Intro

SPEAKER_02 0:00

This week, we discussed two movies about crazy ass rich people, but neither of them are Asian.

SPEAKER_05 0:08

That's right. We're gonna be chatting about the new movie Stigger and Verity.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

And for TV, we'll be discussing the season one finale of Lanterns.

SPEAKER_05 0:20

Oh, what's this? I see a note in front of me. If you don't write your own jokes, you'll have to say this. Dig it? Verity cool. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

This is we should watch that episode 20.

Movie Review: Digger

SPEAKER_05 0:56

First up, we are talking about Digger, the new movie where Tom Cruise is once again dealing with a global catastrophe. Except this time, whoopsies, he caused it. It's directed by Alejandro Ineritu, the Oscar-winning director of Birdman and The Revenant. And it starts Cruz as Digger Rockwell, an insanely powerful and insanely weird oil tycoon who causes a global environmental catastrophe and then becomes convinced that he is the only guy who can fix it.

SPEAKER_04 1:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:32

Rizamed, Sandra Hewler, and Jod Goodman also starred. If you ever wanted to see Tom Cruise take some of that absolutely unhinged, Les Grossman energy from Tropic Thunder and sustain it for an entire movie, hey, Digger is here for you.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:49

So, Sush, what did you think of the film?

SPEAKER_02 1:53

Well, I've definitely been a longtime fan of Tom Cruise, mostly because my generation grew up with his movies and overall rise to stardom. So there's no doubt that I enjoy Mission Impossible franchise and other popular movies he starred in. But yeah, like you were saying, I think what I've been waiting to happen again, pretty much since his appearance as Les Grossman in Tropic Thunder, is for him to play some off-the-wall character, unlike most of the leading man hero archetypes he typically plays.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

So I was at least intrigued by this movie as early as spotting the posters that it had Tom Cruise in it.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

I think that was even months ahead of the announcement trailer, which pretty much got me on board. All that trailer pitched was a comedy starring Tom Cruise. All we get is him with old man makeup and hair on. He's wearing cowboy boots with athletic shorts and a button-up shirt dancing around with a shovel on what looks like an oil rig. What the fuck is going on, man? Given what I mentioned earlier about his role from Tropic Thunder and the promo for this movie being just so fucking weird from the start, I was pretty much on board right away. Later we caught the first main trailer where the movie is revealed as a satire where Cruz plays a rich, powerful, so old he and his cat both nearly are dead white man. Even going as far as to make him a classic oil baron archetype. Yeah, man. And he's dancing around with a shovel at one point. Yo, I'm there. I didn't even have to see the final trailer, but if you haven't seen the movie and maybe want a little bit more about the story, then I'd say it's worth checking out on Rotten Tomatoes or wherever else. Since I was already going to start off talking about Tom Cruise's performance, I might as well kick off my review of my experience actually seeing the movie with cast highlights. Hands down, Tom Cruise's Digger Rockwell is one of my favorite performances of his ever.

SPEAKER_04 4:07

Whoa.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Yeah, man. Aside from it being so unlike the characters he usually plays, it's just completely unserious. I mean, if you saw how his cat looked in the trailer, then you probably already have a pretty good idea how unserious this movie is. So with him being so over the top in an already unserious setting, it just makes it that much more of a standout. Now, there's a reason beyond how he played Digger that I have to say I also really thought was great, but unfortunately I can't elaborate beyond that because spoilers. Spoilers, man. John Goodman is President Thompson. I'd probably say the next most hilarious person on this cast is him. Like with Digger, we get a taste of how over the top his character is from the trailer, too. But aside from the example of how much emphasis he seems to put into the way he speaks, in general, I'm glad most of the moments of that character were kept out of the trailer because I was dying at one point.

SPEAKER_04 5:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

And he's having a private conversation with Digger early in the story, explaining some medical stuff.

SPEAKER_04 5:25

My God.

SPEAKER_02 5:29

Another actor who was hilarious for basically being a stereotype of a character in this movie. Even with the crazy joke of a world that this character exists in, the writers seem to manage to give this character some grounded moments that maybe provide a break from the absurdity which Rizumed delivers with just the right balance of earnestness and humor that you do notice them, but they don't keep you from continuing to laugh about how ridiculous everyone in the movie is. Definitely more notable actors in this movie I recognize that did a great job playing their characters, but to save time and prevent any spoilers, I guess I'll just list the rest of them off. Uh Sandra Hewler, Michael Stolberg, Jesse Flemmins, Robert John Burke, Emma Darcy, and uh Burr Gorman. Uh wouldn't be surprised if I forgot a few names though. Moving on to the writing and direction of this movie, while I haven't seen anything in Yartu as made prior to this. Oh, really? I'm aware of some of the movies he's made. But even with that context, I had no idea what to expect even after all the trailers had come out for this movie. So it's gonna be kind of hard since I can't even compare this to anything else he's done, and I have to really tread carefully to not spoil anything. What I can say, based on what's been revealed in the trailer, is that it is a satire that's trying to say something about wealth and power and how the riches often seem to have influence on world leaders and sometimes even world events.

SPEAKER_03 7:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:12

There's no mistake that's part of it. What I didn't expect is in the end, how much I kind of realized it wasn't about that and it seemed to be more about human nature, I guess. I don't want anyone to think this movie isn't funny because it absolutely is. Especially because all of the type of goofy shit that we get a glimpse of in the trailers, nearly everyone, and at times it seems like everything is just so over the top and exaggerated in both mannerisms or behaviors and even design that you really have to try hard to not have a good time.

SPEAKER_03 7:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:56

Like I said, I'd love to discuss this more, but I have a feeling we will, and some of the comment sections of the video clips will post about this from the podcast, but I can't really get into details. But if you're someone who can kind of push their personal and political beliefs aside for the duration of a movie, just so you can see it in full and then do the analysis afterwards, I would say it's worth it to do it for this movie.

SPEAKER_04 8:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:22

Last aspect of the movie I want to talk about, and probably the one that was most obvious and immediately noticeable from the trailer is the design. There's a real sense of theatricality that extends beyond the performances to the sets, prop design, costumes. So much so that I even have to say that in some of the scenes, the movements of the actors involved in them can pretty much be considered choreography.

SPEAKER_01 8:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Most of the design throughout this movie has this general sense of quirkiness and simplicity at more heightened times throughout the story. I think there's this exaggerated toy-like characteristic cross look of the movie. As far as sound goes, I didn't note and don't recall mentioning anything to you, Ashley, about the soundtrack or score after seeing this movie. But I think at least for what the filmmakers likely knew would be the focus of most viewers, which would be Tom Cruise's performance and just trying to figure out what the hell is going on. I think it made sense for sound design to kind of support the visual experience rather than drive any of the action or activity that was happening in the movie. So moving on to my ratings, I gave this a four for enjoyment.

SPEAKER_05 9:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:46

And a three and a half for quality. I ended up enjoying this movie more than I expected. While I felt pretty reassured that I'd have a great time seeing Tom Cruise play such a wild character due to my previous experience with Tropic Thunder for me. This movie ended up delivering more value and depth than I expected. Overall, I just loved how over the top and silly the characters and performances were. Regardless of any sort of messaging the viewer believes the movie might be trying to deliver. I don't think anyone should look past how ridiculously funny so many of the performances were. And some from actors known for only playing serious roles are typically. I think that's why I've actually been a bit disappointed at how strong some negative responses have been. Because it takes a lot for a movie to get me to want to walk out on it that quickly. But I'd just be surprised that anyone who actually sat and watched the entirety of this movie would also feel so strongly after the fact. If you're at least interested in checking out the movie yourself, for quality, I went half a point lower. Uh, even though I think the unexpected aspects of this movie were what ultimately led me to giving it such a high enjoyment score. I did find some of the techniques employed to be a bit extreme.

SPEAKER_05 11:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:29

Even so, I still couldn't deny how much care and detail is put in the design. Knowing how much more it could be potentially studied and scrutinized after seeing the movie as a whole. Beyond that, I also couldn't deny how amazing some of the performances were, especially from Tom Cruise. I mean, this is honestly one of the best non-action roles I've seen him in in recent memory. For me to say that about a role that was so rooted in comedy, I think is a pretty big compliment to him as somebody who doesn't really do comedy that much. So since I mentioned the movie and Cruz's character in it earlier, and because I did start to watch it the other night after you went to bed, I'm gonna recommend 2008's Tropic Thunder, starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., and Jack Black. Sure, it might be a bit more edgy and offensive than most comedies today, but I think it's another great satire movie where there's a lot of well-known actors playing really over-the-top comedic roles. Plus, Ashley, I love your story about seeing this with your parents and how quickly they decided against watching it.

SPEAKER_05 12:39

Well, it was my second try. First, I said, let's watch old school. That movie I forgot opens with an orgy. And then uh we switched over to Tropic Thunder, and it starts with the booty sweat commercial and then the gay priest commercial. So we ended up calling it a day after that.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Yeah, yeah, I I could see that happening. But yeah, what'd you think of Digger?

SPEAKER_05 13:04

Oh my god. Well, you know, honestly, for the first 40 minutes of Digger, I was basically making a mental list of everything that I thought was wrong with the movie. Um then a miracle. The movie explained basically every single thing on my list. Okay, the caveat here, I went into this one nervous. I really liked the initial trailer, but the more I saw it, the more I thought something is off about this thing. And, you know, I I don't always check out reviews, but I was curious for this one. And I noticed, ooh, okay, they are split right down the middle. And when you see on Rotten Tomatoes, for example, a 50%, that doesn't mean that a hundred percent of critics thought it was 50% good. It means that 50% liked it, 50% didn't. So I was a little nervous, and for a bit, honestly, as I was watching it, I thought I'd be in that second group who didn't like it. Um, the style is extremely heightened. I mean, almost grotesquely so the performances are huge, they're gigantic. The sets are theatrical, the humor wasn't really landing for me in the beginning. I'm like for Sush. I was so unmoored by trying to figure out what reality we were in that it was hard for me to let that humor hit. And then Tom Cruise, who I think can be incredibly effective as an actor, his performance didn't work for me at the beginning. I liked his sort of bravery and going big, but it was like there was something missing behind the eyes. I felt like his performance was getting lost in all the archness of everything around him. And listen, I can suspend disbelief. I love the Fast and Furious movies. Okay, I can forget the gravity exists, but this wasn't me going, well, that's unrealistic. It was that everything in the movie felt deliberately specifically wrong, and I couldn't figure out why. Even the fucking cat. Oh my god. If you've seen the trailer, you know this cat. This thing looks like oh my god, it's like an oozing zombie. It's even more grotesque in the movie. This thing is at death's door, and there are all these elaborate, bizarre ways that the people in Digger's Home takes care of this disgusting little creature. Some of those, I'm gonna say cat innovations did make me laugh. Uh, but a lot of the humor to me in the beginning was what I would call somethens up humor. It was that uncomfortable laugh when something feels wrong and your body is basically like, ha, what the fuck is happening? But visually, man, I couldn't stop looking at it. I mean, literally, because I was in the theater, but uh the costumes, the makeup, the sets, all of it's incredibly detailed and heightened to the point of feeling absurdist or theatrical. And believe me, I have seen my share of absurdist theater, so I should know. Like at one point, he wakes up and these huge curtains reveal outside this window. And I'm sitting there thinking, these look like literal curtains at the theater. Even the performances, the way people move has this quality. At times I was like, it looked like a marionette show. They were moving so bizarrely. It's hard to capture how strange and jarring the beginning is. I kept thinking, why is this movie like this? There has to be a reason. And then, oh my God, I'm not gonna tell you what it is, but the reveal wow, my reaction was basically, oh, thank God, thank God, thank God. Because suddenly all these little choices that I'd been questioning started clicking into place. The performance, the facets, the way people talk, the humor, the fucking cat even made more sense. Things that it seemed excessive or off-kilter suddenly had a reason to be. And man, what really got me is that the big reveal doesn't just explain the weird shit, it makes what the movie is saying even richer and more specific and more cutting as a cultural criticism. From the premise alone, I thought I knew what this movie was saying, you know, rich, powerful asshole fucks things up for everybody. Okay, you don't have to convince me. I'm already there. We live there. Honestly, at first, I thought the satire was a little obvious, but after the reveal, I realized I don't actually think that's what the movie's about at all. That premise is basically just the setup for something that's much more interesting. In reality, Digger's about what people do after something terrible happens, how we cope with tragedy by turning it into stories and art and how we perform and how those stories become what we think of as history as time goes on. I can't exactly explain, obviously, how Digger explores those, but I will say that it felt so perfectly crafted to me. I just went from thinking, okay, I get it, satire, to realizing, oh, this movie is actually saying something about why we tell stories in the first place. And that's pretty cool. The second act also completely changed my opinion of Cruz's performance. What initially felt a bit hollow, suddenly had more context. You learn more about this guy, you see other sides of him, and it made me reconsider what Cruz had been doing for that whole first section. By the end, I thought it was a really, really good performance. But I have to say, I think my VIP of this movie here is Riz Ahmed. He really did a great job. I mean, he brings some genuine emotion and passion to a movie where so much around him is intentionally artificial and exaggerated. I got emotional watching him, which is not something I would have expected after seeing the shenanigans with the cat in the first 10 minutes. But yeah, it's a movie where it made me think more than I felt it. But Ahmed's performance gave me that emotional connection that I didn't get other places. So I guess my recommendation for seeing Digger is know there's gonna be a disgusting cat. So that's the first warning. The second is you know, this movie you just have to let it kind of unfold in front of you.

SPEAKER_04 19:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:56

If you're an adventurous moviegoer, go into it knowing you're not always gonna understand what's happening on screen and why it's doing what it's doing, but give it some time to reveal itself because honestly, there aren't that many movies where I've spent this much time thinking, why the fuck did they do that? And eventually realized, oh my god, it was all a part of their plan. It was not just an answer to what happened in the beginning, it was a purpose. It's pretty rare to be surprised like that. And that's something I really value in movies. Movies are made by like a million people with all different financial interests. Getting a really unified, beautifully crafted, really direct, purposeful story. It's not an easy pitch to the studios. I do not think this movie would have been made without Tom Cruise.

SPEAKER_02 20:50

Oh no, not nobody would have uh trusted anybody's style power to carry this.

SPEAKER_05 20:54

Yeah, I mean, he's made weird movies before, but this one's but I think it really was kind of what we mentioned.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

People have been waiting for another Les Grossman to happen. I know it isn't it's never happened. This is the first thing that's come close to that. So obviously everybody's gonna be like, is this basically our Les Grossman movie? So closest for I think you should go into it with that sense of expectation for the ridiculousness, but you should also be open and just let it wash over you.

SPEAKER_05 21:29

Yeah, because it's like when you're watching a mystery show or reading thriller, and you're trying to guess so hard what happens, then what happens is I got a great one.

SPEAKER_02 21:42

Oh, yeah, great analogy. It's basically like what we went through watching the entire season of The Last Frontier. Oh my god. We're like, look, it it's gotta get better, right? Unfortunately, with that show, it did not you went.

SPEAKER_05 22:00

To do the opposite of that.

SPEAKER_02 22:01

Yes, you want to ride the time out with this movie, not with that show.

SPEAKER_05 22:08

But yeah, it's really interesting. Great popcorn bucket as well. I don't know if you get it, but it's a really interesting movie. I mean, am I gonna watch it again? Fuck no. God no, I will never watch it. No. I'll watch Happy Death Day in the other room. You just watch it with the cat. I just want is pretty wild.

SPEAKER_02 22:26

The figure of the cat.

SPEAKER_05 22:29

That would be a great popcorn bucket.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

It would have been a good popcorn bucket. Oh no, I didn't do that. Well, if they ever bring Digger back to the theaters, I don't think they will. But if they ever do, then cat popcorn bucket, do it then.

SPEAKER_05 22:45

And genuinely, I think if you can get past that beginning, it's incredibly smart, incredibly interesting. So for my ratings, I'm giving Digger a three out of five for enjoyment and a four out of five for quality. So we kind of went in the opposite direction. Yeah. I didn't always enjoy watching it. I mean, I know there's at least 45 minutes that I didn't enjoy watching, but it really paid off in a way that made me think, and I just was really impressed with that filmmaking. So yeah, free and four, digger.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Any uh related recommendations?

SPEAKER_05 23:25

Oh my god. Actually, yes. Oh, I was trying to think of a movie that had a big surprise that recontextualized things that I love. I thought of easily one of my five enjoyment, five quality movies, which is Parasite. These are very different movies, but they do deal with rich people and there and how the rest of us suffer. It's amazingly funny, suspenseful, and incredibly smart.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

So that's I thought you were gonna go more begonia.

SPEAKER_05 24:01

Oh, that's another one I didn't enjoy as much as I thought it was good. But Parasite, that's the top of the hill, baby. That's ultimate movie. So yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

All right. All right, onward. On to yeah, another crazy movie.

SPEAKER_05 24:19

Oh my god, this week.

Movie Review: Verity

SPEAKER_05 24:26

Okay, Sush. Next up is Verity, which I went into knowing three things: Dakota Johnson, Ann Hathaway, and uh something freaky's happening. Josh Hart in it as well. It's directed by Michael Shawalter, who is probably best known for wild comedies like Wet Hot American Summer, but for some reason his career's taking this weird turn into lifetime type movies.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

I bet it's money.

SPEAKER_05 24:54

Yeah, that probably has nothing to do with it. Those old state paychecks don't come in like they used to, I guess. So Dakota Johnson plays, oh my god. Okay. Her name is Lowen Ashley, spelled with the E-I-G-H. Yeah, that's her name. She's a struggling writer who gets hired to finish a best-selling book series after its author, Verity Crawford, and yes, that's her name, is left unable to write. Ann Hathaway plays Verity, Josh Hartnett plays her husband, Jeremy, who somehow got exempt from this movie's crazy name tear.

SPEAKER_03 25:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 25:37

Loan moves into the family home to go through Verity's notes and figure out where she can take the books. But while she's there, she finds a manuscript that may reveal some extremely fucked up things about Verity and her family.

SPEAKER_02 25:53

She also finds a man.

SPEAKER_05 25:55

That was my next top. Yep, yep, yep. It's supposed to be an ironic thriller. Uh, she gets a little too invested in uh Verity's husband while becoming suspicious of Verity herself. Wow, I've never said Verity so many times.

SPEAKER_02 26:13

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 26:14

Suchi, what did you think of this?

SPEAKER_02 26:16

Man, I didn't need to know jack shit about this movie beyond the cast to be sold on it. Yeah, Dakota Johnson and Hathaway and Josh Hardinett in the same movie. Are you serious? Also, there was too much escondolo, as they would say. Scandalo in the teaser trailer for me to not be interested. Come on.

SPEAKER_04 26:43

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Okay, let's play this back. Dakota Johnson is in this silky robe, walking into the room where she first sees Anne Hathaway laid out in a hospital bed. I gotta assume she's a vegetable or something because Josh Hartinett's just over in the other part of the room with his shirt half unbuttoned. Of course. Dakota just full-on straddles dude's lap, and they start just having a steamy makeout session. But then, out of nowhere, she realizes she's making out with Anne Hathaway.

SPEAKER_04 27:17

Damn.

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Dakota's freaked out, and Annie just grabs her head and forces her to keep making out. She bites Dakota's lip until it bleeds and makes her scream in terror. Yo, I didn't know what the fuck was going on, but I was down. Oh my god. All of a sudden, the shit just deteriorates into a nightmare version of TLC or something because we got a montage of crazy, sexy, but scary clips set to a creepy edit of Kylie Minogue's Can't Get You Out of My Head. Oh my God, that's right. I legitimately thought this is one of those sexy horror thriller movies where we were supposed to wonder whether the husband was responsible for his wife being a vegetable or not. Right. But meanwhile, he's trying to move on to hooking up with some younger lady before his wife's even officially dead. Because who's gonna stop him if he hasn't been charged with anything and the new girl doesn't know shit? But she definitely starts suspecting something's going on when she starts getting haunted by this lady who's supposed to be a vegetable.

SPEAKER_04 28:28

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 28:30

I guess if I really cared that much about what the actual plot of this movie was, I probably should have checked out the main trailer since I finally got around to it after actually seeing the movie. And it kind of lays out the entire plot, but obviously without any of the twists involved. Whoops. Now, seeing the movie, uh, was my assumption of the plot correct? Nah, definitely not. I honestly would have been amazed if it did end up being exactly like what I came up with in my head, based on the teaser, but I figured Ann Hathaway at least wouldn't have signed up for something so crazy.

SPEAKER_04 29:08

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

So the writing and direction, I can't lie, it's just ass. This movie is supposed to be in mystery thriller territory. Oh boy. But I honestly was not at all surprised, even if you want to argue that the plot itself isn't as predictable as I claim it is. There wasn't a moment where some trope didn't seem like an obvious setup for some payoff that eventually did actually happen. I think the most amusing part of that though was when about halfway through the movie, I leaned over to you, Ashley, and it's like the ridiculous names, like Verity, Loan, Crew, they sound like they're from a Colleen Hoover thing.

SPEAKER_01 29:53

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 29:54

And laugh, you know, just completely oblivious to the fact that it was, in fact, based on a Colleen Hoover book until they revealed it in the end credits. Holy shit, you boys get at movies, I guess.

SPEAKER_05 30:06

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_02 30:08

The only thing that I thought made this entire movie enjoyable, which was really the primary reason why I bothered seeing this in the first place, too, was the cast. Yeah. Mainly just the three leads. Dakota Johnson. If it hasn't been expressly stated on this podcast yet, I'll pretty much see anything that has her in it. I'm just so entertained by how little she seems to care about what people think about her status as a Nepo baby and how little effort she seems to put into nearly any and everything she does. We as humans should all strive to be as relaxed as I imagine Dakota Johnson is. This movie, she plays this down-on-er-luck writer named Loan Ashley. First off, that goddamn name. Nobody else is coming up with shit like that. But my absolute favorite part about her playing this role is I felt like the character progressively got fed up and just got more lax about doing sketchy shit, as if she's giving into her situation, and in doing so, decides to just take advantage of whatever opportunity she's faced with. Because hey, why not? Why not?

SPEAKER_05 31:27

Weird.

SPEAKER_02 31:29

Then on the opposite end of the spectrum, you got the lady that puts like 200% into everything.

SPEAKER_05 31:35

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 31:37

Yes, I'm Asian, so I know that technically that's not possible. But we're talking about Anne Hathaway. God damn it, that bitch was in like five theatrical releases this year. Yes, that's the most she's ever been in in a single year. If she's not doing enough based on those numbers, don't worry. She's definitely doing more than enough in this goddamn movie. I mean, I know I tend to exaggerate things a bit when I get worked up like I am right now, but I'm not even lying to you that the character she plays, Verity Crawford, is supposed to be catatonic. Yet somehow Annie still has more of a presence in this movie. Oh my god. Both Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett combined.

SPEAKER_05 32:21

Oh my god, she's so intense.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

This lady's work ethic is crazy since we've just also seen her doing press with her two co-stars, even though she mentioned to the press earlier this month that she's quote weeks away from having her baby.

SPEAKER_05 32:38

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02 32:40

It seems like she might be worried, but we promise, Andy, we will not forget you. Don't worry.

SPEAKER_05 32:46

Yeah, take a break, man. Take like five.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

You'll be fine. We got enough material to work with. Last but not least, Josh Hardnett. This guy played one of our favorite roles in his entire career as the crazy dad in 2024's M Night Shamlon movie.

SPEAKER_05 33:05

The masterpiece, yes.

SPEAKER_02 33:07

Followed by his role as a crazy disgraced former Secret Service agent in 2025's Fight or Flight.

SPEAKER_05 33:13

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:15

Didn't know if he was gonna be crazy husband in this movie, but given his recent track record, I was definitely on board to find out. Yeah. This movie, he's playing Verity's husband, Jeremy, even though I thought his character was probably the most poorly written out of the three main characters because he's so obviously meant to be bait for a character like Loan. I mean, he's a handsome, caring father and seemingly devoted partner given that he's still watching over his catatonic wife, right?

SPEAKER_04 33:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

I thought what made it even more clear how badly written he was was his degree of culpability and what happened to Verity. Mmm. It could even be debated that he's not the only one to blame since there are plot holes that exist that make you feel that Verity might actually be responsible for at least some of the tragic events that she lived through before going catatonic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:08

Yeah. Bitch is culpable.

SPEAKER_02 34:11

Oh my god. As far as the design of this movie, I'll admit it wasn't horrible, but I do think a lot of the sets and wardrobe were exactly what I'd expect from a movie like this. Uh the character is even Loan, who at the start of this movie mentions she is quote, being evicted, dresses in quiet luxury and lives in a huge open floor plan apartment. Just because you put her recently deceased mom's hospital bed in the apartment doesn't make it any less fancy, especially when I can see plenty of space in the few shots that we see. That place was huge. Then the house that Verity and her family live in is ridiculously fancy. Some crazy architectural masterpiece in the middle of the woods in Vermont.

SPEAKER_05 34:57

It literally looks like it has giant Vs for Verity on it. It's so over-dramatic and insane.

SPEAKER_02 35:06

Uh her, Josh Hardnett, and their kids all have these wardrobes, exactly like what we'd expect from like Celebrity Family, which I guess is the level Verity is at as a writer in this movie.

SPEAKER_04 35:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 35:18

Also, even though there was definitely techniques leveraged in this movie as far as cinematography and lighting, none of that seems original or interesting. I was thinking how similar this movie is to, or at least tries to be, like The Housemaid.

SPEAKER_05 35:34

Oh my god, yeah. Which was pretty fun.

SPEAKER_02 35:37

I felt a lot of the suspenseful moments in this movie were really similar, if not in actual details, then certainly the feeling that the filmmakers want you to get from them, or the techniques they employ to incite the feelings. It's possible part of the dissatisfaction with that stuff in this movie could simply be because the housemaid was released months ahead of this one. So I could have just felt like been there, done that since the same style or techniques being used for basically the same reasons or feelings and verity. But if I'm completely honest, it's not really hard after you've seen both of these movies for most people to tell how much better written and well acted the housemaid is compared to this.

SPEAKER_05 36:22

Yeah, yeah, it's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 36:25

Beyond that, I think that while things like jump scares occurred in the housemaid as a natural part of the plot or character development, so they didn't feel like a cheap way of creating suspense. In verity, I definitely did feel like there were at least a few moments that depended completely on a jump scare, just oh yeah, completely felt cheap and out of nowhere. Nothing too notable as far as sound design in the movie, like the cinematography and lighting. I also felt like it was leveraged pretty much as expected, though the fact that it wasn't distracting was probably a good thing for a movie where there was a lot of distractions tied to the aspects that I found to be negative. So for rating, I kind of went a bit wild on this one, and I gave it a three and a half for enjoyment. Whoa! And a one and a half for quote.

SPEAKER_05 37:16

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:19

The only reason this movie gets as high of an enjoyment rating was because of our three leads and how this movie was so bad that it became amusing the further we got into it. The plot honestly gets really bad, but I was still entertained watching our three leads try to deliver the best attempt to polish a turd, so to speak. By the end of this movie, I honestly was just as tired and over everything as Dakota Johnson and her character seemed to be, which in a way was almost a perfect way to cap off the experience. Did it help that I half expected this movie to be a hot mess? I'm sure it did. But was that the only thing that entertained me about this? No. But I think going into this movie, assuming that everything is going to be serious, would probably be doing a disservice to yourself as a viewer anyway. Quality rating, yeah, it's undeniable this movie is hot garbage. Not just predictable, but there's a good amount of plot holes and just confusion regarding certain characters' actions or motivations. I don't know how close this movie was adapting to Colleen Hoover book, but man, it always messes with me whenever I come across a movie or just fictional story in any format, where it seems like the author went into it just thinking about the feelings they wanted people to have about their story, but seems to do a complete mess of trying to actually ground the story and characters in any sort of expected human behavior patterns. That's totally the feeling I get from watching this movie because I could see it in the way things are set up and paid off. It's not hard to guess what's going to happen or what the filmmakers likely wanted you to feel, but beyond that, it just doesn't make sense that certain things happen or that certain people do things because they just don't really fit with everything else. My related recommendation, since I already brought it up, is being similar but superior to this movie, is The Housemaid.

SPEAKER_05 39:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

That came out in December of last year, starring Sidney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Brendan Sklinar. Much more unexpected twists and much better jump scares. Definitely way better story in character writing. Man, again, I love the three leads from Verity, and they honestly did the best with the garbage script they were given. But if you want to see how much better a movie like that can be with actors that are arguably on the same level but just get way better writing, then definitely see The Housemaid. On Rotten Tomatoes, it's got twice as high of a score from critics and over 20% higher score from the audience compared to this movie. So yeah, check that out. But Ashley or Ashley.

SPEAKER_05 40:15

Oh my god. I'm an EY. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 40:18

What did you think of Verity?

SPEAKER_05 40:21

Well, I think Verity is one of the stupidest movies I've seen in a long time. And the worst part is I spent half the movie thinking, surely it can't be this stupid. And then it it was. I really should have looked into this movie more before we saw it because I also had no idea it was based on a Colleen Hoover book.

SPEAKER_00 40:43

Yeah, we didn't do a good show.

SPEAKER_05 40:44

Oh my god. From the trailer, like you said, I thought it was gonna be some freaky erotic thriller.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

You know what I noticed when I went back and watched the trailer? It just says from the bestseller or something. It doesn't say who the best seller is from or even confirm that Verity is the title of the book. So if you don't know that the book exists, then you wouldn't know that that's what it's referring to either. Yeah. I guess I just never put it together. I was just like, whatever. It's probably somebody who writes erotic thrillers, right? So let it roll. I don't care.

SPEAKER_05 41:21

Yeah, I thought it was gonna be pretty cool based on the trailer, or at least trashy in a fun way. But instead, it was just like watching the worst airport book you've ever read come to life in front of you. I mean, the mystery here is not mysterious. I figured out what was going on with Verity, probably five, 10 minutes in. I'm not saying that to brag like, oh, I figured it out, but actually at one point started doubting myself because what I thought was gonna be the ending was so obvious that I was like, that can't be it. But no, no, there's no other layer to this. I thought it would be even supernatural from the trailer, but no, it's just hey, this thing that you think probably happened, uh it happened. I mean, it's crazy. Yeah, it's like the movie's biggest misdirect is making me think it couldn't possibly be this obvious. It really tricked me into thinking there was more there than there was.

SPEAKER_02 42:29

Literally, all we didn't know was the specific details and how that misdirect would be revealed.

SPEAKER_01 42:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 42:36

That's basically the only thing that was even remotely a mystery. And that really wasn't. I guess if you don't look at that time, then you wouldn't know when it was gonna come. But if you're being close to the end of the movie and you haven't seen what you're expecting, then you're probably waiting for it.

SPEAKER_05 42:54

If you've seen any movie or read any book, you will be able to figure out what's going on here. Watching Verity, I kept thinking about this term my dad, who works at the library, came up with for this kind of book. He calls it the oh my god. So think Harlan Coben, whose side note is my dad's greatest nemesis. Basically, instead of having a you know, particularly good plot, these books just keep throwing crazy shit at you so that you'll go, oh my god. And then there's another reveal, oh my god, and another twist, oh my god. That is what Verity is. Except I wasn't saying, oh my God, I was saying, yeah, I fucking guessed that. I know. Every time this movie plants something, it practically grabs your head and is like, look. And when it comes up later, it expects you to be shocked.

SPEAKER_04 43:49

Come on.

SPEAKER_05 43:50

Honestly, I'm generally okay with a movie telegraphing its twists. You don't have to trick me. If I figure out where it's going, that's fine. As long as When we get there, the reveal actually gives me something. Oh, you know, maybe it changes how I understand a character, like with Digger. Maybe it makes me look at earlier scenes differently or it adds an extra layer to what the movie's about. But Verity's just like, actually, it was this. And then it expects you to have your mind blown. And then it's like, oopsie, I did an opposite day. It's back again. It's just the most basic, superficial, stupid reveals. And none of it makes sense. Even the basic premise has problems.

SPEAKER_04 44:41

All right.

SPEAKER_05 44:42

So Dakota Johnson plays a mystery writer who's offered an absurd amount of money to finish a book series by an incredibly famous author who's now incapacitated, but somehow nobody knows about it. She's incredibly famous, and nobody on the internet has figured it out. Really?

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Is that like R.L. Stein?

SPEAKER_05 45:02

Oh my God. If R.L. Stein was a movie star, that's who she would be. Oh my God. And Jesus Christ, Loen has to move to another state to live in Verity's house with Verity's husband and child and sleep in the bedroom. Verity used to share with her husband. What are we talking about? Is this how you do book deals these days? Just send her the notes, guys. Loan, you need a better agent. This is crazy. And stupid as it is, what can you do? The plot needs her in that house. So Hoover just hand-waved a premise and everybody just starts acting crazy. All right, fine. But I kept giving this movie second chances. Like, oh, this is incredibly terrible. But I like Michael Showalter and I like Ann Hathaway and Dakota Johnson and Josh Hartnett. I actually really like Dakota Johnson a lot. I think she has that very specific quality that literally no one else in Hollywood does, where she is so detached and sarcastic and nonchalant. She has this energy, like, I do not give a shit. And I think that's really fun and interesting. But I don't think that that kind of personality makes sense when you're casting a character who gets swept up in a dangerous, overwhelming passion. That doesn't seem like her thing. That reminds me, Dakota Johnson just hosted SNL last week, and she did this sketch, mean scary girlfriend. And that is how I picture her in a relationship. She's not pining over someone and putting it all in the line, you know. I see Josh Hartnett being like, Come away with me. And I see her saying, Your shirt's ugly, I'm staying home. That's the dynamic that would make sense for her in this movie. Just maybe don't cast the most non-plussed woman alive as a center of your hyper dramatic, erotic thriller.

SPEAKER_02 47:12

Plus, you want to get a great enjoyment score from me.

SPEAKER_05 47:16

Oh, okay. I I gotcha.

SPEAKER_02 47:20

The less plus you are, the better.

SPEAKER_05 47:23

The better the score. Okay. You heard it, folks. That's how you get to a five. And I think, oh my God, the whole eroticism thing. I bought it in the trailer, but it really failed. It was not, guys, it was not it. It was so funny though. So weird. Oh my god. This movie is obsessed with biting, biting people's lips. And oh my god, the headboard biting.

SPEAKER_04 47:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 47:52

Guys, it wasn't the least bit alluring. At one point, oh my god, when she bit on the headboard, this wooden headboard, my entire body shivered. That is the most horrible sound. You like hear her tooth grind against the bigger.

SPEAKER_02 48:09

So she might get lead poisoning. We don't know when the pain is from.

SPEAKER_05 48:12

I know. I'm thinking she's gonna chip a tooth. That's gonna cost a lot of money. Then I start thinking about crowns and dental insurance. Does she have an HSA? What's her deductible?

SPEAKER_02 48:22

No, she's a writer.

SPEAKER_05 48:23

I know. Don't bite the headboard, girl. But yeah, if your erotic thriller has me thinking about dental work, maybe something's gone wrong. But I agree with you about Ann Hathaway. She in the present-day scenes, yeah, she likes to out acts everyone without moving. We keep getting these flashbacks where she is absolutely the most arch bitchiest bitch. It is so funny. It's like soap opera, but with an Oscar-winning actress. Yeah, I think it's so funny that everyone talks about how oh man, I don't want to read Verity's books because I don't want to be inside her dark, dark mind. They're like the characters she writes, they're so dark. But then they show us a page of the text and it's just like I cut up his body. Okay, so girl, whatever. They don't really tell us what is so dark and crazy in her books. They're just like, trust us, this bitch is some dark shit going on. Like, okay, you want me to take your word for it, movie? No, I'm sorry. So nothing to establish my trust in your understanding of storytelling or human behavior. Okay. That's ultimately what was so frustrating about Farody. There are enough talented people involved that I just kept waiting for a better version of the movie to show up. Something spooky or trashy and fun or some weird romance. There was a little bit of fun in watching something dumb and wondering how the hell everyone ended up here. But mostly I was bored, honestly. At one point with my phone light all the way down, I updated my grocery list. I was just checked out. After thinking about it, I was like, man, the only time Verity wasn't completely obvious was when it was too stupid to be obvious. It was just a weird movie, man. So for enjoyment, I'm giving it a two out of five.

SPEAKER_02 50:39

You know, yeah, I know you didn't enjoy it as much as I do.

SPEAKER_05 50:42

Yeah, I wish I did. I was expecting something a lot more fun.

SPEAKER_02 50:46

That was dying. That was cracking that one.

SPEAKER_05 50:48

Yeah, but mostly I was just kind of bored for quality. I am also giving it a 1.5 out of five.

SPEAKER_02 50:54

It was garbage.

SPEAKER_05 50:56

Yeah, man. It was bad. It was boring. And there are too many talented people involved for the writing mystery and romance to be this. Whatever, man. Everybody got paid, right? I guess so. And you know what? I have to point out something our friend Jen, uh friend of the pod, said to us this week. She said, Oh my god, Verity. Someone told me to read that book once, and it was the worst book I've read in my life. So, you know, we got great people involved in this movie, but there's only so much they can do with this story.

SPEAKER_02 51:31

Oh, yeah. But if you don't want to see the movie, you know what you should watch.

SPEAKER_05 51:37

Hmm. All the press that they've been doing for the oh, the press has been so fun.

SPEAKER_02 51:43

It's hilarious. Yeah, the three of them are great together, they're really fun on all the different YouTube channels that they've been popping up on to promote the movie. So yeah, if you don't see the movie, at least check that out. I personally thought they were entertaining in the movie, but not for you know good movie reasons. But you really get to see how well they work together when you watch some of those videos. So it was cool to see them in a different context in sort of a horrible movie.

SPEAKER_05 52:16

No. Watching those interviews made me feel a little sad, actually, because I was like, these three, when they are in their groove where they're being themselves and relaxed and everything, right? Right, they have such an amazing dynamic, but they don't use that dynamic in the movie. Right.

SPEAKER_02 52:36

Hey, remember we came up with a movie idea. Oh, they need to get back together and do an action comedy or something where they run a detective agency.

SPEAKER_05 52:47

Oh my god, like moonlighting, yeah, but with three people.

SPEAKER_02 52:52

Exactly. Maybe even Weird Love Triangle.

SPEAKER_05 52:57

Oh my god. Make this, please.

SPEAKER_02 53:02

Send me my fucking check. If Michael Schoalter gets to make a movie like he did, I should get to make the detective agency movie.

SPEAKER_05 53:16

You know what I wish about this movie for the director of Wet Hot American Summer. I wish it was a more wet hot American thriller. Oh my god, Verity, you are killing me.

SPEAKER_00 53:35

Well, let's move on to finale for finale. All right.

TV Episode Recap: Lanterns - Season 1, Episode 8 (Season Finale) - "Dirt and Stars"

SPEAKER_05 53:45

Hey sushi, guess what?

SPEAKER_00 53:47

What's up?

SPEAKER_05 53:48

My dear friend Michelle was at Coachella when Tupac's hologram performed. Oh, cool. Yeah. So there's a lot of hologram information happening in one podcast.

SPEAKER_02 54:02

Oh, yeah. Because it's like the hologram in this show. That's a good lead-in for episode eight, the season one finale of Lanterns, which is titled Dirt and Stars.

SPEAKER_04 54:18

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 54:19

The season finale opens in the aftermath of the 2016 catastrophe in Rushville. Jon Stewart having taken the ring and lantern from Hal Jordan encounters Sheriff Kane and tells her that Hal is waiting at the motel. When she finds him, Hal's injured and understands that he'll be held responsible for the destruction. He admits he failed to notify the guardians and expects them to use the disaster as an opportunity to remove him as a Green Lantern. The story then jumps ahead ten years to Hal's release from prison. We see Carrie waiting outside with beer and flowers, and the two return to Rushville. They have dinner at a restaurant in town, and the residents stare coldly at Hal, prompting Carrie to address the room. She acknowledges the harm that he caused, but argues that after accepting his punishment and attempting to make amends, he deserves a measure of peace. Her defense of Hal marking the beginning of their romantic relationship. Unfortunately for Hal, that peace does not last. Someone sets fire to his house while he and Earl are inside. Hal tries to escape but loses consciousness amid the flames. When he awakens, his injuries have been healed by the same alien technology previously used on John. His rescuer turns out to be Noah Macon, who asks not to tell Carrie what happened. From the nature of the healing and Noah's secrecy, Hal realizes the boy is a manhunter. Returning to the present-day storyline, continuing where the previous episode left off, Jon Stewart interrogates Sinestro on the devastated alien world reached through the portal. Sinestro reveals that Noah freed him from imprisonment and inherited access to the technology Zoe left behind. He also explains that Zoe repeatedly returned to the world she had destroyed because of her guilt, just as Hal kept returning to Rushville in search of redemption. When Sinestro refuses to cooperate further, John drags him toward the planet's fear-inducing water. Terrified of being submerged, Sinestro admits that Noah sought him out because he was the only person to have killed the Guardian and at his request forged a new lantern from the fear permeating the planet. Well Sinestro claims this lantern can recharge Hal's nearly depleted ring, but the Halogram appears to talk him out of it. After discovering Noah's portal, Hal followed him to the alien world. There he learned that Noah had commissioned the lantern as part of a possible campaign against the Guardians. Although Sinestro urged him to eliminate the boy before his programming took control, Hal refused. Sinestro attempts to turn John and the Halligram against each other. He argues that charging the ring might restore Hal permanently, while also suggesting that the Halligram opposes the plan because a new charge would erase him. John recognizes the manipulation and concludes that Noah hasn't yet fully committed to his violent plans as he and the Halligram leave Sinestro stranded on the island, screaming for help as they head back towards the portal. As they approach the portal, the hologram changes his position and urges John to charge the ring for his own protection. John instead recalls Hal's final warning to not tell anyone that they met in Rushville. He now understands that Hal was trying to keep Noah from learning that he had shared the secret with John. Nevertheless, John postpones charging the ring and passes through the portal. Noah's waiting on the other side. As soon as John appears, he attacks him, taking his ring and the lantern, then forces him to drive them to town. During the journey, Noah demands to know why John killed Zoe. John explains that Zoe deliberately waited until she was near death before saving him so that he would feel indebted to her. He believes she then maneuvered him into killing her because she grew tired and no longer wanted to live with her destructive programming, wanting John to stop her. At a crossroads, John leaves the direction of their journey to Noah. After hesitating, the boy chooses to continue towards his football game. When John parks the car, Noah explains that he did not start the fire at Hal's house. He saw the smoke, entered the building, and saved him. However, he then claimed that he later killed Hal because the former lantern would not stop investigating him and might reveal the portal to his mom. Noah confesses that he can't distinguish his genuine desires from his Manhunter programming. One side of him wants an ordinary life, while the other imagines acquiring enormous political and military power before turning it against the Guardians. John responds that he also grew up feeling programmed for a predetermined purpose, but eventually found that questioning those expectations allowed him to choose his own path. Moved by the conversation, Noah removes a ring and returns it to John. He asks John to kill him as an act of mercy, just as he did with Zoe, but requests enough time to play his final football game and another favor to not let him see it coming. While the game is underway, John joins Carrie on the sidelines. He speaks about the terrifying training his mother, Bernadette, subjected him to as a child and recognizes that despite her methods, she was constantly afraid for him. By comparing that fear to Carrie's lifelong fear for her son, he signals that he's aware she's been protecting Noah and understands what truly happened to Hal. The episode then flashes back to Hal's final confrontation with Carrie. She explains that Zoe once used alien technology to regenerate her missing finger. Then sometime afterward, she discovered she was pregnant by not having been intimate with anyone for months. That pregnancy produced Noah, and although initially fearing motherhood, she came to love her son and believed that raising him with compassion could prevent his manhunter nature from taking control. Hal tells her that Noah already knows what he is and has been secretly using the portal. Rather than turn him over to the Guardians or kill him, Hal proposes that the three of them leave Rushville and hide somewhere safe while they search for another solution. Carrie, terrified of losing her son, refuses, and when Hal continues pressing the issue and tries to calm her, she turns and shoots him in the head. Returning to the present, Carrie admits that she summoned John to Rushville because she needed someone capable of determining whether her son was becoming a monster. John tells her that Noah falsely confessed to the murder to protect her and surrendered the ring because he feared what he might become. To John, those choices demonstrate Noah possesses enough humanity to resist his programming. John also refuses to kill Noah, although he promises that someone will be ready to stop him should his manhunter nature ever take control. Carrie announces that she'll turn herself in after the game, but John discourages her, arguing that Hal wouldn't have wanted that for her, leaving her to watch Noah lead his team to victory. With the murder solved, John activates the Green Lantern signal and summons Guy Gardner. Wearing Hal's ring, he declares Guy can continue protecting the rest of Sector 2814, but Earth will now be his responsibility. He intends to protect it independently rather than submit to the Guardian's chain of command, asking him to pass a message along to them. Guy warns that the Guardians may retaliate, but ultimately leaves without attempting to stop him. The Halligram appears one final time, telling John he's ready to become a better Green Lantern than Hal ever was, and encourages him to charge the ring and quote, don't be afraid to be afraid. When John rejects the traditional oath as too rigid, Halligram suggests that he create one of his own. Before disappearing, he asks for the exact words real Hal said to carry before his death. Allowing the two men a farewell of they never shared in life. John finally charges the ring with Sinestro's fear-powered lantern, causing the Halgram to vanish permanently. During the concluding montage, he locks away Hal's mystery box, leaves Maggie the money she demanded along with an apologetic note, and returns home to reconcile with his family, including Bernadette. As the ring reaches full power, John recites a new oath centered on acknowledging fear, using what is right, and willingly accepting the responsibility of the ring. He then rises into the air and successfully flies for the first time, ending the season. Earth's self-appointed Green Lantern, leaving the rest of the universe to the established core. So what'd you think of uh the finale in the season, I guess?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:04

Oh my God. I thought this was a really great finale. And it paid off what it set up last week. You know, last week I sort of wasn't crazy about how the episode slowed down, but it really did set up a lot. Overall, the tone of the episode was so good. There was still that humor and banter you like, but it was pretty heavy. There was just so much emotion, and everyone was doing such beautiful work. I was really impressed with Shea Pritchard as Noah in particular. I've never seen him in anything else, but I thought he was really incredible in that car scene with John. Because at first, when he's waiting for John when he comes back from the other planet, I thought, oh, okay. So Noah is a bad guy. The mask is slipping. Everything we've seen of this nice kid has been an act. But then when they talk, it's like, no, that kindness we've seen in him before, it's real. Being loved by his family has really mattered. It really, really mattered in his life. And Shay is so good at showing those different parts of him. He has these terrifying ideas about power and doesn't even feel like he's choosing to think them. There's a lot of turmoil, but he's also a kid who's really scared of what he could become. And yeah, he should be scared. I mean, he's basically like, hey, I could stay in town or I could become president and annihilate the world. Okay. And when he asked John to kill him, I don't know about you, but I didn't see that coming. But then as soon as he said it, I'm like, wow, a lot has been working up to this because John was honest with him. He could have said that Hal killed his grandmother and Hal's already dead, but he Tells him what happened. I mean, you can tell that finding out that she had wanted him uh to kill her, or at least that's how he interpreted it. I think that really resonated for him. And it's just very sad. And oh my God, Carrie, the sheriff. Oh my God. I really didn't think she killed Hal. I thought it was going to be Noah. When we find out, it just felt horrible and true. Her character, she came from this horrible situation, and she finally found somewhere where she felt protected. Then she wanted to protect the town. She's terrified of losing her son. I can see why she did what she did. It's horrible because I also really believe she loved Hal. And his last words being, I love you. Oh my God. That's tragic. That's so sad. But I thought the performances all around were so good. And I loved the sheriff's performance when she's talking to John at that football game. Because she goes through the full spectrum of emotions.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:10

Right.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:11

Like she's there, she's enjoying the game. She's so proud of her son, looking forward to the future. Then John comes, oh, he's supportive. That's nice. Oh no, he knows everything. Oh my God, what's gonna happen? Oh no, I just told him what happened. The world is closing down. My son might destroy the earth. But then at the end of that interaction, she looks back at the football game and it's like she snaps back into being just a proud mom. I thought it was really, really beautiful acting. And I think it made sense with John giving them a chance. He saw the good Noah. I mean, I'm sure he's nervous about the whole gonna blow up the world thing, but he's trying to trust him and he's trusting Carrie to be on the lookout. And him deciding to stay on Earth, that feels really right because so much of the season is about how they just don't understand how complex the humans are. They thought that they could come here, no big deal. Humans are complicated. Looking back at the season, at the beginning online, there was all this discourse like, oh, is Hal a bad guy now? Is he a good guy? Is John a good guy? But that's not what the world is like. People are complicated. Everything they've experienced affects how they behave. And I think the show does a great job of showing that. It's so wonderful to see how John goes through so much and is able to come into his own in a big way. Like the oath part, I got the chills, I got full goosebumps. That part, I'll embrace fear, I'll do what's right. Like, damn. After everything his mother did to make him fearless, he's decided that he can be scared and still do the right thing. It's not being afraid that's the thing to worry about. Fear is a connection to people. Like if you love someone, you're gonna be afraid. And he's worked so hard to keep those connections with his family. I loved seeing them at the end of the episode. It just was great to see him making choices for himself moving forward. And I'm I mean, gosh, when he took off flying, I was just like, hell yeah, let's go, John. Take me a few episodes, obviously, until that third episode, when I became so invested in this character. At first, I sort of couldn't feel him out. I think he's had such amazing growth in addition to everything else that happens, and getting him to have that closure with Hal. I I really thought it was a great finale. Yeah, what did you think?

SPEAKER_02 1:09:56

Well, I really enjoyed the finale, even though I definitely don't think it's perfect. So I guess I'll start off with my criticism, which is really just one thing. This episode still kind of makes Hal's story this season seem a bit unsatisfying. Oh especially given that he never really gets to make amends and live out his life in the end.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:22

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:23

I don't get why the showrunners made such an effort to make viewers more sympathetic towards him later in the season. You know, he did prison time, he tried to make amends with the townspeople, and he was even willing to go away with Carrie and Noah to try to figure out a solution instead of just outright eliminating him or turning him into the Guardians because he discovered he was a manhunter. They already set a precedent in this new DCU that it isn't a requirement that a Green Lantern be a nice guy. I mean, Guy Gardner definitely proves that.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:10:56

So I guess I just didn't understand why the showrunners felt like they needed to tell a story that ended with a likable Hell when he's not going to be alive for it. I mean, they couldn't be completely unlikable and still give John basically the same story. Beyond that, I don't know, is the best way to repay Hal and his death to basically do nothing about it? None of the townspeople care about the guy, and Carrie won't say anything probably out of an attempt to protect Noah anyway. So they're just gonna let that shit slide.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:31

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:33

I mean, even if the idea of leaving a crime unstounds like that would somehow be okay, it's not like people just forget about Hal Jordan, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:11:44

I don't know. I didn't mind it because I just think it's like, damn, situations are not black and white.

SPEAKER_02 1:11:51

To me, it's more like just because he got locked up for 10 years, people aren't going to wonder where he is. Somebody's going to wonder where he is. Also, is John going to continue covering for Carrie's crime and also keep Noah from doing anything crazy if someone finds out and wants to hold her responsible? Even if the Guardians don't give a shit, it's just crazy to assume John is so confident to think that he can ever deal with potentially a similar situation again by himself, given that he's just making his own rules this time around. Not to say that I don't like John as a character on the show, but it just seems to be a huge judgment call to make before he even has the talk with Guy about how he's taking over as Green Lantern for just Earth. I think that's really the only serious issue I had with the season that wasn't just rooted in something like, man, I wish I could have seen more of whatever.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:12:45

But what I did really like was how much the show potentially sets up for the future. Uh man, everything with Sinestro and the lantern he forged for Noah that John ended up with. I don't think it's a mistake that the Halogram seemed apprehensive about John using it, even beyond his own self-preservation. And I don't think Sinestro was just left on that planet for no reason.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:11

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:12

This kind of goes back to what viewers have pointed out about the show being titled Lanterns instead of something green lantern specific.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:20

Right, right.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:21

Sinestro is being left on this planet where fear permeates the water and even the air in some places. And for those whose awareness of him is limited to the show in the comics, he establishes what's called the Sinestro core, essentially the Yellow Lantern Core. Which instead of being equipped with rings and lanterns that utilize the wearer's willpower, they're powered by their ability to instill fear in others. So it at least seems like him being left on the planet might lead to him establishing Sinestro Core for this show. I'm just hoping that it doesn't end up a thing where they make the lantern that John has some sort of situation that John gets infected by them somehow. But it would be cool, I think, if it was the other way around, if maybe the Sinestro core comes to be on this show and other people are unable to stop them. But because John has this lantern that basically is like the proto, he might have the way to stop them because he doesn't fully only depend on willpower. He does have the ability to deal with his fear. Also, I don't know if anyone recognized Carol Ferris or the significance of her appearing in the show for Hale's funeral. Those who've seen the Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds might know of her as a love interest of Hal's. Blake Lively played her in roles. But in other mediums, she's also known as Star Sapphire of the Star Sapphire Corps. Ooh, that's a thing. I also think that the showrunners establishing this new Green Lantern lore for the DCU through this amazing story of John's upbringing and how he ultimately does become the Green Lantern of Earth specifically was cool. Obviously, Warner Brothers and DC aren't unfamiliar with rewriting origin stories of characters for live action films. But given that this was really the first live action appearance of Jon Stewart that I can really think of, or maybe ever, they could have easily gone an easier route and more or less just taken the character from the comics, but that's not what they did. They used Jon to allow an honest real-world look at how the Green Lantern mythos really could pan out here, given the real problems society has. This season we dealt with race, relationships, and family dynamics, community authority and compliance, and so much more through a lens of a show about space cops, basically. For comic readers, I think that might be something we're used to seeing. But as far as superheroes and comic book characters and live action and animated video mediums go, I think that sometimes they do avoid some of the more complex human issues. While Warner Brothers and DC are definitely not innocent of more jarring attempts to get reactions out of viewers, I think the show has really demonstrated a pretty good balance as far as not letting things get too overly dramatic, even if they are, you know, trying to uh convey a certain message. Overall, I think, yeah, just a great finale, a damn good first season, and a great first in-depth look at Green Lanterns and the new DCU.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:16:59

Obviously, I'm hoping they'll continue on with another season, although I don't think Kyle Chandler will be back. Nor do I think it would be a good idea to have him much of at all in any flashbacks. I'm more interested in the setup with the Sinestro stuff.

SPEAKER_05 1:17:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:16

There's absolutely no way he's going to let John slide if he makes it off that plant.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:22

Right.

SPEAKER_02 1:17:23

And like I mentioned earlier, there just seems like too much setup for Sinestro course. I would have liked more spaced stuff this season, but I don't think it was due to budget as much as the storytelling being effective without as much of it. I mean, it's not like there weren't some great VFX used on the show, right? Yeah. But even if it doesn't happen, um, I think I heard both Green Lanterns, Guy Gardner, and Jon Stewart are supposed to appear in the next Superman movie. So I'm glad to know that the last moment in the finale wasn't the only time we'll see Aaron Pier if we don't get a second season. But yeah, man, I really enjoyed it and uh hope they get another season.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:07

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:08

So

What We're Watching Next

SPEAKER_02 1:18:11

Ashley. And we want an ex next week.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:18

We'll be checking out the spooky and campy looking other mommy. And then we'll be seeing Rennie Harlan's new insane-looking movie, The Beast, starring Samuel L. Jackson.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:30

Yes. And for TV, we'll be kicking off our coverage of new Disney Plus Marvel Studios show, Vision Quests. Hell yeah. Paul Bettany as that robot and James Spader as that other robot.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:49

Robot. Robots of plenty.

SPEAKER_02 1:18:52

Robot family stuff.

Outro

SPEAKER_05 1:18:57

Well, thanks so much for listening, guys. We really appreciate you taking the time to hang out with us uh weirdos over here.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:04

Make sure to subscribe, rate, and review. Preferably positive. Like how I'm positive that the lanterns finale somehow isn't going to be the last time Jon Stewart sees Sinestro.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:19

Oh, true.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:20

Follow us on social media, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:25

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:26

And we will see you next week.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:29

That's right. Bye, guys.

SPEAKER_02 1:19:31

Later.