Minced Grogu (ft. guest, Sigourney Weaver)

23:03Chris Hewitt:Forgive us if we fall asleep halfway through because we have all eaten very well. Our bellies are full, Helen and Jimbo, with what I can only assume was minced Grogu. Yes, I believe that's exactly what it was. It had green... What is it? I'm going to check the thing here because we had a Galactic Mandalorian double whopper meal. We did. We did. And it has mashed Grogu in it. No, no, that's not right. It fell into a mincer. No. It is a, and I quote from the website, a delicious green pickle ketchup, which in no way tastes like blended Grogu. No, absolutely. Because we've been wondering for a long, long time, because obviously Star Wars Helen takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

23:44Chris Hewitt:Yeah. And we've been wondering about the fate of Grogu in Star Wars because he's not in the sequel trilogy, is he? Oh, sorry, the sequel duology, is he? And now we know what's happened to him. He has been turned into burgers and pickled ketchup. It's a great big galaxy, and he is really puny. He's teeny tiny specks about the size of Mickey Rooney. The point is, he was away doing something else during the time of the sequels. Everything's fine. Grogu is fine. I thought he was very tasty. So did I. Very, very tasty indeed. But thank you so much to Burger King. That's a tasty burger. It is a tasty burger, and I washed it down with a Coke.

24:24Chris Hewitt:Yes, you did. I can never remember quotes. What's the quote? A tasty beverage. tasty beverage you might have some of your tasty beverage to wash this down you had a libation yeah I did have a libation before I see the baby so thank you so much to Burger King for being very very kind and sending us the what's it the Galactic Mandalorian double whopper meal that feels like a you know a mouthful I mean it was it was more than one I've never had a whopper and I enjoyed it next the Big Mac okay Womack anyway Womack Womack All right. Shall we move on? Let's talk about some movie news. Such as it is.

25:04Chris Hewitt:I mean, there has been quite a bit, Jimbo. I don't know if you've been paying attention. Yeah. Jimbo, paying attention. I don't know what you're talking about. News? Movies? What are these things? So tell us, Chris. Yeah, tell us, Chris. I thought you would tell me. Right. I've got a long list. There are so much news. Many, many wonderful stories. Have you not seen the incredible, and I mean incredible, hold on to your hats, hold the front page, James Bond casting update, Wow. Tell us. Which was basically that there is no James Bond casting update. Okay. Well, that's good to know. So, last week, Amazon MGM Studios, as we are now officially bound to call them, they released a statement.

25:47Chris Hewitt:They released an actual statement about the search for the next James Bond. This is it. Okay. The search for the next James Bond is underway. right while we don't plan to comment on specific details during the casting process we're excited to share more news with seven fans what? oh sorry 007 fans okay as soon as the time is right well that makes more sense I mean holy shit good lord that was definitely worth issuing a press release for wasn't it? yeah well with all the you know quote unquote insiders reporting on who's in the running and who isn't who's in the running I guess they had to. No, no.

26:29Each of us get to pick one person. Grogu. I would watch that. But no, I don't believe so. The name's Goo. Grogu. I know, Helen, the stakes for you here are surprisingly low. Solo. If you had to pretend that you... Very good. If you had to pretend that you cared a slight little bit, who would you pick to fill the DJ? I'm not excited about any of the names in contention. I'm just going to say that. Any names. Give us the names. He said not to. No. Okay, fine. Give us the names. Okay. Ruined my game. There is Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

27:00Chris Hewitt:Yeah. Callum Turner. Yeah, formerly of this podcast. Two weeks ago. Both on this podcast. Very recently. Very recently. Very recently. So you have your favorites already like lined up in that case. Can't. I'm not going to say anything. I'm taking the fifth on this one. Yeah. Who else? Jacob Lordy. Everybody's been talking about him for months for this role. I think he might be too big now. I feel like if this had happened last year, I mean physically, but also like just fame status wise, I feel like if it had been last year, I think he would have been a shoo, and I don't know now if they'll think he's a bit too big.

27:32And the interesting one to me is Tom Francis, who is, I would say, by some distance, the least famous of the names in contention.

27:41Chris Hewitt:Those are the four names? Those are the names that... Who's Tom Francis? Tom Francis was on stage in that, what do you call it, the play Sunset Boulevard with Nicola Scherzinger last year. so he's kind of not famous for very much more than that right now. I'm looking at pictures of him right now he looks like he's on The X Factor that's not a bad thing? Is The X Factor still going? I'm not sure or The Voice or something like that. He was in J. Kelly he had a small role in J. Kelly he's actually done much more theatre than anything else that's not necessarily a big problem for 007 producers historically they haven't always wanted the biggest names.

28:25He has worn a tuxedo. You can see pictures of him in a tuxedo if you Google him, which obviously is a major, major qualifying. I mean, you can see pictures of me and Chris in tuxedos if you Google us. I know, but like... I'm not saying we're in the running for Bond. Look, well, I mean, I don't know. You both have British passports and you have worn a tuxedo, so can we rule you out? I don't know that we can.

28:43Chris Hewitt:She's not wrong. Yeah, I'm up for it. Okay, well... If they want their Bond to look like a man who's just consumed a Galactic Mandalorian double whopper meal then come call in. That's all Bond eats. Yeah. It's actually true. The first Bond, Sean Connery wore a toupee. So we could be very much in that. Do you think I could do that? I could sport a Bond toupee. You could do that. Go full Mark Strong. Yeah. This could be incredible. Rocks up on Stardust with the long flowing locks. Oh, I'm excited about this now. Cast me as Bond, give me a wig. Let's do it. Do you spend with the talk because I'm going to talk for a very long time.

29:20Chris Hewitt:That would be amazing. I'm not ruling myself out. Yeah. Wow. Well, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to hear that, Chris. I would think that every young actor in Britain and further abroad. Yeah, yeah. Ireland. And further abroad. Ireland as well. Ireland as well. Australia, there's four. I don't know about the Australian bonds. Yes, I mean, famously, they've never gone down well. Yeah, you always were a cunning linguist, James. That's right. Yes. It's a difficult bond. Crikey. The worst bond is George Lazenby. Is he? I don't know that he was terrible himself. he was terrible because it's not a bad film and it's got like story wise it's actually really good yeah I'm not a fan of Honor Majesty Secret Service no I don't like it yeah I think the film's been reassessed and that's not to say that all Australians have to be you know tarred with the Lazenby brush if indeed it be tarred good eye mate my name's Bond Bruce Bond no it doesn't work doesn't work for me yeah but he doesn't have to do the accent like to be fair if we are talking about Jacob Lordy like he has form in doing very good I'm going to say it's going to be unpopular.

30:22He's too tall. He's too tall. He's too tall to play Bond. Yeah.

30:27Chris Hewitt:So, like, Callum Turner's only, like, two inches shorter, right? He is, he's only two inches shorter. You know, I'm fully prepared to change my mind completely when he's confirmed as the official Bond in two weeks' time. And I go, this is great casting. I'm fully behind it. I like Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The one thing, and I've said this before, the one thing about Aaron Taylor-Johnson is that his voice is a little Beckamy. But, you know, Bond, James Bond, you know, it's a little bit like that. It is. You might as well hire Joe Pasquale. Can he take it down a level? Can he do the sort of, you know, the sort of, what do you call him?

30:56Bradley Cooper. Bradley Walsh from The Chase. I was going to say Bradley Cooper in the Lady Gaga film.

31:02Chris Hewitt:Gaga. And take his voice down an octave. Yes, or like Bill Skarsgård when he did the Nosferatu.

31:11Chris Hewitt:And he took his voice down an octave. I would be back in if that happened. I would be so on board. What? If James Bond just went around with that accent. Is it Orlok or Orloff? Orlok. Okay, just checking. I like his Pennywise voice. I don't know what I'm going to tell you. He would be interesting. I'm sure they've gone to him as well. Sorry, you're talking about Bill Skarsgård. I'm Pennywise specifically. Pennywise specifically. Pennywise specifically. I don't know if we're ready for a red-headed Bond, Chris. We had a blonde Bond in Daniel Craig and we managed to, the world still spun. It was fine.

31:43Chris Hewitt:We're having a red-headed Mr. Darcy in the next Pride and Prejudice. this is a fucking outrage you know it is a truth university knowledge James that I am furious about this that was very good Jane Austen knowledge it's the only thing I know about Jane Austen I think it should be Vernon Wells why do you think so oh no that's right he'd be better off playing one of the Bennett sisters um oh oh Vernon Wells why is this happening I thought he meant Vernon Troyer what I was like I was like, that's bad casting, Jimbo. He's dead. Yes. But no, you pulled it back from the point. I did, yes. It's good, yeah.

32:25Chris Hewitt:All the ones who are in the frame at the moment, my pick would be Aaron Taylor-Johnson. I would look at someone like Aaron Pierre as well. He's good, although, and I make a case for this in the next issue of Vampire Magazine, Papa Essiedu is my pick for Bond because he's funny. He's very, he's suave, he's charming, but he's also very funny. He has a very dry, very British sense of humour and I think it is time to inject a little bit more fun into Bond. If they are going for fun Bond, I think Aaron Taylor-Johnson can be funnier than maybe, like a Jacob Elordi would probably be a less funny Bond than an Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

33:03Is Aaron Taylor-Johnson funny? I mean, he's certainly done funny. He can be with the right script, I think. I think. Callum Turner,

33:13Chris Hewitt:I don't think has... He hasn't shown funny. Lovely guy. Lovely guy. Great actor. He has yet to locate my funny bone. Yes. Even Green Room, he wasn't funny in that. But yeah, I don't know. It's interesting. You know, look at Arun Pierre. Walk around him. He's massive. He's a unit. Yeah. Looks great. He's very handsome. Piercing eyes. Yeah. While we're talking Arun Pierre, did anyone see the Lanterns trailer? I did. The new trailer for Lanterns, which is the HBO Max series. that Damon Lindelof, I think, has co-created and stars Cal Chandler. Go on, James. Coach Taylor. Yes. Your eyes full hearts can't lose.

33:53Chris Hewitt:Every single time. So excited. It's like Pavlov's bell with this guy. And Aaron Pierre as Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart, not that one, two lanterns, two green lanterns who have to team up to investigate some sort of crime. And this, I have to say, this is absolutely right up my street this looks absolutely fucking terrific it's on HBO Max in August I believe and you can bet your bottom dollar we'll be doing weekly spoiler specials but yes please I would say Helen O 'Hara also yes please and not just because they're two of the most handsome men I've ever seen just generally it looks fun it looks like a nice kind of blend of tone something we haven't seen a million times before and you know I think it's an interesting Green Lantern has so famously been fumbled on the big screen that I think name one time Green Lantern's been fumbled on the big screen actually now I'm saying that Ryan Reynolds fumbled somebody he never brings it up Green Lantern is his attack of the clones review it really is it's like he constantly brings it up it's very similar to the attack of the clones review isn't it it's on a par like cosmically with getting attack of the clones wrong isn't it but yeah I just think it looks really entertaining and I'm excited to see how that translates to the small screen yeah I'm much more psyched about it than my predisposition towards the DC-verse would necessarily imply but yeah it looks really good anything with Carl Chandler in I will watch anything with Aaron Pierre in it I will watch so this you know you're double watching I'm double watching this anything with Green Lanterns in it I will watch I also noticed that Tom King is one of the writers on this and he wrote the comic that the new Supergirl movie is based on which is a very good comic very good writer so that's also a good good sign I don't understand why why Marvel and DC slash Warner Brothers haven't done this more often and employed great comic book writers to write screenplays.

35:50Chris Hewitt:I know they're different disciplines, of course, but it's a fairly transferable skill set. And these people, the likes of your Tom Kings and your Gail Simones, know these characters inside and out, are brilliant writers, and I think would really, really nail the tone of stuff on the big screen. But anyway, hey-hoo, off my soapbox. Looks terrific. it's out in August as I said on HBO Max anything else you want to talk about? There has been news of the Daniels new film What? What news of the Daniels? What news? So we know that they're making a sci-fi film and we know that it's a secret so we don't know anything more about it pretty much than that Not much of a secret That was the news We did know They released an update going this is the latest update on the Daniels film there is no update Well there was a story there are stories there were reports credible reports that it was going to be Ryan Gosling starring in this.

36:41Now, he has obviously decided, look, I've nailed sci-fi for this year. Space, completed it, mate. Completed it. I need never return. I have conquered that final frontier. So he has apparently withdrawn for whatever reason we don't know. And the story goes that Matt Damon

36:58Chris Hewitt:Matt Damon. is stepping into the breach. So I now assume that this is going to be the story of a man who is stranded somewhere and has to be rescued. Because when Matt Damon is in a sci-fi movie, That's usually what happens. That is accurate. Or a war movie. Or most movies. Saving Matt Damon. Saving Matt Damon for things. Somebody has totted up how much humanity has spent rescuing Matt Damon from his various adventures over the years. And it is a lot of money. So, I'm just saying. Stay at home, Matt Damon. Someone sent in a question for consideration this week. We didn't do it. We didn't get around to it.

37:33Chris Hewitt:Maybe another time. But said they've noticed that Andy Serkis is constantly breaking out of prison in things. And they did a list of stuff, like he's breaking out of prison or prison type things in two Apes movies, The Escapist, probably Lord of the Rings, probably Black Panther and or, he's always breaking out of prison. I mean, the hunt for Gollum is because he literally escapes. So, yeah. There you go. Whoa. So maybe actors are drawn to various things. To certain things. Maybe he's prepping for something. Maybe there's something in a prison that he needs to get to. and he's planning to go to prison to get that thing and then escape with it.

38:13Chris Hewitt:I'm just spitballing here. But anyway, yes, that's exciting. Matt Damon in the next Daniels movie. Very, very exciting news indeed. There's some remake news. You guys hear this stuff? What was that? So my beloved Possessed Goat Boy, Sam Raimi, the greatest director of all time, is following up hot on the heels of the success of Send Help by re-teaming with the writers of Send Help, Damien Shannon and Mark Swift, to direct a remake of Dickie Attenborough's Chilling, 1979, I want to say, maybe 78. Psychological horror magic about a man who has a ventriloquist dummy that may or may not be alive. And that man was Tony Hopkins, Tony Hopkins, back in the day.

39:06Chris Hewitt:and now it's going to be someone else. Whoa. And it's a good movie. If you haven't seen it, it's a good film. Check it out. And the dummy's pretty, pretty scary. What's his name? Class of the dude. Yeah, he says, got look here, got look here. I'm here for it. I feel like Sam Remy getting back to horror again. Again. Is a good thing. And yeah, I'd rather see him do this than, you know, Doctor Strange as it turns out. Just saying. Also exciting. Yes. Philip Barantini. the director of Adolescence and Boiling Point and of course Enola Holmes 3 coming up on Netflix very very soon one of those things is not like the other maybe it's a one shot you don't know you never know you never know that would be amazing one shot Enola Holmes oh amazing he is going to direct he announced it this week on Instagram a remake of the classic Sam Peckinpah Steve McQueen Ali McGraw thriller The Getaway which was remade of course once already yeah some prefer it some fools prefer that version I wouldn't want to name names but they may be me directed by Roger Donaldson with Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger in the mid-1990s do you have to find how do I put this delicately leads who want to fuck each other in order for it to work I'd hate to hear you put it indelicately but I mean there was an affair on the original, right?

40:38And Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger were married, right? Well, that's one way

40:42Chris Hewitt:of looking at it. Yes. Yeah. And they have quite steamy sex scenes. My glasses have just steamed up. Just even thinking about those sex scenes which I don't regularly. Of course. But they are quite woohoo in that movie. And yes, Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw. Yes, I believe there was. Anyway, it's a good point. That's a very good point. I mean, you know, do you hesitate to sign up to this film if you're single is what I'm asking. Or if you're in a relationship with someone who's not also starring. Do you cast people who are already married? Or in a relationship? This is it. Or is that, you know, is that going to threaten their marriages?

41:20Why would it threaten their marriages? Oh, if they're married to each other. If they're married to each other, yes. Oh, okay, yeah, absolutely. They could do that, yeah.

41:24Chris Hewitt:Yeah. Is it Basinger or Basinger? I would always say Basinger. I think it's Basinger. Yeah. I used to call her Kim Basinger back in the day, but that was definitely wrong. I used to call her Kim Basinger. I think we were wrong there. I think it's basically, yeah. Anyway, we're not going to obviously suggest any real-life couples who may star in this but that's exciting. Both of those movies are terrific movies. Yes, the remake's terrific. Shut up. One last thing. Did you read the news that the David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Cliff Booth movie which is obviously a follow-up to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood following Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth with a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino which is coming to Netflix later in the year I think in December I'm not sure, but it's going to be on IMAX screens a couple of weeks before it hits Netflix.

42:07Chris Hewitt:The list feels a little bit like there's a softening of Netflix's stance towards cinema because recently they announced that Credit Gerwig's Narnia movie is going to get a great big theatrical platform before it hits Netflix, like a proper one as well, which is unusual. Maybe in order to get to work with prestige filmmakers, they're going to have to make some concessions towards this. and I'm sure Ryan Johnson's sitting there going and where was this for Wake Up Dead Man? But anyway. Yeah, I think that's exactly it. They were at risk of losing filmmakers as a result of the streaming first approach and they're trying desperately to keep the big names on side.

42:47But I'm just glad that we're going to see it on a big screen. I think, I hope people go see it on the big screen and don't just wait for it to stream. I know not everyone has access to their nearest IMAX or whatever. It may not be very near at all. but hopefully people will turn out for this and see it as I suspect Fincher always intended. He obviously goes way back with Netflix. I mean, House of Cards was one of their very first big hits so he knows what he's doing.

43:15Chris Hewitt:And he has, of course, made many movies for Netflix that haven't had a theatrical release or a proper theatrical release either. But maybe with this one? It may well be the cutie angle. I know he's only writing and not directing here but it does feel like you know he is someone who is very much cinema first anti-streaming and I think if they're trying to cultivate a better relationship with him or cultivate any kind of ongoing relationship with him this is a very smart move for that alright looking forward to that they still haven't given it an official title by the way oh interesting yeah so I don't know what it's going to be you know it's kind of been unofficially called the Adventures of Cliff Booth but I don't know whether that's going to be the case so we're going to see this in November November 25th of November specifically and then 23rd of December on Netflix what a Christmas gift that is what a time to be alive aww Saron those claws thank you so much for coming down my chimney with the Cliff Booth movie just two days before Christmas lovely stuff alright shall we have a guest let's do it let's do that enough of that movie news nonsense let's have a guest shall we have a legend hurrah shall we have Sigourney Weaver let's do it this is the star of Alien and Aliens and the star of Galaxy Quest and you know she has her dabs all over some great sci-fi movies of the last 40 to 50 years or so but she's never been in a Star War until now for in this week's The Mandalorian and Grogu she gets her teeth into a Galactic Mandalorian double Whopper meal complete with chips and some Grogu pickle sauce no she doesn't she plays Colonel Ward who is a rebel leader I think it's fair to say I don't want to get too much into spoiler territory with this who entrusts Mando and Grogu with a pivotal mission in Jon Favreau's movie and when she came into London recently I went along and had a lovely chat with her and I wanted to talk to her about sci-fi and her sci-fi legacy and the fact that she was in Alien and the impact that Star Wars has kind of had on her career because you could argue no Star Wars, no Alien, no podcast interview with Sigourney Weaver.

45:34Chris Hewitt:I'm sure she would have made it big eventually down a different path, but I think that dictates a path that she has taken in her career. So we talked about that and a great many things. Enjoy. This is for the Empire podcast, Sigourney. You just spoke to Empire along with Jim Cameron and Michael. I just had time yesterday to sort of quickly scan the article, and I'm so glad you guys did that because it's, for me, a treasure to hear, you know, to sort of, even though there were only a few of us, it was great to hear from everybody and talk about, you know, it is amazing to me that the movie is still so much in the zeitgeist as it was, as it was, as it were.

46:18And I think it's because it was so beautifully constructed, you know, just nonstop. And anyway, it's great to have Empire remind us that it's 40 years, right? And that's just so incredible to me.

46:35Chris Hewitt:It is incredible. I was thinking on the way in here that the Alien franchise, the Star Wars franchise, you know, are somehow, you know, there's still hugely culturally relevant nearly 50 years on. You know, do you have a theory about why these franchises more than others have endured? I think it's because science fiction is endlessly fascinating to us because it's the future. And a lot of questions that we have now more than ever, what will we be like in space? How will we behave as human beings? What is our responsibility to other species? What is our goal? Who are we? Are we the same people here as out there?

47:23I think that's why science fiction, which is, I think, considered sort of a, not a lowly genre, but it's definitely considered a genre. And to me, they're not. They're stories that take place in a future that we can almost see and that deal with how we live then. and how to live then. And what I love about the Star Wars franchise, unlike the alien one, is that you see all these peoples and species getting along. Yeah. And, you know, living in villages and hanging out in bars and everything. And it's such a positive view of the human race and other races. I think it's really cool.

48:13Chris Hewitt:Ripley and the Cenomorph might get along in the Star Wars universe? Interesting to see them throwing back shots together in a Star Wars bar. I am fascinated, Sigourney, by your relationship with Star Wars over the years and how maybe consciously or unconsciously it's impacted you and your career. Because, of course, you were in Annie Hall. Yes. Very briefly, of course, but you were in Annie Hall. And that movie beat Star Wars that year to the Best Picture Oscar. And I wondered if you had any territorial feelings at that time as that was happening, as that was unfolding. When Annie Hall beat Star Wars to the Oscar, were you like, yes, take that, Star Wars?

48:55I think the Oscars seemed so remote to me as someone working off Off-Broadway. You weren't keeping track of it at that time. I think I was glad because it took place in New York. And I guess I am in it for a second. And I think it is beloved. But I think I was amazed that Star Wars was nominated because it is a commercial movie. And in those days, if the movie made money, it was less considered by the Academy, I think. So good for them that they were nominated. I think they did very well.

49:32Chris Hewitt:Were you keeping an eye on the Star Wars phenomenon as it happened, as you say, as someone who was working in Off-Broadway at the time? I remember going to the Ziegfeld Theater and seeing it along with everybody else. And I just thought how cool that these young actors got to be playing in this world where it was so ingenious and funny and lighthearted in a way. and I think it sort of dimly reminded me that I was in the same business that somehow off-off Broadway life might actually include, you know, watching something that I'm in at the Ziegfeld. Yes. Which never happened. Oh, you never got to see yourself at the Ziegfeld.

50:18Not at the Ziegfeld and now it's closed.

50:20Chris Hewitt:Of course, yeah. But I certainly saw cool things at the Ziegfeld and Star Wars. I just remember that going over us. I think there were so many things that are innovative in that movie and charming and hold up wonderfully. And so I found it encouraging that three young actors had these fabulous jobs. So you never saw Alien at the Siegfield? No. Where did you watch Alien for the first time? I'm trying to remember if we even had a premiere. Okay. We did for Aliens because that was in L.A. Yeah. No party. So I brought everyone back to my hotel room and charged the champagne to Fox. Right. So? Well, I don't remember having a premiere for Alien.

51:13I mean, you guys probably know more about that than I do.

51:17Chris Hewitt:There's probably someone listening to this right now going, there was a premiere of Sigourney. Yeah. It was at this place at this time. We did, but we didn't know that Ripley would emerge as such an important figure. No, I mean, honestly, I'm sorry. I don't remember. That's fine. Yeah. That's totally fine. But it is fascinating. There's a direct line between Star Wars and Alien. Yeah. You could argue that Alien got greenlit because of the success of Star Wars. The 20th Century Fox were thinking space is big. Let's go. Let's go for it. And it happened all very, very quickly. You were filming in 78 on Alien.

51:52Chris Hewitt:Did you feel that that was almost part of the Star Wars bounce in a way? Not at all. Star Wars was a huge movie in scale and its spirit and everything else. A movie made for the world. I felt we were a little off-off-Broadway movie made for$14 million in a kind of closet at Shepparton. I mean, yes, it was beautiful. We had wonderful Michael Seymour sets and everything, but I felt in a good way that we were greenlit by Alan Ladd Jr. I think they were very interested in Ridley and in this project, and probably for the reasons you say, science fiction was hot. But this was such a different, I'm glad they let us do our thing.

52:43Chris Hewitt:Fast forward then to The Mandalorian and Grogu and working with Jon Favreau. How did it come up? What was the first conversation you had with him about this? Well, I've always been an admirer of Jon because he's a wonderful actor. He's been in so many different things, but also he's directed such big, beloved franchises. And so I was a little nervous. It's all on Zoom now when you meet people. And so I met John by Zoom. I didn't know anything about The Mandalorian. So he had to encourage me to watch the series and this little guy. so I think I had to really play catch up and I was delighted to be invited to come into that world but I couldn't really place the Mandalorian in it even sort of when it happens and it took me a while to realize that I was the same generation as Leia and that whole group Yeah.

53:52And that the rebellion is still very fresh and the Republic is still very much a fledgling that needs to be protected. So I think that I feel very lucky that I could completely relate time wise to this movie.

54:10Chris Hewitt:Yeah. Lock yourself into it. Very much so. And do you see comparison points between the great directors that you've worked with over the years, you know, Ridley, Jim Cameron, Polanski, Favreau, Ivan Reitman, people like that? Do they have things in common? I think they do. And I feel very lucky. I noticed that directors, although John is different because he was an actor for many years, they don't get to work with other directors. and so what i think was always important to me was that um first it was the story the second thing was that the director had a strong enough vision and was a fighter so that they could fight to protect this movie from the forces of filmmaking that inevitably try to destroy it and um you have to be tough man and you've got to think of everyone and everything and um I think that certainly characterizes these guys.

55:14Everyone with a different style. And I've been so fortunate to work with so many different great directors.

55:22Chris Hewitt:People listening to this will be going, Chris, you're not asking about the plot of the film. And frankly, Sigourney, I don't want to ask too much about the plot of the movie because I want people to discover this for themselves and discover more about your character. but I think we can say that you have scenes with the Mandalorian in this. I think that's safe to say. And I think it's safe to say that the Mandalorian brought the apprentice with him. And that this was a big draw for me, the actor, because it didn't take long for me to fall in love with Grogu because he's irresistible. And I was very lucky because the first scene I worked on was with the Mandalorian and Grogu.

56:07I didn't realize that there were five puppeteers hidden under the table that were keeping him alive for me as I sat there. I just never saw him as anything other than a living Grogu. I think that's the impression it made on me, and I still believe that he could walk in now. Had you had experiences like that before in your career where you've worked with puppets or something like that? You know, I have worked with humans inside the aliens, et cetera. And I much prefer as an actor to have something real to react to. If I'm going to be scared or something, please don't expect me to be scared of a potted palm that you put in a corner or something.

56:56Chris Hewitt:Or a tennis ball on a stick. Yes, exactly. And so I appreciate whatever directors come up with, but I have never worked with a puppet. And I don't even like to use that word with Grogu because that's really not doing justice. But it is interesting in that you do get to work with, you know, you have scenes with Mando himself. And that, whether it's Pedro, whether it's any of the other guys who are in the suit, I imagine that's such an interesting experience as an actor because you don't have a face. to work off. You just have this helmet that's reflecting you back at yourself. Yeah. Was that strange?

57:34I don't think it's strange for me coming from the theatre because all Mando has to do is walk into a room and you're so aware that there's a presence inside that suit. And I worked with Brendan Wayne because Pedro was working on something else. And he's John Wayne's grandson, And he moves so beautifully. And frankly, he's an actor, so says the lines very much as Pedro would. And so I felt completely supported by having the actual actors there, an actor as Grogu and an actor as Mando. But it's one of the challenges I think Colonel Ward, my character, faces is I have to make a very – I have made a very important decision to count on the Mandalorian to go out and pull these guys in from out of the corners of the outer rim.

58:34These guys who are terrorizing people and trying to undermine the New Republic. But she has to put her faith in someone whose eyes she can't look into and someone who seems only interested in snacks. So although I have decided that they're the best people for this job, when I meet them, it's still one of those things where I'm judging them by reputation.

59:04Chris Hewitt:On that note, Sigourney, it's been a pleasure. Thanks for your time. And thanks again for doing that article. It's such a nice thing for us to have done and to have to look at. Absolutely. Pleasure. Thank you so much indeed. Okay, that was Sigourney Weaver, who is, of course, Colonel Ward in The Mandalorian and Grogu. And now it is time for the reviews section of the show. And there's only one place to start. It is with The Mandalorian and Grogu, the first Star Wars movie in, I'm told, seven years, Helen O 'Hara. Seven years. Seven years. and this is a spin-off, a continuation, of course, of The Mandalorian, the wildly successful Disney Plus show that starred Pedro Pascal and chums as Din Djarin and his little pal, his little green pal, Grogu.

59:54And your little green pal. Your little green pal.

59:56Chris Hewitt:What are they up to now? What's happening in this? Well, we ate Grogu for lunch. We did eat Grogu. R.I.P. Grogu. No. Or P.I.R. if he speaks and you ought to speak. Oh, no. Okay. So, yes, We meet them again. They have made contact with the New Republic. They are on friendly terms. So the aforementioned Colonel Ward sends them out on a mission to find... He's basically hunting down Imperial warlords who are still out there causing chaos. Like Simon Wiesenthal. Sure. So, and in this case, they basically... And in this case, he basically has to do a mission for two Hutts, the twins, in order to get the information about the next Imperial Warlord that they're trying to find because they don't know where this guy is.

1:00:40They don't even know what he looks like. It's a sort of blank space. So he's sent on this mission and let's just say it doesn't go to plan. You've got Jeremy Allen White there as Rotter the Hutt, who is basically Jabba the Hench. Like he's got six pack, which makes no fucking sense. Jabba the Hutt, Hutt, Hutt! He is a worm with a six pack. It's really disturbing. Anyway, but they meet him at one point. they meet a friendly alien who may or may not have information for them who's voiced by Martin Scorsese. So I guess this is cinema, Martin. This is cinema, but not Marvel. It is, definitely. Absolute cinema, yeah.

1:01:17Anyway, and they have to, you know, hunt down their guy. There is kind of wall-to-wall action here. I think they've really, really gone out of the way to try and make this not feel like a TV show. Like from the opening sort of action scene, there's a lot of chases and battles and fights and creeping around and like they're really trying to throw money at the screen and make you feel like it's cinematic i think what where this misses for me in terms of cinematicness which is a word i've just invented um is that i don't think the sort of the storytelling is cinematic in this i think the storytelling still feels quite small screen and i kind of wanted i felt like what was missing afterwards were the scenes where people sit down and talk about the stakes and make a plan that can then go horribly wrong.

1:02:03But then you're excited and invested in the plan and how they're going to get out of this latest scrape and blah, blah, blah. And they don't really do that. They're just always reacting to instant events. And there's no real sense of what's the end goal here. I mean, I know that they're trying to find the dude, but it's not enough to really carry you through. I kind of wanted people to sort of say, okay, we need to do X in order for Y to happen to do Z, and then it's back to ABC. And there wasn't a lot of that and I think you have a problem structurally with the fact that obviously Grogu doesn't speak and Mando doesn't like to speak and so you have these two incredibly taciturn figures at the heart of it and they can only do so much with body language because this is you know Grogu is a puppet and he's a beautiful puppet and he's exceptionally well performed and there's he has so many cute moments in this but there is a limit to how much emotion you can communicate with that puppet.

1:02:57And when it's him and a dude in a helmet, that does kind of, I think, place a limit on how far you can go sort of emotionally and kind of in terms of interior character and everything else. And that's a problem when you also don't have the sort of soaringly high stakes of like the big Star Wars kind of Skywalker saga kind of films. So that for me is the limitation on this. I did have a good time while I was watching it. I was entertained, Things were happening. Grogu was cute. The Mandalorian was... He just gave off a handsome vibe even when you couldn't see his face.

1:03:31Chris Hewitt:He's now drawn a moustache on his helmet, which I thought was interesting. Yeah, I mean, that was a great, great choice. And his slutty little glasses that he's drawn on the helmet also really worked. Slutty little glasses. But, you know, I just felt like it didn't have... When I came out, I felt like it's still hungry. You know, when you go... Like you haven't had... Like you hadn't had a Galactic Mandalorian. That's it. Double Whopper. That's what you needed. I just felt like I was missing something that would have made this a Star Wars movie as opposed to a Star Wars, you know, extended TV show like big finale to a season.

1:03:59If this had been a big finale to a season, I think we would have been pretty happy. But seeing it on the big screen, I felt something lacking. And I didn't, you know, I can, I'm sure we will in the spoiler special, pick some more holes in it. But I didn't, I didn't have a bad time. I just wanted more. I will also say, because I was thinking a lot about my small niece and nephew while I was watching this. I think they've slightly miscalibrated the monsters there's a lot of fighting various monsters and alien beasties in this movie and I think they're too scary looking for this to be a good kids film and it should have been a good kids film this should have been something that you could bring an eight-year-old or a nine-year-old to and I'm not sure you're going to feel very confident about their ability not to have nightmares afterwards like there's a man-sized centipede thing at one point and that would be, I think, pretty scary.

1:04:51I would worry less about children having nightmares and more grown adult Star Wars fans having nightmares after having seen this. It's the first Star Wars movie in seven years. There's quite a lot, I would say, riding on this. And, you know, I've got a lot of time for Jon Favreau, but I feel like if you're going to make a movie of The Mandalorian and Grogu, you could do better than cobble together what I can only assume is three mid-season episodes from the fourth season of the show that they wrote and never made. If these three episodes had been the finale episodes to a season, I would have felt thoroughly shortchanged by what this is, because there is no story here.

1:05:28There is no jeopardy. There is no progress. There is no character growth. The universe shifts not one parsec from the beginning to the end of it. It is entirely redundant. And I think that really bothered me, because it starts very well. You have this, I want to say, about 20-minute prologue where Mando and Grogu go in to take down a bounty. and it's everything you want. He's super cool. The choreography is fun. It's slick. You know, you feel really excited and invigorated. You're like, yes, come on. And also, we saw it on IMAX. Sections of this are shot in IMAX. That sequence, you're like, brilliant, this is great.

1:06:05However, it just feels like TV. And I love TV. So that in and of itself wouldn't be a good idea. You've never mentioned it. Fine. Yeah, part of TV podcast. But genuinely, this felt so small and reductive and also boring because there is no, as I say, there's no real narrative drive to this whatsoever. And I just found myself getting increasingly annoyed as it went along because I don't know why this film is. And, like, if they'd done this as a, like, they don't get season four, fine, great. If you gave me, like, a two-hour Mandalorian one-shot, like Punisher, One Last Kill, right? A one-off Mandalorian special on Disney Plus, I would watch this.

1:06:40I would say it outstays as welcome a little bit, but I would happily watch it. Someone said to me, should I pay money to go and see this at cinema? The answer would be, no like why why would you do that like and this kind of feeds into something that may be a personal bugbear of mine which is the you know and we are going this direction the kind of felonification of star wars now his animated shows do what they do well if that's what you're after but what this is is just at this point an animated show with live action characters in it and it doesn't have the cinematic quality it doesn't have the epic feel it doesn't have the storytelling of the star Wars films, even the flawed ones.

1:07:16And you know how I feel about The Rise of Skywalker. I believe this, I believe that this is, and honestly, I hate to say it, comfortably the worst Star Wars film ever. Oh no, come on. Genuinely, it is the least essential, it is the least cinematic, it is the least exciting. For all the problems with Attack of the Coyotes, for all the problems with Rise of Skywalker, you know, they have great moments in them, they have exciting moments in them for all their flaws Caravan of Courage alright alright let the record show I will I will I will accept Caravan of Courage and Battle Friend Or are worse than The Mandalorian and Gregor fine fine I will I will I will concede that technicality but there are so many things about this that don't work like Jeremy Allen White is great I totally get it I read interviews with him talking about how he found the hot voice and then I watched this film and it's just Bruce Springsteen and he's a slug well he doesn't even attempt to do a Hutt.

1:08:10He's just speaking in his Jeremy Allen White voice. It's Calmy from the Bear.

1:08:13Chris Hewitt:Jimbo, there's an argument to be made that in this movie, Jeremy Allen White looks and sounds more like Bruce Springsteen than he did in the movie that he played Bruce Springsteen. I mean, look, I'm not going to pass comment on that, but I found that character to be singularly terrible. And I get why they had it, because it feels like Filoni's come full circle. You look at the original Clone Wars, his first Star Wars movie, it's about Rott of the Hutt being kidnapped. And obviously, this is about Rott of the Hutt being kidnapped. So I get, you know, it's great, it's a lovely parallel, but there's nothing else to this film and you get to the end of it and it's the thinnest of thin gruel.

1:08:47It is not a Mandalorian whopper meal of any description. It is just, it's just, it's just, it's just swamp juice. It's just a whopper. It's not even that. I really, I felt so short changed by this. I was so angry coming out of it because it's such a missed opportunity because Star Wars has gone through such a difficult period post Rise of Skywalker and I feel like if you're going to come back with a film, for the love of God, put some effort in. And I just feel like this was on autopilot. There's no real effort to make this cinematic, to make it big, to make the storytelling epic, to make it essential in any way, shape or form.

1:09:20So I feel quite cross. But apart from that, Mrs. Lincoln. But other than that, it was great. If they had taken big swings and it had been a noble failure and it had been a bit shit, but they tried, I'd have been like, okay, fair enough. I see what you tried to do there. But this felt like the most middle-of-the-road, play-it-safe vanilla storytelling. And I just... And there's a whole sequence here where it's just Grogu being Grogu. And I think they overestimate how much that can carry a film.

1:09:46Chris Hewitt:I disagree with that. I did not... Yeah, well, that's okay. And other people... I'm sure Ben will fucking love it, but... Perhaps. I don't want to give anything away, of course, but for a long time in this movie, you'll be wondering a couple of things. You'll be wondering, is that Pedro Pascal in the suit? And I will say, before I get into the larger point, that the film does go out of its way to credit the other guys who play Mando in this. Latif Crowder and Brendan Wayne, John Wayne's grandson. They are not as prominently billed as Pedro Pascal, but they are, I think, third and fourth billed in this movie, which is incredible.

1:10:30Chris Hewitt:I doff my helmet to them. you will also be wondering why the film is called The Mandalorian and Grogu because it's very Mando-centric and very Mando-heavy until it isn't and then I thought there's a moment where Grogu takes over as the lead character of the movie for a sustained period and I thought that was utterly charming I like that a lot but that's the bit that really made me not furious but really frustrated that I didn't feel like I could show small niece and nephew the rest of the movie. Do you know what I mean? I think your small niece and nephew need to grow the fuck up. I mean, okay, but give them time.

1:11:10But like, I just feel like some of the monster design, and it was really lingered over. Like it wasn't like the rancor you just see like a tiny bit in Return of the Jedi. It doesn't haunt your dreams. Although the Sarlacc pit, I guess, might. But this just felt like we were seeing all of these like up close, like scary monster faces. Don't kids love that sort of shit? I don't know. I don't think they do necessarily if they're this horrible. I just thought they got the level of horribleness wrong. Think back to Star Wars.

1:11:36Chris Hewitt:Think back to the, is it the dialogue? What's the thing in the water? Yeah. Yeah, but again, you don't see much of it. You see enough. Yeah. And you see there's, you know, obviously the cantina is filled with great, exotic, terrifying creatures. They're not trying to eat you. They're just there living their lives. I know what you mean. There's quite a bit of sort of monster peril in this. I think the monster design veers from quite scary to really cartoony and silly. It's quite tonally inconsistent. And I think the aesthetic of the cartoon bleeds into this in a number of places. But yeah, would it be scary?

1:12:08I mean, I don't think it's as jarring. Jarr-jarring. Very good. I don't think it's as jarr-jarring from a kind of tonal point of view as say something like Black Widow was, where I was just like, the violence in that for me was a massive step up. And I was like, okay, kids are not going to be able to watch this. I think kids could watch this. They just might have to hide for little bits. Cover their eyes with bits, maybe, yeah. It's fine.

1:12:28Chris Hewitt:I hid from all sorts of stuff when I was a kid. I used to hide from the Hulk. Aliens, Carrie, The Omen. Yeah. Terminator, The Getaway. All kinds of things. All that stuff. Yeah. But yeah, Chimbo, it's not the worst Star Wars movie. What are you talking about? If we don't class Caravan of Courage and Battle Frendel as movies, if we're talking... This is a better movie than The Rise of Skywalker. I don't think it is. I genuinely, hand on heart, do not think it is a better movie than The Rise of Skywalker. And I do not like The Rise of Skywalker. Really? you've never mentioned it. I genuinely, because I fundamentally just don't think this is a film.

1:13:04I think it is a, it's a kind of a mishmash of TV episodes and it's just cynical.

1:13:09Chris Hewitt:Are you overcompensating for eating the Galactic Mandalorian Whopper double meal? See, that's what it is. I'm like, I'm not a shill. I'm not for sale. You can't buy me off with a burger. As you horribly shiv little Grogu between his ribs. I ate him, then stabbed him. His only word is, why? You monster. Anyway, Three stars then for The Mandalorian and Grogu, who are not the only small screen action heroes to make the leap to feature length this week because John Krasinski's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan is back, back, back in John Krasinski's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan Tom Clancy's Ghost War, which is exclusively on Prime Video.

1:13:53Chris Hewitt:Jimbo, you're a big fan, aren't you, of John Krasinski's Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan? I am. all four seasons of it. All of those possessives. On John Krasinski's, Tom Clancy's, Jeff Bezos's Prime Video. So what do you think of this? I mean, look, everyone loves Jack Ryan and I very much like John Krasinski's Jack Ryan. So this, there have been four seasons of this, as you say, I think once in 2018 it began. In one season, yes. Look, Prime Video is the home of dadcore programming. Yeah, yeah. You know, Reacher's dadcore, Cross's dadcore, there's tons of this stuff. Jack Ryan is premium dadcore entertainment.

1:14:26It really is. And it's so much fun. The first season of this is really good. The second season, I will admit, is a wobble. The third season, though, is really good. And then the fourth season, some people didn't like. But I actually got on with it. We were going to get a spin-off series, I think, at one point, with Michael Peña's character, who's in season four. Chavez. Indeed. That never happened. But instead, we have this movie, which is Jack Ryan colon Ghost War. War. Yes, I said the title. Indeed.

1:14:52Chris Hewitt:You're good. Do you want to write it down? Yes, please. I would say this is worse than any of the seasons of the show. This is directed by Andrew Bernstein, and it's based on a script written by Aaron Rebin and John Krasinski himself. Jim from The Office. Jim from The Office. Holy shit. Jack Ryan is now out of the CIA. He is retired. He's working in the private sector. On Wall Street. On Wall Street, indeed. He's a money man now. Except his good old friend, Wendell Pierce, as current deputy CIA director Greer, asks him for a favour, and that is to go to Dubai and to pick up a package. Now, why he is a retired CIA agent sent to pick up a package when, I don't know, many of the people who work for Wendell Pierce at the CIA could easily do that.

1:15:42I do not entirely know. Jack's the only one he can trust. Anyway, he goes there and meets a man named Nigel to pick up a package. It all goes a little bit wrong. Max Beasley's in there. There's a whole operation. There are terrorists. There are explosions. There are chases. there are action sequences there is a boat there is Sienna Miller she smokes an awful lot of cigarettes which seems to be the crux of her character it has to be honest Mike November is back which is obviously very very exciting we like Mike November that's Michael Kelly's character and then there's the plot so the plot is and I was discussing this in the office and it is at once incredibly simplistic and utterly stupid but also convoluted and entirely impenetrable because it's actually quite a basic story for a spy thriller are disappointingly basic, but the details of it are so vague and hand-wavy and utterly opaque that you also have no idea what's going on from one scene to the next because they just don't bother to explain it.

1:16:38So you're kind of short-changed and bamboozled at the same time, which is a really weird headspace to be in watching this. But for me, this whole film lacks subtlety and lacks finesse. And if you look closely and squint, you might be able to join the dots as to why characters are doing what they're doing, but honestly, I think it's a bit of a stretch. So I love Jack Ryan. I really do, in all of his incarnations, but I really like Krasinski's Jack Ryan, and I really like the series, and I've actually missed it.

1:17:04Chris Hewitt:What do you like about Krasinski's Jack Ryan? I think he brings an everyman, personable charm to the character. He is Dr. Ryan first and foremost, and I think he's really convincing as a field agent. When he picks up at M16, he does some business. But I think he's got this boyish charm, and this kind of affability to him that makes that character really charismatic and magnetic. He is also very smart and that comes across in his performances. He feels like you buy that from John Hilton. 100%. He has a cerebral edge to him as well. But I just think he's really watchable. He's watchable in everything he does.

1:17:39But he really, I think, carried the show for me. But he did not carry this film for me. I was so bored during this film. I felt so let down by this film. So I have not had a good week. No, you haven't. That has to be said.

1:17:50Chris Hewitt:And you saw The Mandalorian Grogu two weeks ago. so hell's bells yeah you like the tv show i did very much um again a little bit up and down across various seasons some of the politics of the tv show swings a bit uh nationalistic for me um tom clancy what it seems look i am i i contain multitudes i can disapprove of nationalism and also really enjoy jack ryan books okay okay gosh anyway um i think i think james is right in a lot of what he says, I didn't have the same degree of hatred for this. I thought, I did, yeah, I did find the storytelling opaque and also quite cliched because it basically comes down to, oh, there's a rogue super agent, we have to stop.

1:18:36Like that's essentially what it is. But it's, you know, it sort of embroiders that without actually doing anything very interesting or exciting or novel with it.

1:18:45Chris Hewitt:And that rogue super agent is Max Beasley. Is Max Beasley, yeah. That's not a spoiler. It's in the first scene. Yeah, I didn't think he was bad, but he isn't called upon to do much, is the problem. Like, there's not much to him. We don't really know. His motivations are kind of like Ed Harris in The Rock a little bit. Like, that's about as far as they go with that. I think there's a little bit of that. Do you think the cast, because they misheard his name, they thought he was Max Beastly, and they thought, that's the guy we need to play our bad guy. No, look, I liked, I didn't have a problem with that.

1:19:17I just had a problem with the storytelling. The fun of a Jack Ryan film should be the kind of the problem solving, the putting together of clues, whether the crazy Ivan goes left or right in the second half of the hour. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that you should be into these films for. He's an analyst, first and foremost. He is an analyst. And there's really very, very little analysis in this film. And that's not uncommon for this series, to be fair. I guess that's true. But also, it doesn't kind of explain how it gets from A to B in a lot of cases. and some of the stuff involving, like, servers and...

1:19:53The computer liberties they take are just excruciating. My husband next to me, because I was lucky enough to see this in the cinema, and my husband was shaking his head so frequently through this film that I worried for the health of his neck. They're like, it's in the cloud, shut up! It's, yeah, and there's a lot of, sort of, you know, Dubai product placement. Oh my God, what are you talking about? Oh my God. But, Jenny, so Emirates Airline, and Dubai Tourist Board, who I can only assume... Covered the budget. Covered the budget for the film. The placement is absolutely what... There is a whole conversation about, did you know that...

1:20:28Is this why there's no crime in Dubai? Well, did you know Dubai is one of the most technologically advanced countries in the world? They are just shilling for tourists.

1:20:37Chris Hewitt:I don't agree with that. Getting head up about product placement in movies. Yes, it can be egregious in this, but as I wiped my Galactic Mandalorian double whopper meal off my chin as I was watching this, I thought, you know what? It's okay. I'm going to let it pass. And the Emirates bit where they're literally talking about the seats in the black... Yeah, we know. You're in first class. They're in first class. It was a massive South Asian shot of an Emirates plane that lasts for about... It felt like four and a half minutes. I think it was. And then they cut to inside and it's Mike November and Jack having a...

1:21:07Chris Hewitt:Just... Jolly time in first class. Lovely time. But look, I didn't hate the experience of watching it. I just, again... Poster. I just... Look, there is another film out this week that we're not going to spend a lot of time on because it doesn't deserve it. But there have been films I hated this week. James is like, we just walked up. We've done Mandalorian 20 minutes. This film, I was just a bit like, it's disappointing, but look, it's still like John Krasinski as Jack Ryan running about literally at times. Yeah. I was like, it's perfectly fine. The charming thing is, it has the same problem for me that Mandalorian has.

1:21:42It's something that should be good, should be great, you know, could be great, should be good, is neither. And I think it's the disappointment and the fact that it isn't what it should have been. And again, like Mandalorian, this is painfully uncinematic at times. Painfully so. Which, again, is a real shame because it doesn't feel as premium or as cinematic as a lot of the TV show did. And he doesn't even fight a ghost. He doesn't, that's true. And it's not a war. To be fair, there was no actual discussion of protocol involving ghosts in ghost protocol either. So we've got to be consistent in our criticism there, Chris.

1:22:17Chris Hewitt:This is very, very true. And what was the Rogue Nation in Rogue Nation? Exactly. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. Nobody knows. And the Hunt for Red October came out in June. It was the name of the ship. Come on. It's just the wrong month, Helen. Yeah. I got it wrong. More fool them, Helen. More fool them. All right. Well, we gave this one two stars. Two stars in for Jack Ryan, Ghost War. What's next? Hells Bells? Let's do a roundup. Well, we've got Finding Emily, which is worth a little moment of our time. This is a British rom-com. Stay in your seats. This is not a bad thing for once. It's directed by Alicia McDonald and based on a script by Rachel Hirons.

1:22:56And it is really, really charming. So the idea is that Spike Fern plays Owen, who's a young man working. He's kind of a wannabe musician. He's working as the sound guy in a student union bar in Manchester, right? And he meets this girl one night and he hits it off. They have a great time. They're dancing. They're chatting. The vibes are really promising. Everything is looking right. It just feels like lightning has struck. She gives him her number at the end of the night, but she's in a rush. She's running off with her friends to another party and she leaves off a digit of her number. And Owen, who is a romantic, he's a very sweet guy.

1:23:31He may look like a member of Oasis and sound like a member of Oasis, and let's be honest, dress like a member of Oasis, but he's a sweetheart. And he just really...

1:23:39Chris Hewitt:Like a member of Oasis. And he really just wants to find this girl. So he starts looking for Emily's in the university and trying to find this girl, this Emily that he knew. I have a question. Couldn't he have just tried the 10 possible permutations? But he doesn't know which number, which digit. Like, obviously, she's left. Oh, it doesn't have to be the last one, you know? So anyway, almost immediately, he finds a girl called Emily who is actually Anguri Rice from The Nice Guys, who is a psychology student. And she agrees to help him because unbeknownst to Owen, she's writing about how romance can ruin your life and how trying to find the one can just be a disastrous thing.

1:24:16Gee, I wonder where this is going to go. I know. And she basically sees him as a case study. So she kind of follows along and kind of eggs him along. And that's sort of the setup. So it's kind of an interesting one because, I mean, she's just being a bad person. Like she is like fully being a bad person, but she doesn't seem like a bad person generally outside this one very bad decision. Like she's under a lot of pressure to finish her thesis strong, to get her place in grad school so she can stay in the country, because she is American. All this kind of stuff going on. So she is under some pressure and maybe gives her some sort of redemption.

1:24:50I don't know. And he's just like the sweetest little doofus that you've ever seen in your life, which makes it all the more hilarious when his efforts to find the right Emily spark a campus-wide panic that this guy is maybe a predator and is trying to find a girl who clearly doesn't want to be found. Anyway, it's just, it's a good, well-written, smart, well-acted, rom-com full of really quirky supporting characters you've got people in there like Prasanna, Pruwana Raja as her professor who's like completely over it and just like fed up of life you've got Minnie Driver as the dean of students who's trying to keep a lid on all the hysteria around this guy it's just really good quirky people around a really charming central couple and I had a really nice time with this we've given it three I personally am more of in the four-star count for this.

1:25:42I think this is the best British rom-com in probably since Rye Lane. I think it's really good.

1:25:47Chris Hewitt:All right, we've given this one three stars. Three stars then for Finding Emily. And Hellspells very quickly, sadly, round up. Is Passenger worth seeing? It is good. This is a new film from Andre Overdal. It is basically about a kind of a haunted road. So Jacob Scipio and Lou Lobel, the latter from Foundation on Apple, are basically two young lovers on a road trip They're living that van life. They're doing the full nomad land. And then they get haunted by this spectral presence that may have evil intent. I find this a little bit predictable compared to something like Obsession last week. But some really good scares in here.

1:26:29Some really clever use of what makes us nervous about car parks late at night. Or traveling around strange roads. Or just getting lost in the highways and that kind of thing. so I thought this was pretty scary but again as always usual disclaimer I am a massive wimp so do bear that in mind for me this would be a three star film I can't see the Empire review yet that may be online by the time you listen to this

1:26:54Chris Hewitt:three stars then for Passenger from Helen and real quick there's a Tom and Jerry movie out this week which you're saying is a film of the week it is one of the worst things I've ever seen in my entire life my notes are wrong absolute piece of shit But it is basically Tom and Jerry go to ancient China and fall in with kind of exiled gods and so on and have to fight off demons. They are barely relevant to the story. The story is a mess. I have never been in a film that was so loud and yet so boring for such a long time. You know, the opening sort of Jerry goes to a museum scene goes straight into them.

1:27:35They get transported magically and then there's a whole action scene and it's kind of 30 minutes of just non-stop, no up and down, no back and forth, no give and take, just relentless noise coming at you from the screen. And yet I had to fend off the urge to sleep. I hated it so much, so, so much.

1:27:54Chris Hewitt:All right, Spike. And it is 100 minutes long. It should be 20 minutes shorter. Love Tom and Jerry, but this sounds not good. Not good, one star for me. Hell in one, Hell in star for Tom and Jerry. What's it called? The Forbidden Compass. The Forbidden Compass. That's from the subtitle generator, isn't it? It really is. Hergay's subtitle generator. Ah, Tintin. Why couldn't he be minced and turned into a burger? Anyway, don't want to carry over my Tintin hatred from last week, do I? Not least, because that's it for this week's Empire Podcast. Join us next week for more film-related fun when we'll be joined by Leo Woodall star of Tuner no he doesn't play a massive fish from the North Atlantic is it North Atlantic?

1:28:44Chris Hewitt:Atlantic? I don't think just Pacific? Just water? Ocean? He plays a piano tuner it's a good film it's a thriller with a nice little twist as well so I am speaking to him on next week's show that's very very exciting but until then until we meet again until that auspicious occasion. It is goodbye from Jimbo. Goodbye, Chris. Goodbye, James. Insert plug for the Pilot TV podcast here. It's goodbye from Helen. Toodaloo. And it's goodbye from me. I hate product placement, but I have to say it, guys. I have to say it. I love the Galactic Mandalorian Double Wobber Meal from Burger King and can't wait to have another one.

1:29:29Chris Hewitt:Jimbo, you up for it? Helen, you up for it? Not quite so soon. Thank you there. Really? You can bring them in warm or you can bring them in cold. Thanks for listening. See you next time. Bye-bye. Preferably warm though, right? I mean hot, ideally. You can microwave it. Oh.

1:29:50Hey, sweetie. Your mother showed me this Carvana thing for selling the car. I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck. Me again. I put in the license plate. It gave me an offer. Unbelievable. Okay, I accepted the offer. They're picking it up Tuesday from the driveway. I haven't even left my chair. It's done. The car is gone. I'm holding a check. Anyway, Carvana, give it a whirl. Love ya. So good, you'll want to leave a voicemail about it. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.