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May Wrap-Up / Mad Max Awards / Movie Musings
Episode 69 • Bonus Episode • 5th June 2024 • Back to the Frame Rate • Nathan Suher
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Our May Wrap-up episode. A time to reflect on MAD MAY, in which we watched all the films in the Mad Max franchise, including the latest, 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga'.

00:00 Reflections on the franchise and recent box office

03:05 Mad Max Awards

19:54 Ranking the Franchise

24:24 Movie Musings

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Transcripts

Nathan:

Well, and welcome to back to the frame rates may wrap up.

Nathan:

This is a monthly episode that we do to recap prior month.

Nathan:

And this was quite a month cause we did the entire Mad Max retrospective,

Nathan:

the whole saga culminating and furing out a couple of weeks ago.

Nathan:

And this is gonna be a fun episode because we have some final thoughts.

Nathan:

On the saga and reflections on it, and we're going to rank the franchise.

Nathan:

And also we have some awards and superlatives to give out.

Nathan:

Any thoughts before we begin this?

Sam:

Hello.

Sam:

I just want to say this was the best box office ever.

Sam:

May was on fire and we had back the frame where we're there to witness this

Sam:

incredible just, I just, what can I say?

Sam:

Scorcher.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

You know what is funny before we get to this, I see so much not so much hate,

Nathan:

but like so much so many people are just kind of like, just digging at Furiosa for

Nathan:

his poor box office, but you know what?

Nathan:

It's the entire box office.

Nathan:

And I hope that Hollywood is not just looking at Furiosa as

Nathan:

like, Oh, this movie bombed.

Nathan:

Every movie is bombing right now.

Nathan:

So I am hopeful that they will realize this is not isolated to

Nathan:

this movie, or any of these movies that are coming out this month.

Nathan:

This is something that is a global thing that's going on, or a

Nathan:

thing that's happening right now.

Nathan:

And eventually, it probably will turn around at some point.

Nathan:

They will figure out, they'll crack the code, and hopefully, Hopefully

Nathan:

people will return or they'll figure out a way to get people back in.

Nathan:

But right now people are not going to the theater for one reason or another.

Nathan:

I have theories about the, the window that movies are coming

Nathan:

to streaming and VOD so fast.

Nathan:

That's one of my thoughts on it.

Nathan:

But I hope that Hollywood doesn't think like, Oh, no more Mad Max

Nathan:

movies because nobody's going out.

Nathan:

It's more, it's bigger than that.

Bee:

And if we choose movies that are going to be bellwethers, maybe we don't

Bee:

choose the legacy prequel nine years later with none of the original stars.

Bee:

Yeah.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

It's, it's I feel like it's a marketing thing too.

Sam:

And I also think there's this saying going around in in Hollywood and movie

Sam:

theaters called survive till 25 because of the writer's strike, all the movies have

Sam:

shifted, you know, big titles in the 2025.

Sam:

But I do think that This has been a trend this month in May, but I also

Sam:

think it has to do with the titles, just the movies themselves, like

Sam:

maybe people were less interested.

Sam:

I do think this, this box office of this summer will improve.

Sam:

And I, it's, I can understand if people disagree, but I think I have a feeling Bad

Sam:

Boys, Ride or Die is going to open well.

Sam:

I'm just talking box office.

Sam:

I think it could be.

Sam:

I think it could do that.

Sam:

And then a quiet place year one, I see hope for this summer.

Sam:

So I don't think it's all doom and gloom, but I'm always an optimist.

Sam:

We'll see.

Sam:

Time will

Nathan:

tell.

Nathan:

Maybe when we get to our June wrap up, we can look back and see what happens.

Nathan:

Well, let's get awards to proletives for the Mad Max franchise.

Nathan:

And I, my apologies.

Nathan:

I recycled some of our categories from last month when we did our

Nathan:

Christopher Nolan Retrospective, but I think there's some fun ones in here.

Nathan:

We can kind of see as we go, but I think obvious one we have to do is best villain.

Nathan:

No,

Nathan:

it doesn't have to be the main villain.

Nathan:

It can be any of the villains on that from this franchise.

Nathan:

No,

Nathan:

it's good here.

Nathan:

Who would like to begin?

Nathan:

We just, we just rock, paper, scissors this.

Nathan:

I don't care who begins.

Sam:

I think B would like to begin, right?

Sam:

B

Bee:

I would thanks, Sam.

Bee:

I.

Bee:

You've heard me say for the last like four or five shows that I think the

Bee:

this franchise has a villain problem That being said I love toe cutter.

Bee:

I really like I never got over toe cutter But Dementus came Pretty close.

Bee:

Mm.

Bee:

Sam!

Sam:

So, and, and, and forgive me, I'm a complete moron because I've been running

Sam:

around today, but I forgot the rules.

Sam:

Does that mean that I can't pick, pick the same villain now?

Sam:

No, this isn't, this isn't, this isn't

Nathan:

a draft, no.

Nathan:

Okay,

Sam:

gotcha.

Sam:

No, you can, no

Bee:

rules.

Sam:

There's no, wow.

Sam:

No rules.

Sam:

What would the world be like?

Sam:

What would the world be like?

Sam:

No, so I, I gotta be honest.

Sam:

It has to be Toecutter for me as well, because So good.

Sam:

It's just his presence, and then one of my favorite lines in all the Mad Maxes

Sam:

with his sarcasm, where he's like, Ugh!

Sam:

I hate guns!

Sam:

And just, the way he delivers that is like, perfect, bad guy, like, he, and

Sam:

I will, I mean, I really like the, I do like the villains in, in The Road

Sam:

Warrior, but I just think Toe Cutter, he's more of a mythic place for me.

Nathan:

Mm hmm.

Nathan:

Well, I'm, we're gonna go three for three here.

Nathan:

I also like Toe Cutter.

Nathan:

Runner up, though, was

Nathan:

Hughie's

Nathan:

other Mad Max villain, Morton Joe, who I think is terrific.

Nathan:

I think Tina, I think Tina Turner is a weak character.

Nathan:

Lord Humongous and Wes look cool, but there's not much to their characters.

Nathan:

And I've already said last week that I think Dementus character I thought

Nathan:

would have been stronger if he was a little bit more of an enigma.

Nathan:

But I gotta stick with the OG, Toe Cutter, because he's so theatrical and

Nathan:

enigmatic and he's just full of chaos.

Bee:

And I

Nathan:

think he's the scariest of them all because he's just so unpredictable.

Nathan:

And

Bee:

he feels so real when he goes after the wife's ice cream.

Bee:

That for me is the moment from the original Mad Max that

Bee:

sticks in my mind so clearly.

Sam:

Yes.

Sam:

He's scary too.

Sam:

He's like a real life, like, like, like psychopath or

Sam:

like, I just said, like, very,

Nathan:

he's also rooted in the real world.

Nathan:

This is not, this is before the apocalypse.

Nathan:

So that's what kind of makes him scary.

Nathan:

Cause this guy exists in a world that we kind of, Live in to some degree, you

Sam:

know, Relatable terror.

Sam:

Yeah, exactly.

Bee:

In a bar somewhere.

Bee:

And there's a woman covering her drink.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

We let's move on to our next category.

Nathan:

I think we can all agree.

Nathan:

This is a good one.

Nathan:

Best vehicle.

Nathan:

And this could be anything that flies or drives.

Bee:

The gyrocopter.

Bee:

It's not even a question.

Bee:

What are we, what are we doing?

Bee:

It's the gyrocopter.

Nathan:

Gyrocopter.

Nathan:

Okay.

Sam:

Sam.

Sam:

You look.

Sam:

So I got to say, you know, I'm so my, my answer surprises me because

Sam:

usually I would go for like you know, something from like the earlier films,

Sam:

but I got to say specifically in Fury Road and excuse me, Fury Road.

Sam:

I like

Nathan:

Fury Road.

Nathan:

Fury

Sam:

Road.

Sam:

I like it.

Nathan:

Or

Sam:

how about Fury Ode Suh.

Sam:

Oh, I'm sorry.

Sam:

Hey, I still got it.

Sam:

No,

Sam:

I would definitely have to go with the War Rig in Fury Road because

Sam:

we spend so much time with it and it's one of the vehicles that lasts

Sam:

a surprising amount of time and does not get destroyed as is often the case

Sam:

with a lot of vehicles in these films.

Sam:

And you get to just see how it's operated and like Charlize Theron's like trick

Sam:

for starting it and it's just, it's, I just feel like I've been on a adventure.

Sam:

I've been with that vehicle more than others, even though I love many of them.

Sam:

It's a tough choice, but I have to say that.

Bee:

I liked in Furiosa how we learned a little bit more about how it was designed.

Bee:

You know, the practicality of what went where I thought that was cool too.

Nathan:

Good pick, Sam.

Nathan:

Cause I also went with that, but you know, I will mention, of course I

Nathan:

had to go with the pursuit special.

Nathan:

Mad Max's car because if there ever was a vehicle in the series that, I don't know.

Nathan:

I think it's just, it's not featured enough.

Nathan:

I wanted more from it, but you know, the, the Warwick has its own personality and

Nathan:

I feel that that truck is just a beast.

Nathan:

And hearing your story from a few weeks ago, Sam, where they, there's

Nathan:

Moby Dick references to that, where there's whale sounds added to it

Nathan:

and made me love it even more.

Nathan:

I'm in awe of the, the war rig.

Sam:

If we ever get the Wasteland movie, maybe that could be Mad Max's,

Sam:

like, car survives all of the film.

Sam:

Cause that would be great.

Sam:

You know, it's been a while if we ever get to it.

Sam:

I don't know.

Sam:

I I'm optimist.

Sam:

I'm forever an optimist.

Nathan:

Okay.

Nathan:

So.

Nathan:

This is where I kind of recycled some of our awards from the past month,

Nathan:

and, but I have our We just kind of

Bee:

liked it.

Nathan:

Our sidekick award.

Nathan:

What character would you want to go into battle with?

Bee:

Charlize's Furiosa.

Nathan:

Furiosa.

Nathan:

Okay.

Nathan:

We'll just leave it at that.

Nathan:

Okay.

Nathan:

That's fine.

Nathan:

No explanation needed.

Nathan:

Sam.

Bee:

Yeah.

Bee:

I mean, she's badass.

Sam:

Oh my God.

Sam:

I don't know how to, you know, I'll be honest.

Sam:

Sometimes you just don't think, you know, the first thing that came to my head

Sam:

right away, I got to say the gyro captain.

Sam:

Because he might not be like the strongest, but he's like clever

Sam:

and he throws snakes at people.

Sam:

So like, yeah, you know, he'd be cheerful about it.

Sam:

Like if we were going to die, he'd be like, still be smiling

Sam:

and that would help, you know?

Sam:

But it's, I don't know.

Sam:

It was a tough choice, but yeah.

Sam:

He would bring

Bee:

some levity to the team.

Sam:

Yes.

Sam:

Exactly.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

This is, this is a tough choice.

Nathan:

I'm going a little unconventional.

Nathan:

I'm going with a character that we did not talk about.

Nathan:

Enough last week.

Bee:

Are you going to say Nux?

Nathan:

No, but I was incredibly impressed with the skills of a

Nathan:

character named Mary Jibasa, Furiosa's mother from Furiosa Mad Max Saga.

Nathan:

Yeah, I know I sort of shit on this movie a little bit, but it's been

Nathan:

growing on me the more I think about it.

Nathan:

And there's so many incredible characters in this film, but one of

Nathan:

those standouts was Furiosa's mom.

Nathan:

So much that.

Nathan:

I wouldn't even mind a movie about her character.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Now, I know that will probably never happen based on the box office, but maybe

Nathan:

a limited series would be really cool.

Nathan:

I don't know.

Nathan:

Anyways, Like I said,

Bee:

that opening chase, I think is one of the more interesting Mad Max chases.

Sam:

That opening chase, I, is like my favorite.

Sam:

I just love it.

Sam:

My favorite in the whole film, I think.

Sam:

Yeah, I loved it.

Nathan:

But Mary Jabasa Fioris mom could kick all our asses.

Nathan:

She's incredible.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Next, this I'm calling the Wingman Wingwoman Award, and this is

Nathan:

an award, but what character would you want to be your, your wingman on a date?

Bee:

That's a really good question.

Bee:

Wingman on a date that I probably would have to go, no,

Bee:

no, I'm not going to do that.

Bee:

I was going to say gyro captain, but no, I'm not going to do that.

Bee:

Nux.

Bee:

You know why?

Bee:

Because I think Nux is like.

Bee:

He just, he just is so devout and loyal, and he really like, he's someone who, who

Bee:

quickly evangelizes sort of whatever side he's on, so I can see him really talking

Bee:

me up to, to whomever I need him to.

Nathan:

I like that.

Sam:

I'm going to have to go in a slightly comedic direction and say

Sam:

master blaster, because I think it would be wondrous fun if like they were my

Sam:

wingman at a bar and like master was shouting like, Sam, go talk to her.

Sam:

She nice.

Sam:

Go talk now.

Sam:

I'd be like, I'd be like, okay, this is amusing.

Sam:

So maybe not the best choice in the world, but like.

Sam:

Master blaster.

Nathan:

I'd be worried he'd, he might scare off some, some of the ladies.

Nathan:

I don't know.

Nathan:

That's

Sam:

the thing.

Sam:

It would, it would be kind of a problem, but it would be, it would

Sam:

certainly be a memorable evening.

Sam:

Well, you know,

Bee:

if someone's stuck around, that's a real one.

Bee:

Yeah.

Bee:

Yeah.

Nathan:

For me, no doubt.

Nathan:

I, I, I bring Goose along from the first Mad Max film.

Nathan:

He's, he's funny.

Nathan:

Outgoing.

Nathan:

He probably tells some great jokes.

Nathan:

I can really picture a fun night out on the town with Goose.

Nathan:

Goose.

Nathan:

Goose.

Nathan:

And he'd definitely buy a couple rounds of drinks, for sure.

Bee:

Goose is

Sam:

a great, Goose is awesome, yes.

Sam:

Yeah.

Bee:

That's a good choice.

Sam:

That's a realistic choice.

Sam:

I, I, I yeah.

Sam:

I was, I was going for the laugh on that one.

Sam:

That one I want to

Bee:

redo.

Bee:

I don't know how to be funny.

Bee:

I'm

Nathan:

sorry.

Nathan:

Alright, this is kind of a serious one here.

Nathan:

This is kind of an award for a good performance, a little underrated here.

Nathan:

Who is the, the secret, we're giving this one to the It's

Nathan:

called the Scene Stealer Award.

Nathan:

And this is wide open because there's so many performances

Nathan:

in here that this could go to.

Nathan:

So it's, it's just somebody who steals the scene in any of these

Nathan:

movies here that doesn't maybe get the appropriate recognition.

Bee:

Yeah, actually, Nathan, for this, I had Furios's mother.

Nathan:

Yeah,

Bee:

I mean, just such a powerful performance.

Bee:

One of my favorite, most innovative chase sequences we've seen.

Bee:

Total dedication.

Bee:

And, and she, to me, sort of captures the energy of Charlize Theron's

Bee:

Furiosa more than Anya Taylor Joyce.

Bee:

So, huge fan.

Bee:

All

Sam:

right.

Sam:

Sam, what do you got?

Sam:

Oh my God.

Sam:

Well, you know, the problem is, and he might not be enough of a A

Sam:

character because he never speaks, but like, he is a scene stealer.

Sam:

I'm talking about the guitar guy, the Duke warrior.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

I just, because like, he's a scene stealer, but like he's, you know,

Sam:

we don't know this character, but it's like, it's like the epitome

Sam:

of like, what Mad Max is all about.

Sam:

I love

Nathan:

it.

Nathan:

Good pick.

Nathan:

Good pick.

Nathan:

Mind Stealer Award goes to Wes from The Road Warrior.

Nathan:

And I almost gave this to the gyro captain, but The Road

Nathan:

Warrior is a very dour film.

Nathan:

And even the color palette is quite muted, you know, tans and browns.

Nathan:

We didn't get the lush colors of these later, until these later

Nathan:

movies, but there's one big thing.

Nathan:

Beacon of insanity in this, in this film, and it's in the form of this character,

Nathan:

which looks like a rooster on crack with that blood red Mohawk he dons.

Nathan:

And every time Wes is on screen, he knows something completely

Nathan:

unhinged is going to happen.

Nathan:

And he is my Steen Steeler because I love every moment that he's on screen.

Bee:

You know, this is such a hard category for these films

Bee:

because every character, no matter how small is really fleshed out.

Bee:

Like I think of Road Warrior, I think of the Golden Youth.

Bee:

Oh yeah.

Sam:

Just

Bee:

that random pretty boy.

Sam:

There's 000 good scene stealer options in this, in this franchise.

Sam:

Like

Bee:

there's so many.

Bee:

It's the every frame of painting of good characters.

Bee:

Yes.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

I'm going to, for time's sake, I'm going to jump ahead here.

Nathan:

I'm going to, this award I'm coining, we probably could think of a more PG

Nathan:

name for this award, but I'm calling it the most fuck yeah moment award.

Nathan:

I like that.

Nathan:

Yes.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

Let's just

Nathan:

keep it at that.

Nathan:

So I think this speaks for itself.

Nathan:

If you've seen these movies, you know what we're talking about.

Bee:

Okay.

Bee:

So I kind of have a tie, but they're very different kinds of fuck yes.

Bee:

And I couldn't decide.

Bee:

So maybe you two can help me here.

Bee:

I know.

Bee:

This is kind of cheating.

Bee:

This is a bit of a cop out, but I really couldn't pick.

Bee:

So my first one is Toe Cutter's death in the original Mad Max, the bulging eyes.

Bee:

That's the first time we really see that camera technique.

Bee:

I love that scene.

Bee:

It's, you know, in a movie that I think can lull a little bit.

Bee:

It's awesome.

Bee:

But in my heart of hearts, I think it's the, the sandstorm scene.

Bee:

In Fury Road,

Bee:

I

Bee:

think that's the one like, and when I think of the epicness of this

Bee:

franchise, you know, I want to pay homage to, to the older films, but

Bee:

God, Fury Road, such a masterpiece.

Nathan:

Yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's go with your heart.

Nathan:

You know, it sounds like you already know, but

Bee:

fine.

Bee:

All right.

Bee:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Okay.

Nathan:

I think that's the sandstorm.

Nathan:

All

Nathan:

right.

Nathan:

Sam, what's your fuck yeah moment?

Sam:

I gotta be honest, there is one of well, there's many in

Sam:

Fury Road, and it is awesome.

Sam:

But, but the ultimate choice I have to make I have to go back to, I got to

Sam:

say for me, even though there are much higher Octane action moments and much

Sam:

more fast paced, like wow factor moments.

Sam:

I love the huge helicopter shot of the whole road chase taking

Sam:

place in the road warrior.

Sam:

When you see the gyro like captain in the sky as well, that just pullback moment of

Sam:

that chase, all those vehicles are there.

Sam:

There's no augmentation.

Sam:

It's just like, that's pure cinema to me.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

And that's, it was a tough choice because Fury road, like.

Sam:

It's like, my God, you know, like the whole movie is a fuck.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

Movie.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Sam, I, I agree with you a hundred percent.

Nathan:

That's my runner up.

Nathan:

I'm going to one up you because mine is a similar shot from fury road.

Nathan:

I knew, I knew you were,

Sam:

I knew you were going to one up.

Sam:

I knew it was going to happen.

Sam:

And it's the way of the force that the force wills it.

Sam:

Yeah.

Nathan:

I mentioned this on free road.

Nathan:

I literally stood up in my seat and screamed out when excitement, when I

Nathan:

saw the war party for the first time.

Nathan:

Beating their drums, going off to catch the war rig, and we sweep over

Nathan:

the war boys and the drums, and we settle to reveal the doof warrior

Nathan:

playing the flamethrowing double bass and framing it perfectly as

Nathan:

the war party is seen behind them.

Nathan:

There's actually one of those car transport vehicles off in

Nathan:

the distance with more of the war party sitting on that, riding that.

Nathan:

And that's like the thought.

Nathan:

And the composition of, of all of this is incredible.

Nathan:

And I actually shouted in the theater when I saw this shot, I'm like this.

Nathan:

Is incredible.

Nathan:

This is what Mad Max is to me, that's the whole franchise in a nutshell.

Nathan:

Just the, the, the balls on this movie to, to give me that shot is, is incredible.

Nathan:

So that is, that is my award for that.

Sam:

That is epic.

Sam:

I could, that's like, yes, that's, it is incredible.

Sam:

Oh, man.

Sam:

Incredible.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

So,

Nathan:

And we have, I have one last one.

Nathan:

We probably should have ended it with that.

Nathan:

And maybe I'll swap these up in post, but I kind of like this award because it's a,

Nathan:

this movie has so many incredible stunts.

Nathan:

And I think we need to have an award for that.

Nathan:

Now we could say like best stunt, but I want to call this someone

Nathan:

should have died on the set award.

Nathan:

And it could be your interpretation of the best stunt.

Nathan:

Or it could be it may, yeah, it could be the best stunt or just like the most

Nathan:

outlandish, you know, where someone actually could have, should have died from

Nathan:

the stunt, but just submit to me what you think is something that just needs to be

Nathan:

recognized for a stunt from the series.

Bee:

You know, for me they, Trying to remember, like, one stunt is hard,

Bee:

because there's

Bee:

like a thousand stunts in these movies.

Bee:

So I kind of was just thinking the whole first movie.

Bee:

I mean, going back and watching the documentary of how the original was

Bee:

made, it's astounding that nobody was hurt, but I think especially

Bee:

all those motorcycle stunts.

Bee:

That happened in the other ones, the jumps, the crashes into

Bee:

the, into the big cars where you see them sort of break away.

Bee:

Those breakaway stunts, geez Louise.

Nathan:

Absolutely.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Anything you want to submit Sam?

Sam:

I, you know, it's like in terms of like danger level and like most

Sam:

spectacular, like life threatening stunt.

Sam:

I don't know if this would be the one, cause they were really well

Sam:

organized, but I got to say the, the like pole vaulting in fury road when

Sam:

they're like, you know, jumping, like literally jumping onto the truck.

Sam:

Yeah, it's just.

Sam:

Amazing.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

And I would say I had a hate to like a close second that the one I almost picked

Sam:

is just the when like motorcycles like are coming down the hill and fury road and

Sam:

they like literally jump over the truck.

Sam:

Like, I don't know if that's augmented, but it's just, it's amazing.

Nathan:

I'm also going with the pole cat, Sam, you know, there are a lot

Nathan:

of options for this, but I went with that because, you know, there, he

Nathan:

could have done that digitally, but practically, those are real stunt men.

Nathan:

Pull vaulting from cars onto the war rig, which is incredible.

Nathan:

And I'm sure there is some augmentation here and there.

Nathan:

I mean, they probably weren't going super fast doing this,

Nathan:

but they are really doing that.

Nathan:

So yeah, it doesn't matter.

Nathan:

It is incredible.

Nathan:

Yeah, it is

Sam:

amazing.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

So quickly we're, that is our awards.

Nathan:

I want us to rank the franchise.

Nathan:

And Bea, let's start with you.

Bee:

Okay, so number one, I have to go with Fury Road.

Bee:

I just think it's, it's a perfect movie.

Bee:

I could watch it over and over and over again.

Bee:

And I have after that, I go for Road Warrior.

Bee:

Yep.

Bee:

Then probably the, probably the original Mad Max 3rd.

Bee:

Then Furiosa, and then Thunderdome.

Bee:

But Thunderdome's good, like, that's, you know, last place, but like,

Bee:

it's a pretty good movie, you know?

Bee:

It's fine.

Nathan:

Sam, give us your five.

Sam:

So, my five would be, number one, for me, just cause the experience of excuse

Sam:

me, the experience of first watching it as a kid number one would be Road Warrior.

Sam:

Hmm.

Sam:

Two would definitely be Fury Road.

Sam:

Three would would be Mad Max, the original.

Sam:

'cause that movie's just what it created is so classic and amazing.

Sam:

Fourth would definitely be fur, a Mad Max Saga, and fifth

Sam:

would be Beyond Thunderdome.

Sam:

And I, I like beyond Thunderdome, but like of those five, it's definitely the, yeah.

Sam:

The weakest.

Sam:

Yeah.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

And for me is number one is Mad Max Fury Road followed by two,

Nathan:

the road warrior three is Furiosa Mad Max that did slide into three.

Nathan:

And I know that it was kind of down on a little bit, but as if you recall from

Nathan:

our early episodes, I wasn't, you know, completely sold on the first Mad Max.

Nathan:

I thought there was some production problems with it.

Nathan:

And I was, I, you know, it is good, but I don't love it.

Nathan:

Mad Max was fourth and of course, Beyond Thunderdome fifth.

Nathan:

So I actually don't love Thunderdome.

Nathan:

I, I, I think I gave that like a two and a half.

Nathan:

I was pretty low on it.

Nathan:

That's okay.

Nathan:

Yeah, it's okay.

Nathan:

I,

Sam:

Remember you know, no, I'm not remember, but I was going to say that,

Sam:

like, I have a feeling that Fury Road, I mean, excuse me, Furiosa might go

Sam:

up on my list, like with a second viewing, like, because it is, I'd rather

Sam:

watch it than the first Mad Max 79.

Sam:

It's just cause it's so classic.

Sam:

It's hard to, it's like those movies may oscillate.

Nathan:

All right, so we've done our ranking, we've done our awards.

Nathan:

I know I want to get to some other things before we're done,

Nathan:

but any final thoughts on this?

Nathan:

I mean, maybe, maybe we should just put a bow on this and we're done.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Sam:

I enjoy Mad Max films.

Nathan:

Okay.

Bee:

Big movies.

Bee:

Yeah.

Bee:

I like them.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

I, I do hope that this is not the end.

Nathan:

I do hope that we get to see more and, but we shall see.

Nathan:

It's

Bee:

really interesting that this is what broke out of Australian new wave

Bee:

cinema and, and that of everything that came out of the country at that time.

Bee:

This is.

Bee:

The thing that became the sensation.

Bee:

I'm, I'm grateful for that.

Nathan:

I think the one thing that we really touched on lightly, but not

Nathan:

that much is how influential the, these early movies were, we, you know, the,

Nathan:

the, the action in these it really sets the tone for a lot of films,

Nathan:

action in the eighties that Hollywood was trying to duplicate and not always

Nathan:

successfully, but as you can see, you, you watched a lot of Australian new wave.

Nathan:

So

Bee:

power through a lot of that.

Bee:

It's not, but what's, what's interesting is we talk about it in the context

Bee:

of its influence over Hollywood, but really Australian new wave was

Bee:

reinvigorating Australian's love for old Hollywood that sort of people weren't

Bee:

seeing those movies come out anymore.

Bee:

So in the context of that wave of cinema, you know, we talk about George

Bee:

Miller, this one kind of sounds like it's kind of seems like a silent film.

Bee:

This one seems like it could be sort of a Western.

Bee:

That's the wave of cinema that they were doing.

Bee:

They were emulating all those films that they, that people stopped making.

Sam:

Agreed.

Sam:

And Furiosa definitely had that like, Coming of age, epic vibe where

Sam:

it's like, this is like, like a saga for like through time, a saga film.

Sam:

I like that, which I think

Bee:

speaks to how timeless those storytelling techniques are when we

Bee:

think about film as a movement and its influences, we can always go back

Bee:

to these ways of telling story and trust that they're going to live on.

Nathan:

Great.

Nathan:

Well, let's put a bow and a bow on.

Nathan:

Our Mad Max retrospective.

Nathan:

That was, that was a fun month,

Nathan:

but we are going to be

Nathan:

transitioning into the month of June where we are going to be featuring

Nathan:

our subject is June pride, and we're going to be getting to that soon, but before we

Nathan:

do that, we're going to just transition to movie musings, where we're going to just

Nathan:

talk a little bit about some of the things that we've been watching the past month.

Nathan:

And I, hi.

Nathan:

I will, I high highlight a few things that I want to talk about.

Nathan:

We don't have a lot of time tonight, but who would like to begin?

Nathan:

I can begin first, or me or Sam.

Nathan:

Go for it.

Nathan:

Nate, I'll jump first because there, there's three things I want to mention.

Nathan:

I did a rewatch of Rosemary's Baby.

Nathan:

I haven't seen this movie in ages.

Nathan:

Have you guys seen this?

Bee:

Yeah, I rewatched it a couple years ago.

Bee:

I'm super interested to hear what you have to say about this.

Bee:

I don't have thought I, I've seen the film.

Bee:

If you

Sam:

can believe

Nathan:

it, I've gotta see it.

Nathan:

I saw this movie in the mid nineties in college, and my expectations of

Nathan:

this movie were something that this movie is not, I thought this was

Nathan:

supposed to be some like horror movie.

Nathan:

All like The Exorcist with, right.

Nathan:

It's like, but it's, this is really psychological horror.

Nathan:

So I went into this with fresh eyes.

Nathan:

And it made a world of difference.

Nathan:

I, the basic plot, if anyone out there does not know Mia Farrow

Nathan:

as a wife, she's married to John Casavetes and they move into upscale

Nathan:

neighborhood in the Upper West Side.

Nathan:

I'm sure most listeners know the premise, but if not, I don't want

Nathan:

to spoil too much of this, but.

Nathan:

What is a 55 year old movie, so who knows.

Nathan:

Anyways, what this movie really isn't, it's not so much a horror movie in the

Nathan:

traditional sense, but a critique on the oppression and the manipulation

Nathan:

of women, particularly in the context of reproductive rights, which I never

Nathan:

really Thought about ever, you know, when I, when I watched this the first time,

Bee:

kind of the way that the exorcist, which you just brought

Bee:

up as a critique of mental health.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Much of the subtext went right over my head.

Nathan:

The first time I watched this back in my early twenties and seeing this now,

Nathan:

especially with the current climate with what's happening with Roe v.

Nathan:

Wade, this film, I think is even more prescient than ever.

Nathan:

So I'm thankful I got to revisit this because now I kind of

Nathan:

understand why it's considered one of the greatest films of all time.

Nathan:

I had a really good time watching this.

Nathan:

It really made me think a lot.

Nathan:

So there's a lot of things I want to talk about tonight, but I, I really

Nathan:

loved this movie now seeing it.

Nathan:

Appropriately.

Nathan:

And I got to see this in in on a Blu ray as well, which I think I saw this

Nathan:

probably on cable in the nineties.

Nathan:

So this looked really good.

Nathan:

It was, I, I brought, I took it out of my library.

Nathan:

There's, they have a, they have a criterion version of it, so I

Nathan:

got to see all the documentaries that came with it and stuff.

Nathan:

So it's really, really cool.

Nathan:

John

Bee:

Cassavetes deserves to be seen in high resolution.

Nathan:

And I'll go again, but anyone else have something they want to mention?

Bee:

Totally different vibes to Rosemary's Baby.

Bee:

I went to the theater this week and I saw Babes, which was super fun.

Bee:

It's like the

Nathan:

Babe, right?

Bee:

The Babe.

Bee:

That's right.

Bee:

That's exactly what it was.

Bee:

No, you know, it's, it's good to see just an out and out comedy in the theaters.

Bee:

It kind of was reminiscent of bridesmaids for me, which I'm

Bee:

sure that's floating around a lot.

Bee:

I haven't read a lot of the reviews on this film yet.

Bee:

You know, is this like a perfect movie?

Bee:

No, it's just a good movie to go.

Bee:

Good Tuesday night movie.

Bee:

You know, just go see it, go hang out.

Bee:

It was funny.

Bee:

I really like Alana Glazier.

Bee:

I think she's awesome.

Bee:

So I was glad to see it.

Bee:

Yeah, fun, fun time.

Bee:

Awesome.

Bee:

Cool.

Sam:

So I because it was the 25th anniversary of The Phantom

Sam:

Menace, which I can't believe that that much time has passed.

Sam:

I went and saw that and I honestly, I really had the same reaction that

Sam:

I did to the film the first time.

Sam:

I feel it's like overstuffed with like, Early CGI, some of which is good, some

Sam:

of which isn't, the dialogue is kind of dull, but I do see George Lucas interest

Sam:

in like, geopolitical situations and how like, the Senate can be manipulated,

Sam:

and he's really interested in that, but he focuses more on that than the

Sam:

storytelling I must say that, I, it does have two excellent, like, set pieces

Sam:

from Star Wars Lords, the pod race as well as the battle with Darth Maul,

Sam:

and Obi Wan at the end of the film.

Sam:

So those are always going to be amazing to me.

Sam:

I actually like Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith more.

Sam:

I prefer those films, but I will say lastly, the funnest part of

Sam:

going back to see the movie was not necessarily the movie itself, but

Sam:

it, it brought back so many memories of 1999 that I hadn't thought about.

Sam:

And so I was like, Oh, I remember seeing this at that age.

Sam:

There was a nostalgia factor.

Sam:

So it was fun.

Sam:

I'm glad I went and saw it.

Nathan:

Great.

Nathan:

Great.

Nathan:

I are all three prequels coming to the theater or did

Nathan:

they already come in and out?

Nathan:

I thought

Sam:

they've been like they've come in and out a lot, but I think they'll

Sam:

probably do like, so the 25th anniversary for attack of the clones will be

Sam:

like, you know, two years from now.

Sam:

And then for wrench, this is like, I'm sure they'll have it for everyone.

Sam:

I thought I read that

Nathan:

all three of them were coming out, like one after the other, this This spring

Nathan:

or fall this summer or something, if they

Sam:

are, that'd be great.

Sam:

I would prefer to see the other two.

Sam:

Yeah.

Sam:

I mean, I haven't, I don't know.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

I'll mention another thing that I saw.

Nathan:

This might be spoiling our mid year top five, but there's always a chance

Nathan:

that things could be shuffled around.

Nathan:

But right now, this is my favorite film of the year.

Nathan:

It is love lies, bleeding rose glass.

Nathan:

It has its roots.

Nathan:

Deeply, I think, in the Coen brothers aesthetic have you all

Nathan:

heard the theory that all of their films are in a shared universe?

Bee:

Yes.

Bee:

Okay.

Nathan:

It's, I, I, I feel like this is only internet theory and

Nathan:

the Coens have never confirmed this.

Nathan:

Right.

Nathan:

But I personally would like, I, I buy into this.

Nathan:

If that's a true fact, Love Lies Bleeding feels like it could share

Nathan:

that universe, possibly living adjacently to the events happening a

Nathan:

few towns over from what's happening in Raising Arizona or Blood Simple.

Nathan:

This stars Kristen Stewart, who I think is perfect in this

Nathan:

film, And who else is in this?

Nathan:

I forget the other actresses name.

Nathan:

Well, anyways, so one day, yeah, I think she is going to get the

Nathan:

recognition she deserves, but also Katie O'Brien is also terrific in this

Nathan:

and the supporting cast and Harris, Dave Franco, Jenna Malone's in this.

Nathan:

A few months ago one of my most anticipated movies, of the year really

Nathan:

disappointed me, driveway dolls.

Nathan:

And this feels like it's, you know, every couple of years is like the

Nathan:

doppelganger film that comes out.

Nathan:

This is the much better film about a female couple who are on their

Nathan:

road trip and they get in over the head in the world of crime.

Nathan:

Highest of recommendations.

Nathan:

I love this movie.

Nathan:

This probably will definitely be on my top 10 list at the end of the year.

Nathan:

I love this film.

Bee:

I have heard so much about this film and I haven't seen it yet.

Bee:

And I don't know what's taking me so long.

Bee:

I love Kristen Stewart.

Bee:

It sounds right up my street.

Bee:

I got, I got to get to it, man.

Bee:

This is the motivation I need.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Nathan:

Instead, I

Bee:

watched Jim Henson's Idea Man and it was tepid, fine.

Bee:

It's good to watch, you know, footage of Jim Henson and his kids.

Bee:

I like that they shone such a light on their mom's work

Bee:

and how instrumental she was.

Bee:

They really glossed over the Disney stuff.

Bee:

It was fine.

Bee:

It's fine.

Bee:

Okay.

Sam:

I, damn, I'm really excited about that.

Sam:

I was hoping for more but I'll have to watch it.

Sam:

I'm, I'm hearing some, I love, I mean, I love Jim Henson, but yeah.

Bee:

Me too.

Bee:

I, I'm a huge Jim Henson fan and I think you know, it's just, it's nice to sort

Bee:

of watch a, a compilation of his work.

Bee:

So I think if you go into it with that expectation as opposed to like

Bee:

a, a really great toothy documentary, you're not going to get that.

Nathan:

Right.

Nathan:

Sam, any, anything else you want to mention?

Nathan:

Thank you.

Sam:

So top five, you mean, or

Nathan:

no, no, no, just anything in the month of May.

Sam:

In the, God, I saw nothing.

Sam:

In fact, I feel like I represent the average movie goer.

Sam:

Cause I just didn't,

Nathan:

according to Hollywood reporter, I think you're supposed to watch what was it

Nathan:

supposed to be like two movies of a month in order to support the industry, right?

Nathan:

No one or something like that or no 12.

Nathan:

I forget there's a report and how many movies the average adult person should

Nathan:

watch a year to support the industry.

Nathan:

And it doesn't seem like it's a lot, but maybe if you think about it, it is.

Nathan:

Yeah.

Sam:

I mean, I saw Fury Road and I thought about seeing if, then I was

Sam:

like, I actually do really want to see kingdom of the planet of the apes.

Sam:

That's the one that's actually of those films.

Sam:

That's like the most robust box office in May.

Sam:

And like, it got decent reviews and like, I will see, I'm going to

Sam:

get to the theater and see that.

Sam:

Yeah, but

Sam:

I've missed the fall guy.

Sam:

I'm sure it looked good, but I, Hey, it's probably already streaming.

Sam:

Yeah.

Bee:

I saw, I saw I think 25 movies this month, but they,

Bee:

they weren't all in theater.

Bee:

So I don't know if that counts.

Bee:

I, a lot of them were Osploitation, Australian new wave stuff.

Bee:

So if anybody wants some recommendations for those movies,

Bee:

hit me up, I've got letterbox lists.

Bee:

It was, some of them were a really good time.

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

I have one last thing I want to mention that I saw.

Nathan:

I So, late night with the devil.

Nathan:

This is a one of a kind movie.

Nathan:

It's, it's kind of a horror faux documentary found footage film,

Nathan:

but it's so much more than that.

Nathan:

I recommend everybody go out and seek this one out.

Nathan:

It stars one of our most awesome.

Nathan:

underused character actors, David Dastmalchian, who portrays a 1970s

Nathan:

late night talk show host, Jack Delroy.

Nathan:

Without spoiling anything, this entire movie is presented as if we're

Nathan:

watching a found footage, lost episode of one of his episodes of a show

Nathan:

called Night Owls with Jack Delroy.

Nathan:

This film is so good.

Nathan:

It's so good.

Nathan:

It's so original.

Nathan:

And I was really blown away and surprised by everything that happens in this film.

Nathan:

And I'm being intentionally vague because I think everyone just needs to see this.

Nathan:

I don't want to spoil the plot of this, but just trust me, this film is great.

Nathan:

David Dastmalchian needs more vehicles to showcase his talents.

Nathan:

It's on Shudder right now, and you can also, I think, get it on VOD.

Nathan:

Love him in

Bee:

Blade Runner 2049.

Nathan:

Yeah, he is so, he's, he's, he's great.

Nathan:

He needs, I don't know, he either needs a TV show or, or something.

Nathan:

Like, I don't know.

Nathan:

He's, he's really good.

Nathan:

So check this out.

Nathan:

Really is great.

Nathan:

That's it.

Nathan:

I saw a couple of other things.

Nathan:

Bea, I don't know if there's anything else you want to mention.

Bee:

I think we both saw Evil Does Not Exist.

Nathan:

Yes.

Nathan:

How did

Bee:

you feel?

Nathan:

Hmm.

Nathan:

I haven't really formulated my thought.

Nathan:

I mean, it was, it's, it's a slow meandering, but really beautiful film.

Nathan:

And, and I like the fact that it's going in one direction and then characters

Nathan:

who you think are just like minor characters end up being like the subject

Nathan:

and the main characters in the movie.

Nathan:

I And then it has, well, I don't want to spoil the ending of it, but I'm

Nathan:

really puzzled still what it means.

Nathan:

And I actually started researching online what the ending means,

Nathan:

and there are no answers.

Nathan:

And that kind of frustrated me that it's a movie that seems to be so rooted in.

Nathan:

And Grounded goes in a direction that is such a head scratching ending.

Bee:

See, I liked it because I thought the movie was, was

Bee:

very ethereal and dreamlike.

Bee:

And, and there's sort of this intangible quality about the ending, but I

Bee:

definitely left the theater a little unsatisfied in it and it grew on me.

Bee:

But again, I think Drive My Car is the better, the better movie.

Sam:

By the way, I totally forgot to mention this at the Beverly Cinema in

Sam:

in LA, this was in the month of May.

Sam:

I did see Clerks and Mallrats.

Sam:

They were headed to Devil's Features.

Sam:

So that was, yeah, that was fun.

Sam:

It was good revisiting them.

Bee:

That's a good name.

Sam:

And I know Clerks is the more like, well received like, you know, like,

Sam:

independent like, breakthrough film.

Sam:

But I do like the, I find mole rats very amusing.

Nathan:

Alright alright.

Nathan:

And also

Sam:

I saw a part of Die Hard with a Vengeance on AMC.

Sam:

But then I fell asleep, but it was good.

Bee:

And that's May, folks!

Sam:

I won't let you down, folks!

Bee:

Woo!

Nathan:

All right.

Nathan:

I think we are going to wrap it up there and stay tuned for

Nathan:

our June June pride episodes.

Nathan:

We are going to be coming in next Monday with our first episode,

Nathan:

which is the adventures of Priscilla queen of the desert with our

Nathan:

guest Rob Chrissy, who joined us.

Nathan:

So keep our eyes out for that and we'll see you next time.

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