think that's the reaction I would have in real life.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_02: Like, I guess, yes.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_01: Now let's do devil's advocate because there are a lot of I mean, curiosity killed the cat.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: So let's say I cannot but help explore this place.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_01: An avenue I think, and I'm I'm just saying, I think would have been more freaky and also would kind of work is like when he goes through the door for the first time, it's literally the screenshot that I pulled, right?
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, Whoa, there's a bunch of furniture in this room, and it's a blank canvas behind him, so he doesn't know exactly where the door is.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, take two chairs and and like basically bookend that way.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_01: Then you could be like, Okay, yeah, the guy's thinking in his head, but he still wants to explore.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_01: When he comes back in a minute, he can't find and then he finds it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: It would be really freaky if like he goes between the doors and then somehow the chairs were moved without him knowing.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: And he's like, wait a minute.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: But I don't know, it's a personal thing.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: But for first and foremost, I just couldn't help but yelling at the screen, what are you doing?
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like, but I mean, that's kind of what directors want.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_01: They want they want you to do that.
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I did think it was a cool visual effect that when he first sees the door from the outside when the room is still dark and there's just that little tiny sliver of light.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_02: Neat idea.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_02: Like that was cool.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_02: Because you could go really fantastical with a doorway, you know, have like glowing, swirling, you know, whatever.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_02: And they make this you know super lo-fi simple, and it totally works for the the kind of overall style of the piece.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_02: So I agree.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: I agree.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_01: Mike Ross says, You can't cure stupid.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and and on an added element of what you're saying, how that's presented, I like how the fly disappears first.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: That was a good touch.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so in the midst of the storyline that we're kind of talking about, those elements I feel like do deserve high praise in those types of execution.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, there's really eerie things that they do in terms of like the furniture sinking.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: You have no reason understanding why.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_01: The random, like when he goes further in and explores and he hears a noise, and it's like for no reason at all, there's basically a tunnel that is half the size.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_01: Again, he decides to go in it, whatever.
• 27:01
  SPEAKER_01: But like that sinking dream-like uh feeling, and I think they capture that really well.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and uh, you just mentioned noise.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_02: I think the sound design overall is also a positive for this because um because the the visuals are evocative, but they're also very stark and uh you know uh having that contrast of like the weird, like stale, dead quietness of this place with you know sudden bursts of stuff, and you know, they they do it just right that it has the right echoey appearance sound to it and stuff.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, that's from down the hallway, it's close, but not that close.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's that's all really good.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_01: No, you know, I agree.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think a big element of that, the difference between you and I watching is you saw it in the theater and I actually saw it at home.
• 27:49
  SPEAKER_01: I do wonder how much of a difference that plays, whether it's sound visually, um but yeah, they do that.
• 27:55
  SPEAKER_01: There's there's something really eerie about like that kind of like carpeted sound of nothingness, but it's so loud.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:03
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's great.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, very quickly, let's check in on Call of Arms, because I'm actually already second-third into this cigar.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we'll get back to sort of backrooms and story-wise.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what do you think so far flavor profile?
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's pretty good.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: I think that um, you know, most of what we were talking about uh at the start is still there, but I'm also picking up now um a little bit of salinity.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_02: Got a little bit of saltiness to it, which yeah, kind of feels like it's cranking up or enhancing all the other stuff that's already there.
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_01: I could see that for sure.
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_01: It also to me is taking on a little bit of like toastiness, like toasted grains, maybe something like that.
• 28:45
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree with that.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_01: But really clear profile, like for this cigar for me, in terms of strength-wise, more on the medium side, nothing too aggressive, but so much flavor.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_02: It's really good.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_02: Also burning fantastically.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I know I've mentioned this before.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_01: Uh this is a cigar that I would definitely pair with coffee in the morning.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: It just that like acidity from the coffee, or if you put creamer, it's gonna add some sweetness to it.
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_01: Overall, it just it pairs really well.
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_01: So if you guys have the opportunity to try that, I definitely recommend doing something like that.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, overall, great profile, really complex.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: And it's it's it's complex with all those notes, but also consistent.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_02: The the the retrohale on this one just you know, in addition to you know, having a nice, it feels like really I don't know.
• 29:36
  SPEAKER_02: This is a silly thing to say because it's all it's always hot smoke, right?
• 29:39
  SPEAKER_02: You know, that's where the cigar is.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: That's what we're doing.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_02: But I was like, this feels so warm and satisfying to retrohale this one.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is kind of like a like a fall Christmas cigar.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's got those kind of like flavor notes.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, got it.
• 29:51
  SPEAKER_02: We got a manifest fall here.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: It's still like in the night.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_02: We got it, we got a heat wave through the end of this week.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_02: It's that's why that's why I'm going to Maine, so I can be cold and look at some trees with the leaves changing color.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we we're in the we finally made to the 70s.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_01: We're in the 70s, so yeah.
• 30:11
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, um, something I want to explore though is is the you you have almost a psycho element in this, and not so much in the storytelling of the villain, but you kind of have one hero and then it kind of switches in a way a little bit.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: A little bit.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, not not completely like psycho.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_01: Like I remember when we analyzed that movie, um, we were like in in in the one class I took for screenplay analysis, they were like, this is one of the few exceptions where you almost deal with a dual protagonist that ends halfway and then you pick it up from another.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that doesn't necessarily happen because I mean we kind of get three quarters of the way, but there is somewhat of a shift that happens.
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_01: So, overall thoughts on the character art of Clark, and then we'll maybe move to Mary and see on that.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um Clark's is okay.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I I think I I I I feel like I go back and forth between feeling like it's a good or a bad thing that we only hear about what his marriage was like from his point of view.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_02: So it's you know a little bit difficult to tell um you know how legitimate his grievances are.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you know, maybe that uh you know ambiguity is sort of the point that you know it's all about this guy's psychological headspace.
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_02: And we see when he get when we get deeper into things, again, spoilers for backrooms, uh there's that room where uh you know there's all those like the memories of people where they've got the contorted weird faces, yes, and he's starting to talk about how like you know he feels like he's settling into kind of like a a new understanding of himself, and you know, it's uh a lot of that stuff, it's like I can see what you're trying to do, but I don't think that um this quite delivers on what you wanted it to.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it feels like maybe you got like 70% of the way there, and I feel like the the the resolution of those character ideas and how it's like manipulated through the magic or whatever of this backrooms place.
• 32:22
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's it feels it feels hazy.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes, you know, they feel like indistinct ideas.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like when you start to try to nail down, like, okay, so I understand what the backrooms are or I understand what's going on here.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: As much as you can through what they're trying to tell you, it kind of just raises more questions and not necessarily in a good way.
• 32:40
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: It kind of leaves you confused and empty.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_01: So, my hot take on it, and I want to know what your thoughts are.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_01: While backrooms, the the actual dimension or whatever it is, not fully fleshed out, it's basically like it creates this concept of what memory is, how things are perceived through your own mind, and through the mind of Clark, who is uh not the best frame of mind.
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_01: He's somewhat violent, he's depressed, and an inability to change kind of is a representation of what's going on in his mind.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_01: And unless you're able to change, you'll basically either drag down the people that love you or care about you or trying to help you, or at the end, kill you.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Because even what you're seeing is actual people, it's distorted, or even what you have of actual memories, it's distorted.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_01: Does that make sense?
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_02: It does.
• 33:31
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, I mean, I do think it's it's probably like maybe one of the better ideas that the movie had, where you know, there's that character that you kind of catch glimpses of a couple times, which is a distorted, perverse version of him in his pirate costume that he uses at his um uh furniture store to try to make his crappy commercials.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and that that like you know, avatar of his memory or whatever is what kills him.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_02: So um you know, uh you can draw a pretty clear link to to that as like you know, representing self-destructive behavior or whatever, right?
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_02: So not bad.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_02: Um I still think that um you know, the the way that that pirate guy is treated, it's mostly functions as a monster, like in a monster movie.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_02: And I I I had hoped that um there would have been something a little bit more interesting, like with way that that, you know, again, that weird avatar behaves or thinks that you know gave us an idea about, you know, you know, why is it that you know, if this is you know, this weird kind of like semi-twisted representation of your identity as memory, well, what would that be like?
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_02: And this movie's answer is big angry chase you, and that's kind of disappointing, right?
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, I agree.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, and I I think it kind of didn't fully follow through.
• 35:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, so they're at the table.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like it's the pivotal scene, and he tries to explain to her, like, I start to like it in here, I don't want to move.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_01: The pirate dude comes in and he's like, we don't have to change, and he realizes like maybe this was a mistake, and then the pirate guy like takes a bite out of him and kills him.
• 35:24
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Oh, this is going really interesting, but yeah, the fact that it's a turnaround, okay.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_01: Now I'm going to stalk the other lady.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: It honestly felt too like if this is the biggest like monster we're dealing in backrooms, it's kind of a letdown.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: Like, like it's far less eerie than what we saw in the beginning first-person camera recorder scene.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so, also, what was that?
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it's never really, you know, like it's just I don't know.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, because the interesting part of that idea is the way that the um uh his name was Clark?
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_01: Is that what yes, yes.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_02: The way that Clark and Scary Pirate Clark, you know, relate to each other, like that's where the interesting weird ideas are.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_02: We get like we get like two minutes of that and then 20 whatever minutes of him just chasing the lady, like like again, like it's he's it's just basically a monster from a monster movie at that point.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 36:15
  SPEAKER_02: So um that's part and parcel of where like I take away this feeling I was like, I see what they were going for, but like they didn't they didn't squeeze as much as they could out of the potential right of these ideas.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: Well, and one thing though we did find out, which I thought was kind of cool, is that the the pirate guy is actually not CGI, it's an actual actor.
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's right, yeah.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_01: Which is that's cool, like going that organic way.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um Lady Driven says we had a hard time following, seemed a bit disjointed.
• 36:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, yeah, that's a good point.
• 36:48
  SPEAKER_02: I and uh uh again, I think that's one of those things where because this is this guy's first time attempt to do like a full narrative story and not just make vibes happen.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 36:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, uh storytelling is hard.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna like you know put myself on a pedestal and say that I could do it particularly well.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_02: I probably couldn't, but um, I've just consumed so much of this stuff that like I've you know gained a sense of what I think works and what doesn't.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, there are some things I think in the arts that are objective.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people think of like, oh, it's just all just a matter of taste.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_02: And if that were true, then artists wouldn't have the power to to to do anything, right?
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_02: You know, there's a reason that uh, you know, um certain lights and colors make you feel a particular way, um, sounds make you react a particular way.
• 37:36
  SPEAKER_02: You know, it's it's playing on commonalities in our psychology, right?
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 37:42
  SPEAKER_02: So uh I think that this movie uh is able to take advantage of some of that, but uh again, because the I probably just the um the relative newness of this guy as a filmmaker, he hasn't quite figured out all the storytelling mojo yet.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I I hope that he does, because this is a promising start.
• 38:02
  SPEAKER_00: It's just yeah.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_02: Um and you know, uh we were talking about the dual protagonist thing as we transition into what's the therapist's name again?
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_01: Mary.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_02: Mary.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_02: Um, suddenly throwing her into the the mix um as you know, the person to kind of follow and care about at the towards the end of the movie.
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_02: They try to give her a little bit of background, like there's a thing where they see her tearing down the house that she grew up in and stuff like that.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_02: But like suddenly handing off the movie to her, um, I was like, you know, this late in the game, I barely know who this woman is.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that was a weird part about it because they they do throw in snippets about what she kind of grew up in and her mom being paranoid and such like that.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: But honestly, when Clark dies, I'm like, oh, so do we have to go into the other room with her now?
• 39:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like, like, where is the actual fear?
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: And it's so much of I think Clark is not the type of like I don't know, protagonist who's like, you're rooting for him.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's more of just he was interesting.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: You're trying to figure out what is making him tick, what's making him make these decisions, stay in the room.
• 39:15
  SPEAKER_01: And the minute he says, okay, this is kind of where I'm landing, he dies and we move on.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, well, then I don't know if I'm really ready to move on to this, right?
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: And they rely heavily on just like a primal kind of like monster chases human, human must get out, right?
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like type of deal.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, that was a bit difficult.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: And and as you mentioned, it is a lot of promise.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: You had you had said with our uh working with uh artists who have like palette and such like that, that's a pretty darn good palette.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 39:45
  SPEAKER_01: You definitely have that.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, every first movie is not going to be pulp fiction.
• 39:49
  SPEAKER_01: You have to make several other movies before you get to your pulp fiction.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_01: But um I think that it's understandable to me why this movie was so significant.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was just not, I think, reaching where it needed to be for me.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: And then and I I think what solidified that is the end.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: The end's interesting, right?
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: Because she gets she wakes up and she's sort of sort of being interrogated, kind of like trying to figure out of information.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then we cut to her like her own memory just still in the chair.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it's well like deserved.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if it was as profound as they were shooting for.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_01: It did definitely didn't leave me like, oh no.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_01: I was just like, okay.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_02: And that's another one of those things for me that uh at least for my sensibilities, right?
• 40:31
  SPEAKER_02: That um, you know, revealing that there's this, you know, I don't know if it's government or private corporation or whatever, but you know, there's people that like know about this thing and are studying it and trying to quantify it and whatnot, and they're kind of in control.
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um I feel like that makes it less interesting.
• 40:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's kind of like a fallback in a way.
• 40:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I mean, obviously they probably put that, they like are we need to have some way to extract her from this, and this is how we do it.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_02: Um but um again, uh you know, even though there's still ambiguity left in the premise with you know the fact that you know, like there's these guys studying it, they're trying to be in control of it and whatnot.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh for me, it just feels like you know, if this was something where um, you know, nobody had ever been here before and knew what it was or even had any understanding of it whatsoever, for me that feels a little scarier than what they they they came up with, but I don't know.
• 41:41
  SPEAKER_02: Maybe that's probably a minor thing, but nevertheless.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I see your point because like I had mentioned, like I said, it's kind of a fallback.
• 41:47
  SPEAKER_01: This is something that's familiar for audiences to watch, and it's almost like a way to wrap your head around it without having to explain it.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, oh, okay, it's one of these things.
• 41:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and overall, I think like as the movie ended, for me personally, whether it's cigars, whether it's whiskeys, and definitely movies, I can't help but find appreciation or dislike towards something by comparing it to something else.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_01: That's just how my brain works.
• 42:10
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not saying it's the good way to do it, but that's where my brain goes.
• 42:13
  SPEAKER_01: So um again, that's why I said at the beginning of this movie, uh this show is that it's kind of like two different ways.
• 42:19
  SPEAKER_01: If I'm comparing this to other horror films that I think I really do enjoy, it's kind of falling short.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_01: If I compare this to movies that are made by, I don't know, 25 and under, it's not bad.
• 42:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's pretty darn good.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I agree.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot to be said about that.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, um, while you were saying comparison to other movies, one of the things that I thought of was if you recall the ending to John Carpenter's adaptation of the thing.
• 42:42
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_02: You've got two characters left surviving after this uh, you know, alien has completely ravaged their little outpost.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_02: And um they sit down together in the dark after the place is basically blown up.
• 42:56
  SPEAKER_02: One of them might be infected, they both might be infected, maybe neither of them are infected, you know, and uh their future is left deliberately, you know, unexplained.
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_02: Right?
• 43:07
  SPEAKER_02: The movie ends with them.
• 43:08
  SPEAKER_02: He says, like, let's just wait for a while and see what happens.
• 43:11
  SPEAKER_02: And then wide shot of them sitting next to that fire, credits.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_02: Like the ambiguity of that ending is so strong.
• 43:19
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, imagine if this movie had ended with her still down in the back rooms, yeah.
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right, right, as opposed to getting this, you know, safe get her out, exp try to explain some stuff, but not really, and then she gets to go on about her her life, you know.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_02: It's not as like elementally unsettling to me as something like what thing handles an ending like that.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, and and I'm glad you brought that up because that was actually going to be one of my other questions, like, and especially to anyone watching right now, what is a horror film in this genre that you regard as like, okay, this is the right way to do it?
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's very tight, uh, it's really good.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that comparison.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_01: So I mean, if we were if we watch this movie, I guarantee it.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_01: If we watched this movie last year, if it came out last year and we watched it in the same gaggle of foot films last year, we'd been like, wow, this is a great movie.
• 44:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's really refreshing.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I think that plays a lot uh in it.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, overall, I think it was a good, a, a good effort.
• 44:21
  SPEAKER_01: I do think it's got some clunkiness.
• 44:22
  SPEAKER_01: I don't hate the movie, but it's definitely it's I don't know.
• 44:26
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little empty to me.
• 44:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, we kind of glossed over it, but like rolling back to the first act, what do you what did you think about the um those other two characters, his employees that he lures into you know help him explore the backrooms with him, you know, because they're kind of characters for a minute in this movie.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_02: Did you did you like them?
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_02: Do you think they work?
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I think as like performances, yes.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_01: In terms of characters in this story and what they uh are used for, I kind of feel like it was just we needed a kind of suspenseful moment that shows the danger of the backrooms without actually getting rid of our people yet.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: And what was really weird to me is that faded scene when they're sitting at the table and it's just like, oh, the head is in the refrigerator, and he's like, Yep, that was my employee.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what's going on here?
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: And like, like that type of as as uh uh Guinea had put down in the the comments, like it's disjointed, it leaves you very confused.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't know.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_01: I they're kind of plot devices to me.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: They tried their best, but I don't know if you're not gonna do that.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think I agree.
• 45:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh another thing um that uh we skipped over, um the the appearance of those, you know, uh like weird memory avatar people, you know, like there's the guy that has like the multiple layers of eyes on his face and stuff like that.
• 45:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, those are pretty effective.
• 45:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, extremely well done visually and you know, almost hard to look at, like level of unsettling.
• 45:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like I think you had mentioned it uh what like when we were hanging out at the shop uh one time and we were talking about kind of like CGI in movies and how it's advanced, and how you're you were saying that like the human brain processes idiosyncrasies, micro expressions.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you realize that this is kind of fake.
• 46:14
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but then there's some things that like it hits a nerve, and you're like, I know this.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not like I've experienced this, but I know this, and that's what those still lives are to me.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like it's that kind of like when you think of back of like you're you're at your grandparents' house on Christmas and you have those images that are a little hazy around the edges, but you kind of understand the outline, and that's what that was for me.
• 46:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that was very effective.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, I agree for sure.
• 46:39
  SPEAKER_01: I thought the most unsettling uh out of them was honestly the the girl in red in the back, where it's just like trying to focus on her face, and it's just yeah, that was pretty well done.
• 46:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, very creepy.
• 46:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I will say what left me confused in terms of what we're trying to figure out, okay.
• 46:56
  SPEAKER_01: This is what the backrooms is.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: What was with the whole I'm gonna cut the dude open and eat him?
• 47:00
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah, that that seemed like a a completely unnecessary detail.
• 47:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, if you're gonna um include something like that, um I feel like it should somehow be thematically relevant.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, somehow.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I don't think I can glean any like other idea out of like, oh, these are weird distorted memory people, and we can consume them.
• 47:29
  SPEAKER_02: Like, what does what does that mean?
• 47:30
  SPEAKER_02: And it doesn't seem like it means anything.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 47:34
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's very confusing to me.
• 47:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I kind of was tracking a little bit when he's like, okay, let's do the whole role-playing therapy thing, and then he cuts the the girl's hair off and stuff.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, okay, he's just being monstrous and trying to shape her into what he wants to shape her.
• 47:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's got me a little bit, I can kind of understand, but yeah, when he flops it on there, I was like, okay, this seems like a horror element just to be more unsettling, but really doesn't serve a purpose beyond that.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, also that says something really weird about that dude that he's just like, Hey, you know what?
• 48:03
  SPEAKER_02: I wonder if I can I wonder if I can take a bite out of that.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_02: Like, yeah, how did he discover that?
• 48:09
  SPEAKER_02: It's just like, oh man, I forgot to bring my Snickers down here this time.
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_02: It's just yeah, yeah, weird.
• 48:16
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, now one of the most unsatisfying things they don't sum up, and maybe this is also a personal thing, but in the beginning opening scene, there's this like shadowy, bird-beaked like type of monster thing.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_01: And then you kind of see it when his co-worker goes down to like the area where there's all the clothes, and it like kind of grabs him.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then you finally see the last depiction when he's like got all these things written, like diagrams, and he's like the floor is changing, and he sort of makes the similar type of shape on the wall.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_01: This is kind of like Chekhov's gun, isn't it?
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: Like it should have been like the if you're showing it enough times, and then that's it, you're just not gonna that to me again is where instead we get Yard Cell Pirate who who chases her around.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, this is underwhelming.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_01: So I don't know.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's mostly in terms of my thoughts on backrooms.
• 49:06
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if there's any other things that you wanted to explore on that.
• 49:09
  SPEAKER_02: No, I I think that pretty much covers the basis for me, too.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, again, this is um a very um uh evocative, creepy premise, and the visuals and sound brought to bear to make it work are generally pretty strong.
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_02: Um uh I think that it's just a premise that kind of is maybe at odds with trying to create something meaningful story-wise or thematic-wise.
• 49:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so um, but you know, really God, for God, when I was 20, I was probably I was basically still in diapers.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_02: The fact that this made a feature film that is you know reasonably competent at all, kudos.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, for sure.
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay.
• 49:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, let's talk final third about uh call to arms.
• 49:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh to me, it's getting a little bit more like peppery towards the end.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's ramping up a little bit peppery, the toasty elements there.
• 49:57
  SPEAKER_01: Not so much.
• 49:58
  SPEAKER_01: I feel like we're now moving into the bass tones.
• 50:01
  SPEAKER_01: A little bit more.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 50:03
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there's some uh additional.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_02: I think you just said toast, you know.
• 50:08
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, that kind of you know, dark brown, rich Maillard reaction flavor is definitely in there.
• 50:14
  SPEAKER_02: And um uh I think it's also it's interesting because some of that brightness we were talking about before still lingers there.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_02: I guess it just feels more balanced now.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_02: You're supported.
• 50:32
  SPEAKER_02: Like, you know, when a song starts with you know, just like you know, uh a flute or high guitar, and then at some point the bass kicks in, you know, that's kind of yeah what we're doing now.
• 50:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I feel like that bready note that uh that shortbread cookie you had mentioned is kind of in there as well.
• 50:48
  SPEAKER_01: Toasty.
• 50:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um overall, really, I don't know if it's a cop-out, but warm flavors, to be honest.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, it's very nice.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 50:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so let's uh let's put it to a vote on a scale from uh one to ten.
• 51:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um stolen throne call to arms land.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I am writing down my vote right now.
• 51:13
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully it's show up because I don't have my mark.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_01: All right, I got a eight.
• 51:18
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, and I got a 7.8.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_01: So right there.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah in there.
• 51:22
  SPEAKER_01: Fantastic cigar.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: And not a bad follow-up.
• 51:24
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, if you take this back in history, this is the cigar that came right after Crook of the Crown.
• 51:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's solid.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's kind of Stolen Thrones portfolio across the board.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_01: I love their stuff, so good.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, and then backrooms from a scale from one to ten.
• 51:39
  SPEAKER_01: Where is this landing?
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'll try not to be too harsh here.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 51:46
  SPEAKER_01: I have a you have a six?
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_01: Six for me.
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I have a six point five.
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_01: I was being a little generous on the point five.
• 51:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm glad I watched it.
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_01: Better than the movies we watched last year, so I'll give it that.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 52:00
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it just I I like you said, I'm excited to see what else this director is gonna do, but it did miss the mark for me on several fronts.
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, I I think the main takeaway for me is that the vibes are really strong.
• 52:11
  SPEAKER_02: The problem is that you can get a sense of the vibes within five minutes.
• 52:14
  SPEAKER_02: That's why it started live as a YouTube short, right?
• 52:16
  SPEAKER_02: You don't need a lot of time to evoke the feeling that this thing evokes, right?
• 52:20
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_02: So uh if we're gonna be asked to sit down for almost two hours to get a full story out of it, um, it needs to feel like you know there's really something there, and they didn't quite make it on this one.
• 52:32
  SPEAKER_01: But yes, I agree.
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_02: I'm still looking forward to whatever this dude does next.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_01: So that is the first uh movie in our Halloween series, and we'll be back next week for another one.
• 52:43
  SPEAKER_01: But a question I have for you is that I still to this day remember, because I mean we've been talking a lot about horror films around here because we're in that season.
• 52:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and it was kind of like, what was the scariest movie you ever watched?
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, I was like, a lot of those happen like in your early teens when you start watching get more adventurous, right?
• 53:01
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, a movie is not necessarily scary that it's like, oh, it's gonna stick with me, it has to move into the disturbing element.
• 53:08
  SPEAKER_01: That's what I'm like.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: This crosses the the line.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_01: And while I love this movie now today, I remember I was probably like 14, and when I watched Alien for the first time, do nothing about it, I was like, this movie is weirding me out.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: Like I remember that that crossed that line of disturbing, and it's very unique feeling.
• 53:27
  SPEAKER_01: Beyond that, there's another weird movie out there called Sorry to Bother You.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 53:32
  SPEAKER_01: I like that movie.
• 53:33
  SPEAKER_01: Mallory does too.
• 53:34
  SPEAKER_01: It unnerved me.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_01: I did not like it.
• 53:37
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, I was curious.
• 53:38
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, do you have a moment that you remember like that or a movie that kind of did that when you first watched it?
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_02: I I do.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_02: Um, you know, one of the things that will give me um, you know, the willies in uh a movie more so than anything is not necessarily like stuff that's outright scary or blatantly, you know, kind of horror-driven, but that sense that something is just slightly not right.
• 54:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_02: So um, for example, in uh I know that it deviates a lot from the book, but in uh Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of The Shining, there's a lot of stuff in that movie, you know, just you know, brief shots and moments where it's like, I don't know what's going on.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_02: This feels almost real, but not quite.
• 54:28
  SPEAKER_02: Like, for example, when he uh goes to the that big kind of bar ballroom place and suddenly the lights are on and it's seems like it's open, and I'm like, that's not that's not right.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_02: That's not yeah, that shouldn't be you know, just that like that slight unreality um works pretty strongly for me.
• 54:46
  SPEAKER_01: So okay, okay, yeah, yeah.
• 54:48
  SPEAKER_01: It's an interesting thing.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, okay, so that was, like I said, our first episode.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_01: We'll be back next week to talk our next film.
• 54:55
  SPEAKER_01: Whether it's not obsession or not, we will be posting on that.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're trying to figure out if we're gonna finish off the series with that or not, but it's on the list.
• 55:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's on the list.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you guys so much for hanging out with us tonight uh and smoking with us.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_01: Check out Call to Arms from Stolen Throne, Killer Sumatra cigar.
• 55:10
  SPEAKER_01: If you guys like Sumatra, yeah.
• 55:11
  SPEAKER_02: Well, and I think if memory serves, I think this is another one with Crook of the Crown that this is not an outrageously priced one either, is it?
• 55:17
  SPEAKER_01: No, it's below ten dollars.
• 55:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, come on.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's ridiculous.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_01: So okay, and then uh sneak peek, we have a new variety pack.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what we're gonna be delving into next week.
• 55:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty pretty awesome.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_01: All right, thank you guys.
• 55:30
  SPEAKER_01: Have a great week.
• 55:31
  SPEAKER_01: Curtis, thanks for hanging out with us.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_01: Of course, good night, y'all.