Project Hail Mary: Sensitivity in Space and '40s Madness Round 2 | #1058

17:05Josh Larsen:And I found that incredibly poignant. Um, it gave a needed layer to this movie that also pops up in other instances and also in the performance. So I think, um, you know, I think it's really strong. And, and the thing you mentioned about him being a middle school teacher, there is that qualifier that he had set out to be a research scientist in some form and proposed a theory that was laughed away and now he's teaching. But I think key to this is that, and we see him in the classroom early on, he really likes it. He loves interacting with these kids. He's really good at it. He brings genuine enthusiasm.

17:42Josh Larsen:He likes the kids. And here, Adam, the key is why this works when we do move to this relationship with Rocky. This, we're going to spoil this. If you don't know anything, this is your point to fast forward. It comes in maybe a third of the way into the movie, maybe halfway. At any rate, once Ryland has made to this destination where he's going, trying to figure out what's happening to this other son, he encounters this other spaceship. There's a creature, Rocky, that reaches out to him that is essentially, mostly at what I understand, puppetry looks like a rock spider to me, multiple legs. Some CGI is involved, but mostly puppetry.

18:27Josh Larsen:I want to talk about James Ortiz giving the vocal and the puppeteer performance here. But going back to Gosling's performance, he relates to Rocky, not condescendingly, but the way Ryland related to his students. Again, enthusiastically, affirmingly, as he's trying to learn from him, he's trying to teach Rocky things.

18:49Adam Kempenaar:Yes.

18:50Josh Larsen:And I think it's a key character trait that this guy's a really good mood, middle school teacher, which is like a treasure, right? I mean, that's like someone who has that talent is a real gift and Gosling has it. It made me think, you know, the puppetry part too, he must've been on the Muppets at some point. Right. Um, cause he just has that facility for interacting with, with, and it turns out, it turns out he hasn't. I guess he did like a promo social media thing with Elmo for this movie, but unless my quick research missed it, he hasn't, and he would just nail something like that, right? Being able to be charismatic with these imaginary creatures.

19:32Josh Larsen:So I think Gosling really pulled this off. Hi, Grace. You're in a ball.

19:38Adam Kempenaar:So Rocky, no dying, Grace, atmosphere. I come up. Oh, you're coming up.

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21:43Adam Kempenaar:Apple Vacations, where your story starts. I really love that connection you're making because obviously you can see him in the role. There's that clear connection of him acting like a teacher and him, you know, writing like he's sort of writing on a chalkboard. And there's that element of teaching and learning, the reciprocal nature of that. But Rocky is even obviously he has a lot of wisdom that his middle school kids don't have. And he learns from them probably more than he learns from Rocky probably a little bit more than he learns from his students. But nevertheless, just like middle school or middle school students nevertheless can teach you something if you listen to them, if you're willing to.

22:24Adam Kempenaar:And just like those middle school students, Rocky is a little bit too energetic and overexcitable. It's true. And he has to learn how to he has to he has to kind of keep him tethered down a little bit. Right. And try to just, you know, keep him focused. So there there is there is something to that. Absolutely. And and it's actually a perfect transition. I'm really glad that you singled out that scene and why that works and why it gives the movie just enough poignancy and how it speaks to where the movie doesn't go too far. I think pushing the sentimentality or pushing the poignancy, but, but also gives us just enough comedy.

23:05Adam Kempenaar:The eulogy scene eulogies often are sometimes different people. I was at one, actually, I was at a service this Saturday where it was very poignant, but the person giving it was an actor. And so of course they leaned into the humor, they leaned into the performance and you know what it it worked like gangbusters they pulled it off they nailed it so there was a lot more humor there but eulogies tend to have some jokes in them they need they need some levity to cut that right so there's a little bit of that there but you're absolutely right for the most part it's about honoring those two people it's meaningful and there's a real sensitivity and emotion that grace as the movie tends to refer to him so i'll call him grace that grace shows in that scene.

23:54Adam Kempenaar:So this is the next thing I wanted to say about why I think the movie works and why I think Gosling works in the role is, and it's not just praise for him. It's, it, it speaks to this, this marriage of the collaborators and their shared sensibility is, is Gosling's unabashed sensitivity. And, and I think they're all speak to, I won't spoil it, but there's a scene where there is, let's say a particularly major revelation. And once we get that. And we know he's going to feel all sorts of ways about it. And it cuts to a closeup of him and Gosling, his character is immediately in tears. And Josh, I think a lot of other actors playing this character, even playing him ostensibly as nerdy as Gosling plays him, a lot of other actors, honestly, I think would still be trying to play that in a more conventionally masculine way.

24:46Adam Kempenaar:I think they would be trying to fight back the tears. They'd be trying to play a little more tougher, a little tougher. They'd be playing up the arc. And there's this element, I referenced this earlier. They'd be playing the arc more of whether or not he's finally being brave or not. And I think they'd be trying to show that bravery. Gosling, Lord Miller, Goddard, they have no problems just going right to tears in that scene. And I think that that character's lack of bravery, lack of conventional masculine bravery is a key underpinning of the story. And I think that sensitivity and that willingness to show it is something that really makes this film work.

25:27Adam Kempenaar:And it's tapping into something that is not unique to Gosling, but it is something that he certainly has available to him. It's a faculty he has as an actor. But here's the other thing he has, maybe even more than that, that they tap into, Josh. And I wonder if you notice this too, or if I'm making too much out of it, because I know this is something that you are often really struck by and tend to be more judgmental about, at least when it's something that's a more blatant element of movies. That joke before about the Martian winning the globe for best picture, musical, or comedy, even though it actually did, Project Hail Mary probably will too, and it would actually deserve it because it's not only more of a comedy, but there are scenes where Gosling really gets to move.

26:18Adam Kempenaar:And I don't just mean those kind of silly scenes with Rocky where he actually dances. Yeah, they're mimicking dances. And Rocky mirrors him, which are fine. But I mean how often Lord and Miller take advantage of Gosling's body in motion. Yeah. And I think this is another way, too, that the movie does. There's a lot of slapstick here. There is. And it's not just the physical comedy jokes, though, which is a huge part of it. But I think this is another way the movie distinguishes itself from The Martian. At least in my memory, where Damon is either often sitting still or he's just more of a straight line kind of physical performer.

26:56Adam Kempenaar:But because of Gosling's dexterity as a dancer, not only do these ships twirl and whirl in space, but frequently so does Grace. Sometimes it's not even in space. So you even I remember early on, I didn't jot it down, but I remember early on, even in the classroom, the way he moves is a bit like a dancer. Scenes with Carl. He's just so he's so physically aggressive and he's so graceful when he's moving. It was it seemed to me a very intentional effort on the part of the filmmakers to take advantage of Gosling's ability to move. And I mean, even as a dancer and I'm referencing with the twirling and whirling, you know, there's a scene where it's almost a musical number.

27:44Adam Kempenaar:The, the violins start, the music starts, the, the ships start twirling with each other in a centrifugal way. But, but along with that is the way, the way grace moves, the way he, the way he leaps in certain scenes. And I, I just think that it's, it's fun to watch Gosling move like that.

28:03Josh Larsen:Yeah, no, I appreciated that as, as well. I mean, they do, some of them do verge on musical numbers. I think they get a lot of humor out of it, honestly, that, that I enjoyed early on. There's the entire montage when he wakes up from this coma completely confused, um, and is exploring the space station and how do they, how do they handle that montage comically? Right. Right. He'll, his head will like, suddenly you'll have a shot of a long tunnel of the spaceship. And then you have Gosling's head just pop up like a meerkat, you know, and there's a, there's a couple of shots like that. Um, and you mentioned there's a lot of visual humor in the filmmaking here, which I suppose we should expect from Lord and Miller, but I like the marriage of that with this 2001 setting of grandeur and which we get some very, especially use of color.

28:56Josh Larsen:Like there is some visual beauty here, but there's also a comic sensibility approach. So here, the famous 2001, oh gosh, the Blue Danube, is that the music that's played in the sequence of the spaceships?

29:10Adam Kempenaar:Man, you're going to make both of us look bad by not being able to name it for sure.

29:15Josh Larsen:If I'm not entirely incorrect, I'm mispronouncing it. So either way, I lost. But you know what I'm talking about. The version here - The Blue Danube, you were right. Blue Danube. Okay, thank you. The version here is a comic one where this is after Gosling has recognized Rocky's ship. They haven't contacted yet, but the ship has appeared and his instinct is to panic and fly away from it. And then Rocky's ship follows him, right? Well, this could be a tense, dramatic chase sequence, but no. Lord and Miller play it for comedy where you have Grace's ship just jut forward across the cosmos like a little bit.

29:52Josh Larsen:And then Rockies follow it a little bit more. And that doesn't sound funny, of course, but visually it is something you'd see more, let's just say in a Looney Tunes cartoon than in a Kubrick space picture. And it works. And I do like that they brought a little bit different of a sensibility to this space grandeur that we would normally get with a story like this without lampooning it or making it silly, right? They still recognize the grandeurs there, but they're having some fun with the comic visual possibilities as well.

30:27Adam Kempenaar:You alluded to this earlier or mentioned it earlier as well, and I want to single it out as a real strength of this movie. I didn't learn until after I saw it that there was apparently no green screen used on the movie. But, you know, obviously with a movie like this, there are going to be some digital effects. There's going to be CGI. guy but watching it you get the feeling that it is predominantly practical you can tell and this movie needs to be because it is about these resourceful resilient characters that is that is built into the dna of apparently these andy weir novels at least going off it's about duct tape right the martian it is it's about duct tape the movie has to feel that way yeah it has to emanate off the screen or the film doesn't work.

31:14Adam Kempenaar:And you understand in every moment of the movie that it is an actual set and that Rocky feels like a physical entity. And so there's a physicality to Gosling that works, but there's a physicality to Rocky and also to the actual spaces that they inhabit. It's crucial to the movie's success and it absolutely works here. And I'll say a couple of times, and this is just on me, it's, it's, I'm going to use it as praise for the movie, not an example of me being pulled out. It's on me for doing it, but you know that it's working the, the sort of miracle of it or the magic of the movie, because there were a couple of times, Josh, where I had to, I had to just kind of sit back and go, this is Ryan Gosling sitting on a set, talking to a rock, talking to a, you know what I mean?

32:05Adam Kempenaar:Like, yeah, these these this isn't happening, of course, you know, it's like it's like, you know, Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball, you know, and yet and yet watching it. The magic of movies, you truly do feel as if it is they are they are two buddies. They are they are friends. You feel like they are linked for life and you you feel as strongly about Rocky as a as a character as you do about grace. And the fact that the movie can pull it off because of the writing, but also because of the practical effects, I think is a key part of it. That, here again, is why it's how you know the movie is working.

32:49Josh Larsen:Absolutely. And yeah, just to call out James Ortiz again, who I was looking up, you know, was the puppeteer for Rocky, originally hired for that, had done, I think, some Broadway work that was similar in terms of being a puppeteer. and gave the voice performance and they heavily filtered it and ended up using that for the final voice of Rocky as well. And you get this combo. It's like a tech garble. It actually reminded me of a film we both liked a lot at recent film Tuesday with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and featured this giant talking macaw. And that was, you know, performed on set by Arinze Kene, who also provided the voice and then effects were layered on top of that.

33:32Josh Larsen:But just this sense of having something on set for an actor to respond to, um, in both cases, providing acting as well, non-traditional acting. Um, but that's a key part of it. You know, that's why I like that you mentioned this is a collaboration. You have to have an actor like Gosling who's capable of something like this or tease with these very particular talents. And then Lord Miller who are able to, you know, manage all of these sensibilities together. So, um, yeah, it really, it really does work. There, there's a lot of things about project Hail Mary that could have not only not worked, but not worked in a really bad way.

34:07Josh Larsen:And, and I think, um, instead they, they managed to make this a really entertaining thought provoking experience.

34:16Adam Kempenaar:One other quick note about Ortiz. I don't know if you saw this. I think it, it popped up in my Instagram reels, but it kind of reminds me of the story about David Lynch, apparently, you know, one of the most infamous characters in TV history, Bob from Twin Peaks. And the guy who plays Bob is just, you know, some guy on the set who had some other role and they just kind of put him in. Not that it's apples to apples, but James Ortiz apparently, you know, was just hired to be the puppeteer. And what they found he was not going to do the voice work, but, but what they found was of course, because he was doing all the physical work, he was such a good collaborator.

34:58Adam Kempenaar:He, he knew he understood Rocky so well, and he was, he was playing off of Gosling so well. He understood how Rocky thought and he not only moved, but thought basically that they realized that it's like, what are we doing? He, he needs to be Rocky and that's how it ended up happening. And it's funny cause he talked about how he's actually now, now you won't be able to unhear it a little bit. He's, he's channeling Catherine Hepburn a little bit with his Rocky voice. So it is, I think a really great performance. And, and I do want to at least mention before we go, I mean, not surprising because we've loved her in other films, but Sandra Huller, I think brings really exactly, I mean the right tone to this as well, because she has a role that could be thankless and actually could derail this movie a little bit.

35:46Adam Kempenaar:She has to be the international ice queen. Talk about no nonsense. She has to be the just completely serious boss who's completely ruthless, who's just about, yes, she wants to save the planet, so of course she has compassion, but she will do whatever it takes, and that's who she is, and she barely, if ever, cracks a smile. and and she could then veer it'd be very easy for a performer i think to veer too far into that and and almost actually lean into comic territory because they're overplaying that sternness and and and here like i was saying with gosling who plays the comedy and shows just enough of the the dramatic or the poignancy i think she she shows just enough she she cracks just enough of a smile without ever showing her teeth.

36:39Adam Kempenaar:Oh, yeah. You know there's a person in there. You see the person beneath the boss all of the time. And I don't know about you, but that moment where we get a musical performance has to be a contender for music moment, or it's going to go on the list. And I think the reason why is because not only is she a great, she's a pretty good, at least, musical performer. And we knew that because she has won a music moment previously in the show's history. But that moment actually serves a dramatic function. It serves a practical function in the construct of the story as well. And with her character and Grace's character.

37:21Josh Larsen:Yeah, when that moment came, I was like, oh, is this why she's in this movie? Like they saw Tony Erdman and are like, oh, or is like - Apparently it wasn't originally in the script. Well, or did she demand it? She's like, fine, I'll be in your movie, but I got to get to sing. But I agree with you. She's, I'm still not quite sure why she's in the movie, but she's about as good as you could be in this part. And she's good. She's, she's dryly funny, which to your point, the part needs to have to be just like 20 % more interesting. And it is so.

37:53Adam Kempenaar:Project Hail Mary currently playing in wide release. If you've seen it and we're guessing you have, because a lot of the world has. And if you agree or disagree with our thoughts, we would love to hear from you. Feedback at filmspotting.net.

38:08Josh Larsen:Adam, we had a lot of good things to say about Project Hail Mary. And we touched on this, but could have spent more time on the visual splendor of this space movie, which I think is one of its qualities, along with all the other things we discussed in detail. And I'm so glad that I had a chance to see it, not just in a theater, but a theater with a big screen, the sort of screens you're going to find at Regal Cinemas. And a movie like Project Hail Mary, if you had Regal Unlimited, you would have a chance to see it for free through this program. Regal Unlimited is the all-you-can-watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just two visits.

38:52Josh Larsen:Right now, Regal is offering film spotting listeners endless movies for less. If you sign up for Regal Unlimited using code FILMSPOT26, you'll get 15 % off. Regal Unlimited is the only truly limitless movie subscription pass. You can see any standard 2D movie anytime with no blackout dates or restrictions. Also with Regal Unlimited, you won't just save money on tickets. You'll also save on snacks. Members get 10 % off all non-alcoholic concessions. Sign up now in the Regal app or at the link in our description and use code FILMSPOT26 to receive your discount.

39:37Josh Larsen:Adam, let's thank a couple of our film spotting family members. But first, let's tell folks who haven't joined the family why they should. Here's what you get for only$4.99 a month. You get bonus shows every month, ad-free listening every episode. You can join the family discord whenever you want. Sam writes a weekly film spotting family newsletter, and then we offer pre-sales and discounts for our special events. That's all for 99 a month. Of course, if you want to pay annually, it's going to be even cheaper for you.

40:11Adam Kempenaar:Yeah. I I'm going to say pro rated. I'm not good with business. I don't know if I'm using that term correctly, but if you pro rated it out to just five, 75 per month, you also get complete archive access in addition to all of the things you mentioned. Going back the archive to 2005, it's like 1 ,200 plus episodes total. That is just 76 cents more per month with that annual family plus plan. Producer Sam has decided to spell it out even further. You want math? It's less than seven hundredths of a penny per archive episode. Okay. So we've, we've done a lot of talking over the years and that, that seems like, you know, a very small sum to pay.

40:56Josh Larsen:Seven hundredths of a penny per archive episode. Yeah. Let's, let's get that all over social media, print the t-shirts. Yeah. That's great. Well, let's also thank family plus members, Eric Jensen, who's in union, New Jersey and Brady in Southern California. you. Eric wrote in, although I can't recall how I started listening to film spotting, I can tell you from going back and listening to old episodes why I've been listening weekly for a decade. The show has always felt natural. Nothing feels forced. Feels like we've been invited to hang with two friends who genuinely love movies and want to share their love with us.

41:33Josh Larsen:I can safely say that film spotting has been, if not the reason I became a cinephile, one of the main reasons. That's nice to hear.

41:41Adam Kempenaar:Brady says a couple of years ago, I watched Paris, Texas for the first time and was floored. This has one of my favorite lines in a recent listener email in it, Josh. I thought, why aren't more people talking about this movie? I should be having water cooler conversations about this movie at work. They should be talking about this movie on the news. Wow. Oh my gosh.

42:03Josh Larsen:I mean, what a world. What a world. That was almost

42:06Adam Kempenaar:my reaction to Paris, Texas. We loved it. I went looking for podcasts to hear what more articulate that cinephiles had to say about it. I found the Paris, Texas episode was hooked by the dialogue and have been keeping up ever since. And, you know, I should dig into this a little further with Brady because Paris, Texas was originally a bonus conversation just for family members, if I recall correctly. That sounds right. I think at some point we did. There was a reason why we dropped it in the main feed, which we don't usually do. Exclusive content, exclusive content. But I think there was a reason why we did.

42:41Adam Kempenaar:So, so maybe Brady found it. He heard it in the, in the, uh, in the main feed and then became a family member because of it. Or maybe he saw that it was exclusive content and became a family member to hear it. I'll have to check that out with Brady. But yeah, that was a, that was a really good, good review. At least I remember it fondly. Good. That was a fun one.

43:01Josh Larsen:I hope Brady isn't like splicing into the cable cord and stealing bonus episodes and that how he, that's how he got hooked. I'm sure not.

43:10Adam Kempenaar:And you know Sam's going to include this comment from Eric that his favorite show segment is Massacre Theater. It's almost always, he says, a lock for a good laugh. So that means sometimes it's not good for a laugh. See, I'm going to dwell on that.

43:23Josh Larsen:But he says, Eric says, long live Massacre Theater. There you go, Eric. Appreciate the support. All right. The film that Brady credits with becoming a cinephile, this is kind of wild. The Blair Witch Project, when I was seven, I snuck into the back of the living room after bedtime. I knew my parents were planning to watch a rented VHS tape of this new movie that had taken the country by storm. I made it deep into the runtime before I was finally caught. I begged to finish the movie and by some miracle convinced my parents that I could separate fiction from reality. I was allowed to stay on the condition that I don't tell my classmates or teacher.

44:02Josh Larsen:In the post-movie debrief, my parents emphasized how amazing it was that we had all been terrified by something that looked like one of our home videos. It was an eye-opening experience, realizing what some kids with a camera had pulled off. I really do credit Blair Witch with showing me that movies can create thought-provoking emotional experiences. Also, my mom says I made it about a week before I let slip that I recognized the birch trees in my science textbook from somewhere else. Uh-oh. Man, school counselor appointment immediately? Is that what happened, Brady? How about that, though?

44:37Adam Kempenaar:Age seven and the impulse was to keep watching, not to run away terrified like my response would have been?

44:45Josh Larsen:I mean, I think it was about seven when I was inappropriately confronted with Friday the 13th. I've shared this story on the show before, so I'm not going to go into it in detail. And I think I would wish that on a kid at seven over the Blair Witch Project. Honestly, I mean, that's some pretty rough going there, Brady.

45:06Adam Kempenaar:I don't know. I was always one of those kids who was drawn to those movies. And then as soon as it got scary, ran out of the room and had nightmares about it and never, never came back. So I don't know. Eric, Eric says his first theater experience was seeing speed at a far too young age. He credits it with his love of movies and the theater. Yon de Bont. I love it. Well done. Well done, Eric. Understandable. Understandable. Yeah, we thank Eric and Brady for being Family Plus members and for all of those years of listening. If you would like to follow them and their very discerning taste on Letterboxd, Brady is Birdman.

45:42Adam Kempenaar:That's B-U-R-R-E-D. I'm going Birdman, Josh. And Eric is Sand is Overrated. And that is exactly what I said, all one word. Sand is overrated. We remind you. We got you there, Eric. Yeah. We remind you that your membership does come with all of those perks. And your April bonus will be an Ask Us Anything. We love Ask Us Anything. You throw out questions. We talk about things we don't normally talk about on the show. If you'd like to be part of that, you can be part of the FilmSpotting family. And you can do that by visiting filmspottingfamily.com. You can also rate or review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

46:23Adam Kempenaar:We thank you for any or all of that.

46:48Adam Kempenaar:Serious? Opening next weekend, Zendaya and Robert Pattinson are a soon-to-be married couple in the drama. We will have a review of that the following week. Next week is a sort of week off for the show. Hey, we deserve a little bit of a spring break, but we will have content. We're always going to deliver some content into your feed. Part of that content will be 40s Madness Round 2 results. That means we will be telling you which movies are advancing to the sweet 16. And we'll have another archive drop for you, a really good one tying in with the drama, our top five movies about marriage from 2019.

47:30Adam Kempenaar:I wonder if we got personal or not with that one, Josh. Do you have any recollection? Did we talk about our marriages? My wife would murder me if I did. I don't know about yours.

47:40Josh Larsen:I think we played it very careful is my bet.

47:44Adam Kempenaar:We probably did.

47:44Josh Larsen:Yeah.

47:44Adam Kempenaar:You can find the film spotting schedule at filmspotting.net slash episodes.

47:49Josh Larsen:Quick note about our sister podcast, The Next Picture Show, looking at cinemas present via its past. They're on to part two of their couple's getaway pairing. That means they're talking about The Bride. And in the context of the film they discussed in part one, which was 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, one of the many, many, many, many, many influences on The Bride, which, you know, I liked. So can't wait to hear them dig into that conversation. New episodes of the next picture show drop every Tuesday, wherever you get your podcasts.

48:21Adam Kempenaar:We do have another save the date reminder for you. Two fest, two film spotting. That's what we're going with this time. Yep. There it is. In fact, that, that needs to be the title. I think I have a call right after this with our graphic designer. And I think that that has to be the graphic. June 27th and 28th in Chicago, three movies on Saturday at one venue, one on Sunday at another. Who will be there? Josh will be there. Yes, he will return from Scotland if they let him back in the country. And Golden Joe Dessau, I'll be there. Producer Sam, Michael Phillips, and other guests and family members, film spotting family members.

49:10Adam Kempenaar:you'll get access to tickets before everyone else you'll get a discount on those festival passes you'll also get a special meet and greet opportunity so you want to be part of it

49:22Josh Larsen:adam do you remember where you ranked too fast too furious on your fast and furious ranking

49:28Adam Kempenaar:i am going to say it did you look this up no no no i should okay i'm just guessing for myself that much work.

49:37Josh Larsen:I, I think I probably put it last. Yeah. For me, it might, it's, if it's not last, I think it's second to last. So nevertheless, we will stick with two fest, two fear, two films body, two film, two film spot. Yeah, that's really good.

49:51Adam Kempenaar:And of course I, I wish I came up with that, but you can, you can safely assume that if it's really funny, producer Sam probably put it in my notes. I only about two out of a hundred times did I come up with it. So all right. There you go.

50:06Josh Larsen:I'm Sam Van Halgren. I love it. Yeah. Uh, also in the future, also possibly put on your calendars though. It's coming pretty quickly here. Sorry for the late notice, but Berlin meetup anyone, let me know, uh, April 10, a Friday. I'm going to be in Berlin and would love to hang out if any listeners are in the vicinity. So just let us know. You can email feedback at filmspotting.com. net or find me on social Facebook, Instagram, blue sky, probably the best places Larson on film, L-A-R-S-E-N. And yeah, let's try to get together in Berlin on April 10. You had so much success with Copenhagen. Why not?

50:46Adam Kempenaar:Why not advance into Germany?

50:49Josh Larsen:The Copenhagen accords are strong, but yeah, we want to get from Berlin. We want to build on more.

50:56Adam Kempenaar:I love it.

50:58Josh Larsen:Nobody else has ever danced the red shoes since you left. Nobody else ever shall. Look, I probably should have told you this before, but you see, well, insanity runs in my family. If I could only get inside that brain of yours and understand what makes you do these crazy, twisted things. Put on the red shoes, Vicky, and dance for us again.

51:22Adam Kempenaar:This is Sparta! Sam doing some handiwork with the intro. He's, he's expanding it. We're getting some forties films in the intro, but you know, we still have to end strong with, with the standby rule. One is you can't take Sparta out of the madness intro, but we remind you round two of forties madness is live. Vote now at filmspotting.net polls close as they always will. Mondays, 1159 PM central time. The new round, The Sweet 16 will then open on Tuesday at noon, and you can find everything you need to know on our website, filmspotting.net. But the direct route, the most direct route, because, yes, I bought the domain name several years ago, is filmspottingmadness.com.

52:10Adam Kempenaar:There you go. Now, Josh, let's highlight a few notable round one results. No, we're not going to go through all 32 or anywhere close to all 32 matchups, but some of the more interesting or at least some of the closer battles. And here's what we have to say. I think I don't know if this is the first time this has ever happened or not, but praise, I suppose, is due for the selection committee because there was not a single upset. every movie. I mean, that's boring. So maybe there shouldn't be praise for the selection committee, but that does mean that every, every title that Sam and myself thought quote unquote should win slash would win did win.

52:58Adam Kempenaar:Got it.

52:58Josh Larsen:You had a rank more highly than we had a rank more highly and it, and it did, it took, took it. Okay. Yeah. All right. That's how it played out. Yeah. Maybe we'll get some upsets as we move forward here. Um, but for now, what are we looking at? It looks like Bambi did move on as we suggested, I think earlier taking out James Cagney in white heat and yeah, 55 % to 45%. So, you know, kind of close there. That's as close as it got. That's the closest.

53:29Adam Kempenaar:Okay. In round one, we, yeah, we, I'll just say real quick, Josh, to set it up. We only had four matchups decided by 10 % or less. There just were no real nail biters. So that's, that's where we're at.

53:39Josh Larsen:Okay. Well, here's a comment and please do share your comments as you vote so that we can share them on the show. For this matchup, W. David Lichty said, Bambi is cinematic art. I think that gets lost since it's now part of the Disney genre, but I would even put it above Fantasia for artistry. And yeah, Bambi took out Fantasia pre-tournament and is moving on here as well by taking out White Heat? I have to correct you.

54:08Adam Kempenaar:Fantasia in round one, Josh. But maybe not advancing. Yeah, yeah, it was. Bambi was up against Dumbo, I think. Oh, you're right. That's right. Yes, yes. But Fantasia was part of round one. It unfortunately is not advancing to round two. So Bambi is representing Disney after taking out Jimmy Cagney. Now I said last week, I thought this one was a tough one to predict. and considering it was only a 9 % difference, I guess I am vindicated. Vincent Minnelli's Meet Me in St. Louis up against Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend and Meet Me in St. Louis did take it, but 54 % to 46%. Joseph Carr says, I kind of detested the schmaltz of Meet Me in St.

54:55Adam Kempenaar:Louis, but boy has it stuck around in my head. Judy Garland will do that to you, so it gets the vote for me. Peter Ketter says, perhaps someone will do a musical version of the lost weekend. Hmm. I'm, I'm not sure about that. Now, one last one, we're going to mention to you the closest matchup that was only 6%. And Josh, it, it works out perfectly. I think that we're alternating here and you get to highlight this one, because if I saw correctly, did you see one of these two movies for the first time and also rate it four out of four stars?

55:27Josh Larsen:Part of my homework. Yeah. Jacques Tournaire directed noir out of the past. I watched specifically for madness, and I think it might've jumped into maybe one of my top five noirs, Adam. It's so good. It is so good. The riches, the level of riches you have in out of the past, you've got Tournaire who also directed Cat People, I Walked With A Zombie, just at the top of his game here, Robert Mitchum. I don't know if anyone's so casually held the screen in such a tight grip as Robert Mitchum does here. Two Femmes Fatale, you get Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming and Kirk Douglas. I didn't know. I mean, this just shows how naive I was.

56:14Josh Larsen:I didn't know going in. I knew it was Mitchum. I knew some of this other stuff. Kirk Douglas pops up in like the third role as sort of the crime boss pulling the strings. And I think it's, I think it might've been his third or fourth screen performance and he's incredible. So yeah, out of the past, man, what a, this is, this is what madness is about. Like a quote unquote discovery for me. Now we do have someone who disagrees with me though. Jordan Jurczyk wrote in and said this about this matchup out of the Past is a really effective noir that I quite enjoyed, but to be or not to be is on a completely different level.

56:52Josh Larsen:Hilarious, political, expertly crafted, making fun of Nazis before it was cool. If you haven't had the pleasure, make time for this one. I'm with you.

57:01Adam Kempenaar:I voted for Out of the Past. I'm against Jordan on that one. But as we transition into highlighting some round two matchups out of the past is going to come up again for me, Josh, because it's definitely part of a matchup that is very, very tough to pick. Why don't you start us off though with one or two or however many you'd like to highlight. Did you look at round two? Have you had a chance yet? And did any strike you as, as particularly troubling? Tyler Reddick here from 2311 racing, another checkered flag for the books. Time to celebrate with Chumba. Jump in at Chumbacasino.com. Let's Chumba.

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59:51Josh Larsen:Yeah, I did So with the timing here, actually And having a course right after these matchups go live, I only had a chance to take a quick glance, but I do have a few that stood out and I'll start with the toughest to pick. For me, there's a handful of them that look tough, but the one that really jumped out was personally best years of our lives versus Mildred Pierce. Really? Yeah. I think at this point, best years has become, I'm fair to say a film spotting title after our William Wyler marathon. I mean, we shared it as our favorite picture of the marathon. Um, and I know I've had it on top five lists.

1:00:32Josh Larsen:Uh, I just really respect that film at the same time, Mildred, Mildred Pierce might be my favorite Joan Crawford melodrama. Um, and that's after doing what came up on the show recently, you know, during COVID the family Joan Crawford marathon. So I've seen a fair amount of her stuff and man, Mildred Pierce's, um, it's a tough one in all the good ways as a Joan Crawford melodrama should be. So I'm going to have to sit and wrestle with this one for a while. Okay.

1:01:01Adam Kempenaar:I didn't have it on my tough list, but you're not wrong. I mean, I hesitated because maybe it's recency bias. I love both films. I think they're both, I think they're both excellent. And because of the recent Weiler marathon and how giddy, I suppose I was for best years of our lives. I have it. I have it just higher, but you're right. Mildred Pierce is a movie I've written about. It's a movie I've seen multiple times and love, love as a noir. So it, it should be a tough choice because they're both really excellent films. So I'm with you. What were your toughest on this round then? Well, I had, I had four, I voted.

1:01:41Adam Kempenaar:I had four that I had to stop at and just be like, I don't, I don't know what to do with these. And one of the four, I still haven't voted in and I'm not sure I can bring myself to vote in. But I'll count down from easiest to easiest of the hard to the to the one that I'm still mad about. The first two, Josh, are Hitchcock related. Rebecca advanced past Red River. Rebecca beat out Howard Hawks. but now is up against Kurosawa and a movie we talked about fairly recently in Stray Dog. And, you know, we're talking about two masters in Kurosawa and Hitchcock. I think that there are much better Hitchcock films than the Hitchcock films that are in this tournament of, of all the Hitchcock films that are, that are in the bracket.

1:02:33Adam Kempenaar:And we've got notorious Rebecca we've got rope and we have shadow of a doubt which did advance by beating by beating Pinocchio shadow of a doubt is my favorite and shadow of doubt is going to go down I think unfortunately pretty hard I say unfortunately because it's my favorite of the ones I just highlighted but it's going to run into a buzzsaw I think in round two and that movie is the number six seed, The Red Shoes. I do think The Red Shoes will take it down. Probably. In The Sweet 16. But there's a lot of love for Hitchcock out there amongst film spotting listeners. I do like Rebecca quite a bit.

1:03:13Adam Kempenaar:Maybe here again, recency, and maybe even appreciating Kurosawa a little bit more. I just can't get that excited about Rebecca. And even though I had to pause, I'm going with the upset. I think Stray Dog. I'd hope Stray Dog would win. I don't think it will. The next one is Notorious versus Sullivan's Travels. Now, I like Notorious more. I like Notorious more than Rebecca. This is harder. But I also kind of think Sullivan's Travels is a masterpiece, like a legitimate Hollywood masterpiece. And for that reason, I'm nudging Hitchcock out again, and I would go with the upset. I finally voted and I picked Sullivan's Travels over Notorious.

1:04:00Josh Larsen:I mentioned out of the past. Do you? I've got that one real quick in my hardest to predict. That was the one that jumped out at me because I do think you have, this might be Hitchcock at the top of his spy game, possibly with Notorious. And then, but Sullivan's Travels, I think you might have Sturgis at the top of his game altogether. So I don't know how anyone gets their mind around that. It's going to be difficult for me, not the most difficult, but I think for most viewers, it will be a tough one. So for me, it's hardest to predict. Okay. My number two toughest to pick.

1:04:36Adam Kempenaar:The film you just talked about, Out of the Past, one of my favorite noirs. It's going up against a very, very highly seated and rightfully so, The Third Man. I think The Third Man is going to kill it. And I think that's because it's a beloved film. I think out of the past is still probably a little under seen compared to the third man. It, it, it isn't, it isn't going to win. And I was just going to look up real quick while we're talking what the seating is. The third man is the five seed out of the past is fairly highly seated. Realistically selection committee. We probably put it a little too high, not that it doesn't deserve to be this high, but just in terms of how I think it would go.

1:05:18Adam Kempenaar:28 is probably a little too high for it, but there's a reason why the third man is the number five seed and I don't think it's going to win, but Josh here again, it, well, I was going to say it might be a case of recency bias, but I haven't seen either of these movies in a long time. I can trace out of the past back to its noir marathon here on film spotting. So maybe 2006, I hadn't seen it before that. The third man, I don't remember when I saw it, but I've only seen it once. And while I do, while I do really like that movie for me, it's not, it's not one of those all timers, you know, it's not one of my top 10 or 20 or, or even top 50 movies.

1:05:58Adam Kempenaar:Like I think it is for a lot of people. If I had to, if I could only watch one of the two films now, I do need to rewatch the third man. But if I could only rewatch one of these two films for the rest of my life, I'd, I'd go with out of the past for all the reasons that some of the reasons anyway that you've already talked about.

1:06:16Josh Larsen:Yeah. It's tough for me too. And I can't even fairly, the recency thing is just, you know, for me, it's not even fair to compare a movie you watch a week ago to one it's been like at least 10 years. So yeah, that's a tough one.

1:06:29Adam Kempenaar:And for me, it's been longer. The third man, I mean, I'll just say it. It's probably been at least 25 years since I've seen the third man. So I'll set that aside. And that brings me to number one. I know this isn't tough for you, but you can surely understand why it's tough for me. And Sam and I both saw this coming as a very likely sweet 16 matchup. We saw the poetry, the awful poetry, I suppose, in this British matchup, this Great Britain matchup of one of the, if not the all-time friendship movie and one of the all-time tragic, if not the all-time tragic love stories. Don't get me wrong. I think Brief Encounter is going to beat the life and death of Colonel Blimp.

1:07:23Adam Kempenaar:I don't think it's going to be even that close. The life and death of Colonel Blimp from the Archers is number 24 seed. It's not as highly regarded by everyone as the red shoes. I even am pretty sure I have the red shoes higher on my Archers ranked list. But it's up against, you know, Brief Encounter, which I also love. And it's the nine seed. I think both movies are masterpieces. Both movies are films that I had not seen until I discussed them here on Film Spotting. I consider them both quote unquote film spotting movies. I think they're both essential. That's the only other way I can refer to them.

1:08:06Adam Kempenaar:That's how strongly I do feel about the life and death of Colonel Blempp. I think most people understand why we might feel that way about Brief Encounter, but that's how I feel about Colonel Blimp as well. And it makes me really mad. It makes me really mad to have to vote one way or another, Josh. That's all I can say. This is madness. I'm angry. I have no one to blame but myself and Sam. I'm I'm actually I really am actually leaning Colonel Blimp there there there are just there are things about Colonel Blimp the riches of that movie the richness of that movie the layers to that movie there there are depths to it that that have me wanting to go back to it again and again that that maybe have me putting it just slightly higher than Brief Encounter even though like I said I think Brief Encounter is an essential film so if I if I forced myself right now I've got four incredibly tough to pick matchups but in all four I think I would pick the underdog to win even though to be clear I don't think the underdog will win in any of these four matchups and actually maybe again kind of boring I think I think we're going to have another round where all of the favorites are going to advance just like in round one.

1:09:31Yeah.

1:09:32Josh Larsen:I think you're not entirely alone with your blimp favoritism though. I wonder even if, I mean, there are archers fanatics who will definitely vote for it over brief encounter. And I do wonder if brief encounter might still be to your point about out of the past, a bit under scene. It seems to me like the people who I was late to catching up with it, you know, it's, it's not necessarily where you start with lean, right? You kind of get there eventually and just astounded by what I discovered there. But I wonder if there are a fair amount of people who have that similar trajectory and maybe they'll be counteracted by the archers fanatics who just love blimp.

1:10:14Josh Larsen:We'll have to see.

1:10:15Adam Kempenaar:Yeah, maybe so. While you're talking, sometimes I reference this when I'm trying to make choices, and it doesn't always tell you what direction you should go because it's not always indicative of our audience. It is indicative, obviously, of the Letterboxd audience. The life and death of Colonel Blimp has been seen by 39 ,000 people logged on Letterboxd. and it has 13 ,000. So a third, exactly a third like it. And it actually shows up. It has the crown next to it, which means it's number 255 in the letterbox top 500. So it's highly regarded to be 255 in the top 500, even though it's only been seen by 39 ,000 people.

1:11:02Adam Kempenaar:That's, that's relatively low when we're talking about the top 500 movies compared to some of the other titles and, and the number of views I know that they have brief encounter by comparison has 145 ,000 views. Okay. 50, 56 ,000 likes. And so that's like four, four times at least, right. The likes and four times the views and it's, it's number one 36 on that top 500. So that, that does make Never mind the younger scene. Yeah, I think it's going to triumph. Now, 145 is still much lower than a lot of the other films we're talking about in this bracket. But it's more than Colonel Blimp. And I do think Colonel Blimp is heading for a defeat.

1:11:50Adam Kempenaar:Now, toughest to predict. Like I said, I think it's going to be chalk, as they say. I think the favorites are going to advance once again. but I do have one where I think it could be close and maybe not surprisingly, it's the one matchup where the seeds are the closest, but you mentioned this earlier. Do you, do you have a couple or just one that you think is tough to predict?

1:12:14Josh Larsen:The toughest one you already mentioned for me is a notorious versus Sullivan's travels. I don't know if that's what you were thinking of, or if you were going to different direction.

1:12:22Adam Kempenaar:No, I have one different one. Yeah. I have one other one that I, I, I'm not sure what to make of it. And it's the number 15 here. It involves the archers again. You know, I guess they're, they're really confounding me. It's, it's a matter of life and death, which I love. I love all of these films by the archers. It's a matter of life and death against the Philadelphia story, which is considered maybe the all time best romantic comedy. And here, here is a case again, where you look at the numbers, a matter of life and death, 76 ,000 views, 29 ,000 likes, but it is number 209 in that top 500. So 76 and 29 Philadelphia story by contrast, 149 and 47.

1:13:08Adam Kempenaar:So very clearly it's double, it's double the likes and double the views, but the Philadelphia story is, is not in the top 500 and a matter of life and death is 209. So there is that prestige factor with a matter of life and death that comes with the archers. That is why I'm pretty sure that in the aggregate, there are more people listening who have probably seen the Philadelphia story. But the people listening who have seen a matter of life and death probably feel stronger about it. Love it. Yeah. And that, right. And that may, that may get out the vote if you will. And I could see the number 18 seed potentially winning or at least giving the Philadelphia story a really close, close contest.

1:13:51Yeah.

1:13:52Josh Larsen:And there was one year for our prediction brackets. I, I just, you know, played the letterbox game entirely and it's doesn't, as I think you suggested earlier, it doesn't entirely match up necessarily with film spotting listenership. So, so it's a good guide. I think it's more helpful than not in making your predictions, but it's not necessarily a lock, um, by gathering those stats.

1:14:15Adam Kempenaar:no it's not now we do have to highlight before we move on the bracket prediction contest and i know that the the burning question on everybody's mind or i assume it is because it certainly was the burning question on my mind the first thing i looked at this morning josh after where do i rank the first thing i looked at is where does ricky kendall rank right yeah because ricky Kendall one, one year, I think he actually predicted every matchup correctly. And one year only got one wrong and, and how you could get a perfect bracket or even one wrong. Just, you know, I don't know how that's possible.

1:14:58Adam Kempenaar:So I, I wanted to see where Ricky, dark magic, where Ricky stood. Now, obviously after round one, there's only the highest score you can get is 32 each win each matchup gets you one point so there's gonna be a lot of ties and right now I will tell the world sorry sorry Ricky that I'm calling you out for being in 190th place but Ricky Ricky so far not that Ricky's dead by any means but Ricky is tied for 190th no actually you know what oh gosh you know what Josh I'm wrong I'm wrong he's winning I should I should we should have sam edit that out i besmirched his name he's not he's not winning but he he's in much better standing than i suggested he's okay he's tied for 23rd okay okay now that's more sensible he's in the running i he has 190 points that he could earn he he got 30 right he only missed on two okay so he got 30 right but already he's missed more than he missed the last two madnesses combined he's he's on a slide he's on a slide but he is tied for 23rd so he he's he's doing okay all right let's highlight we do like to highlight who the leaders are and we do have five people who are tied for first perfect brackets nice after after round one and i think i can call them out sam sam mike marigan the the film spotty maddest godfather i think i can call them out by name because their names are in their email and I hope they won't mind.

1:16:33Adam Kempenaar:We have Matthew Emery, we have Owen Bloom, we have Anthony Reich, we have Patrick McCoy, and we have one other that I don't have the full name, but Shadrick is in the email. Those five have perfect brackets so far, 32 out of 32. And we'll keep tabs. And as this develops, we'll give them a chance to share their wisdom and their tricks with our audience. Yeah.

1:16:58Josh Larsen:I mean, enjoy it now is what I would say. And we'll see how you do in the future.

1:17:05Adam Kempenaar:Yes. Now, speaking of that bracket competition that we have every year with you and me and Sam and Mike Merrigan, our listener who is the founding father, the godfather of film spotting madness, we do compete. And really what we compete for is not supremacy, but just to not lose. Yes. In this case, there there's good news and bad news for me. I, I am in the lead at the moment, even though I am, I'm tied for 101st because I got three wrong. Okay. Mike Merrigan is 120th. We're not, we're not doing well, Josh. Mike Merrigan is, is 120th. He got four wrong. All right. Sam 181st. He missed five. You also missed five, but you're 202nd.

1:17:55Adam Kempenaar:So one of the ones you missed must, must affect future matchups. I'm guessing. I'll just trust you.

1:18:03Josh Larsen:This is already too much. You don't want me to call it out. No, I believe you. I don't need, I don't need to see the work.

1:18:11Adam Kempenaar:Future embarrassment. Okay. So here's where, here's where it's good news for you though. and Mike and Sam and bad news for me. True, I only missed three and I'm higher ranked, but I did hint at this last week. I got a little aggressive thinking that there'd be some Disney magic that might propel Fantasia as our Cinderella. And I thought Fantasia would actually, not only win its round one matchup, I thought Fantasia might win. No, I thought it would win its round two matchup and take down the Philadelphia story. But it didn't beat a matter of life and death. That's not going to happen. So it can't beat the Philadelphia story.

1:19:00Adam Kempenaar:Not going to happen. So I already have one of my sweet 16 out, which doesn't bode well for me.

1:19:08Josh Larsen:All right. I will confess I was under a bit of duress submitting my bracket this year and mostly made my picks based on instinct and then a final pick for a winner based on an excuse to name my team. I like your name, by the way. Share it, please. Well, should I? Or I don't want to. I don't know if I want to give that away. Okay. I don't know.

1:19:38Adam Kempenaar:I don't know. Yeah, no, that's fine. That's fine. I think I think only myself and Sam as the administrators can see the emails attached, the names attached to the brackets. But you you missed Gaslight lost to the archers. It's not just an all archers bracket, by the way, but it could be. Black Narcissus won. Rome Open City did not beat The Grapes of Wrath. And The Lost Weekend did not beat Meet Me in St. Louis. Spellbound did not take down Ozu's late spring. And The Great Dictator, in fact, did beat John Ford's My Darling Clementine. Those were the five that you lost on, Josh. All right. Well, we'll see.

1:20:21Josh Larsen:But you're alive. There's many, many rounds to go.

1:20:24Adam Kempenaar:Indeed. But the round two polls, as we've mentioned, are live and the bracket challenge. Well, you can't enter it anymore, but we're going to be keeping tabs on those results and sharing them with you every week. Remember that we'll announce the Sweet 16 here next week on Film Spotting, and those polls will open on Tuesday. That's Tuesday, March 31st, noon Central Time. You can find all the madness at filmspottingmadness.com. And Josh, that's our show.

1:21:00Josh Larsen:If you'd like to connect with us on social media, you can find Adam and the show on Instagram, Facebook, Letterboxd, YouTube at filmspotting. I'm at those places as Larson on film. We are independently produced and listener supported. Support the show by joining the filmspotting family at filmspottingfamily.com. You can listen early and ad-free, plus get monthly bonus episodes, a weekly newsletter, and access to the entire show archive. For show t-shirts and other merch, go to filmspotting.net slash shop.

1:21:31Adam Kempenaar:In the Film Spotting archive, there's other Lord and Miller, and I know there's more than this, but you can definitely find The Lego Movie, episode 478, your number one film of 2014. Indeed it was.

1:21:43Josh Larsen:That's true.

1:21:43Adam Kempenaar:21 Jump Street reviewed on episode 394. I don't know that we got a review of cloudy with the chance of meatballs in, but maybe it is a good movie. I'll have to search the archive for that streaming and VOD out now, Mike and Nick and Nick and Alice. Okay. A time travel gangster comedy with two Vince Vaughn's plus James Marsden and Isa Gonzalez in limited release. Yes. Josh, Julia do corno. I just saw the trailer for this over the weekend before Project Hail Mary. Alpha is finally getting its U.S. release after premiering at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is her follow-up to 2021's Teton, and it looks crazy.

1:22:28Josh Larsen:I'm sure. And I hate when this happens. I was so high on Raw, her debut. Teton was a wild ride I'm still processing, I think. but the fact that this got caught in limbo a little bit means, I mean, I'll have to catch up with it. Who cares about release dates and all that? I am excited that we're finally getting a chance to see the new Julia Duke or now, even though, yeah, I better buckle up. I'm sure.

1:22:56Adam Kempenaar:A magnificent life is out from French animator, Sylvain Chomay, who did the triplets of Belleville and Sophia Coppola has a new documentary out. It's a documentary portrait of designer, Mark Jacobs called Mark by Sophia. In wide release, a witchy film, Femme Cult, is the setting of Forbidden Fruits. Our friend Robert Daniels caught it at South by Southwest and calls it a reverently silly teen girl slasher. Okay. They Will Kill You, also debuted at South by Southwest. And that is about a young woman who finds herself working as a housekeeper for a satanic cult. Okay. So horror, Josh, just horror upon horror.

1:23:34Adam Kempenaar:There's also a, speaking of horror, an AI doc or how I became an apocalloptimist. I think I said that right. This is from director Daniel Rohr, who gave us Navalny. And once we're brothers, once we're brothers, it takes a personal journey into the world of AI. And finally, 2001's The Mummy Returns is getting a re-release. Where's the sacred cow on The Mummy Returns? You know what, though? I'm going to have to say this. I think I've admitted this. It would have to be part blind spotting. It'd be a blind cow. I've never seen it. Wait, you've never seen The Mummy or The Mummy Returns? Well, neither.

1:24:11Adam Kempenaar:I've never seen any Mummy movie. What are we doing here? Wait, it says we revisited it in 2020. Did we watch The Mummy? I have no recollection of talking about the mummy. Did we talk about the mummy? Oh, we did talk about the mummy.

1:24:25Josh Larsen:What's sad is if we did. We did. Rachel Weiss, we did. It's one thing to say that, Adam, about a review that's like 10 years or more. 10 years or more. But apparently we did this in 2024. It was like a year and a half ago. Okay. So fair enough. I don't think you were wild about it. Time is a front circle. It's a really fun movie. I was not. The Mummy Returns, unless we want to get into what The Rock meant for cinema and start at the beginning, I don't know if we really need to do it.

1:24:58Adam Kempenaar:We'll have that show coming up, and I'll promptly forget about it. Episode 964, almost exactly two years ago, The Mummy at 25, along with our fifth movie in our William Wyler marathon. How did I forget that I've seen The Mummy?

1:25:15Josh Larsen:How did we ever convince you to even do that is the question.

1:25:18Adam Kempenaar:So I think it was my idea now that it's flooding back to me. Wow. Next week, we will have some 40s Madness Sweet 16 talk for you.

1:25:27Josh Larsen:We'll see what else we get up to. Film Spotting is produced by Golden Joe Dessau and Sam Van Halgren. Without Sam and Golden Joe, this show wouldn't go. Our production assistant is Sophie Kempinar. Special thanks to everyone at WBEZ Chicago. More information is available at WBEZ.org. For Film Spotting, I'm Josh Larson.

1:25:46Adam Kempenaar:And I'm Adam Kempinar.

1:25:47Josh Larsen:Thanks for listening.

1:25:48Adam Kempenaar:This conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye.

1:26:00Adam Kempenaar:This is Julian Edelman from Games With Names. I want to take a second to talk about something that's personal to me. I've had the privilege of working closely with Robert Kraft for a long time, and one thing I've always respected is how seriously he takes up standing up to hate. As a Jewish athlete, my identity is something I am proud of, but I also know what it feels like to be singled out for it. That's why this new commercial for the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate that aired during the big game really hit home. It's about showing up for someone when they're targeted, even if you don't have the perfect words.

1:26:37Adam Kempenaar:And sometimes standing next to someone is enough and you can show support by sharing the blue square.

1:26:45Josh Larsen:Hey, it's Cole Swindell. After I give everything I've got to land a perfect vocal, I usually take five before jumping into the next track. And I've learned exactly how to recharge in that time. Some folks grab coffee. I hit a quick good luck spin. Next thing you know, the break is just as fun as laying down the track. A better break makes for a better take. Need a break? Less chumba.

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1:28:07Josh Larsen:Plan your getaway at AppleVacations.com or contact your trusted travel advisor.