Excuse the Intermission
Alex and Max take you on a journey through film with this discussion podcast about movies.
Excuse the Intermission
Discovering Hidden Gems: A Sneak Peek at 2024’s Most Anticipated Indie Films
What if the best films of 2024 aren't the ones plastered across every billboard? Join us as we share our excitement for the hidden gems of the coming year, alongside reflections on the laughter-filled chaos of the end-of-school festivities. From modern field days and oddly renamed tug-of-war events to the sweet anticipation of summer break, we reminisce about the past school year and the joys of movie marathons that lie ahead.
Our curiosity takes us into the realm of indie films, where we discuss the profound impact of smaller, less-publicized movies. We dive into how blockbusters like "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer," despite their grand appeal, sometimes lack the emotional depth that indie films often bring. This year, our radar is honed in on the potential breakout talent and the innovative stories that could surprise us all, reflecting on the hits and misses of our 2023 anticipations.
As we gear up for a year of cinematic wonders, we chat about the latest releases and what's on the horizon. From the thriller "Love Lies Bleeding" and sci-fi "Spaceman," to the eagerly awaited "The Bike Riders" and "Horizon: An American Saga Part One," our excitement is palpable. We also highlight future masterpieces from directors like Jim Jarmusch, Pedro Almodóvar, and David Cronenberg, and celebrate rising stars like Emma Stone. Our episode is a vibrant celebration of film, filled with anticipation for the stories and performances that will define 2024.
how's it? I'm alex mccauley and I'm max fosford and this is excuse the intermission a discussion show surrounding our most anticipated films still to come in 2024. We are halfway through the sixth month of the year, which means we're splitting the release calendar about as evenly as we possibly can with this episode. We are looking forward to the remaining films of this year. I'll add up next after this quick break.
Speaker 2:This episode is brought to you by the Seattle Film Society. The Seattle Film Society is a filmmaker-run project dedicated to organizing, cultivating and celebrating the region's filmmaking community Through screenings, educational opportunities and community initiatives. Seattle Film Society strives to be a centralizing force for Seattle-area filmmakers.
Speaker 1:Their monthly screening event, Locals Only, is held at 18th and Union in Seattle's Central District and spotlights local voices in independent filmmaking.
Speaker 2:Tickets start at $10 and are available at Seattle film societycom to keep up with the Seattle film society, be sure to check them out on Instagram or letterbox at Seattle film society or on their website, seattle film societycom come be a part of the next generation of Seattle filmmaking.
Speaker 1:today, all right, max, it's the middle of June. The weather has finally started to take a turn for the better. How are you doing today?
Speaker 3:Doing well. Yeah, I'm digging. This new recording day for us on Tuesdays Gives me just one more extra day to watch movies and do homework. But yeah, tuesdays are pretty chill, so, uh, happy to be here on the mics and you're being flexible with me right now it is, I think, on the.
Speaker 1:by the time this recording airs, we will be down to like five days left of school, five, five calendar days, you know, congratulations. It's just like one meeting after another. There's all sorts of commencements and field days and color runs and just wild stuff.
Speaker 3:What's a field day? Look like these generations.
Speaker 1:I'm so glad you asked. There's a committee that I sit on at my school. The abbreviation is BLT. We do not just sit around and eat sandwiches. However, though, it stands for Building Leadership Team, and we were looking at the field day schedule today. Actually, this is why we're recording late and virtually because I was. I was indisposed for a while there and and so we're looking at the field day um list.
Speaker 1:I guess the the activities and in the district that I work in last year, apparently in the like class, the class competition, the popular class competition right now is tug of war. So, like in elementary school, you would have kindergartners go against first graders, first grader or and then second graders go against third graders, fourth graders go against fifth graders. Apparently, someone last year at some school either face planted or pulled a muscle on a shoulder or something happened to where now everybody, every school in our district, has to get every student that wants to participate in field day to sign a waiver form. Now, this is there's a lot of people. They're like well, let's just bubble wrap them and and send them out, you know, onto the field and hope for the best. At this point it's kind of like what are we doing so we've we've decided to rename tug of war to a less violent sounding um poll poll for peace or team poll.
Speaker 1:I don't even know what we landed on, um, none of it sounds good it all sounds for peace, a poll for peace, yes, Um for dominance, or a team tug, but team tug for obvious reasons got laughed at and kind of shut down, Um so.
Speaker 1:So there's that. But then also there's so many other options which I think are are good and I think are progressive, in the sense that maybe not everybody wants to go out and be active on field day, and now I can remember there there being a couple of classrooms where it was more sensory based right, when you could go and you could color and maybe a movie was always on, but that has taken. I mean, there's like we're going to have a karaoke set up in our music room on field day, so like that's really going to the next level, so and I'm excited about that Like I might go in and do some karaoke. It might not be the same karaoke that you and I like to go out and do, but nonetheless, but nonetheless there there are plenty of options. There's a putt putt golf thing that's going to be set up like a lot of cool stuff. So looking forward to that, but also very much so looking forward to summer yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:Well, congrats on another year, uh, calendar school year. Uh done, buddy, I can't wait for you to just be haunting the movie theater for the next couple of months.
Speaker 1:Well, and I'm excited that you got to see a little bit I mean, like you sharing your school journey, your film school journey, with us and me getting to see you work on projects, like I see you in the field a lot, but you actually got to come visit me this school year too, so that's something that I'll definitely remember about the 2023-2024 school year. So that was a cool moment. Yeah, there might be footage of that out there too for you listeners to watch and enjoy. Soon enough, soon enough. Right, that is in Max's hands, but no, so that's fun. And then you're right, yeah, it's like binge season.
Speaker 1:We were talking to one of our good friends, heath Triller, earlier today and I said binge season is right around the quarter. We're like july and august. It is time to just crush movies, catch up on shows, heck, listen to music, like just consume all the media. As you know, I'm just doing nothing for two months, so that's really exciting. I'm very, very much looking forward to that. Um, and and we're very much looking forward to a lot of releases still to come this year.
Speaker 1:So let's kind of talk about how I think this conversation can kind of be twofold. It's impossible not to compare where we are right now, to where we were this time last year. Now that was like we were on the brink of Barbenheimer coming out. The anticipation for that was really really high and we were, I don't know. That all happened in in july, right like the weekend of the 20th maybe of july. I want to say that's when we were on a road trip, so we probably should know this.
Speaker 1:Um so, so that felt like a real thing. That was right around the corner. We were on on the precipice. Obviously, we don't have that this year, and I think that there was a lot of excitement not only around that event but also the fact that Martin Scorsese was coming out with a film, that we had a bunch of other things to look forward to on the calendar year. So the first part of this question, I guess, is how does it feel this year going into the back half compared to last year? Do you think that there is obviously not the same type of anticipation, but do you think that there's like a silver lining to having less anticipation going into this year, the back half? Um?
Speaker 3:yeah, I think I think kind of what you've been championing about this year is that I think there's going to be a lot of great kind of middle ground films where last year was very top heavy with with a lot of big filmmakers doing movies, or big event movies like the Barbenheimer event. But I think you know when I was doing my research for this episode and you know we did do an episode like this back in January I am going to try and stay away from a movies that we talked about there.
Speaker 1:We have.
Speaker 3:I have seen a couple of those movies that we were anticipating back then. But what I found for today's list, you know, are kind of more on the indie side, more you know, smaller films, you know, and I think it is going to be kind of a rich year to look back on and see those smaller films, even though maybe you know if the best movie in May is Planet of the Apes, you know, kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and we've talked about this at Nazism but, like you know, that's not a planet of the apes and we've talked about this at nausea but, like you know, that's not a great blockbuster year.
Speaker 1:Right Per se. I also think it's something that I am choosing to appreciate attitude of gratitude, right or for 2024 is that there's a lot of unknown surrounding not only Academy films that are going to be nominated, the academy awards, but also just kind of like, what are the movies that are really going to matter in in a couple of years, where, like, I think we knew pretty early on that, like barbie's gonna matter for a long time? I don't even a movie like poor things. Maybe we didn't necessarily know how much it would mean, but now it's like, oh, poor things is gonna mean a lot to a lot of people for a long time. And you can say similar things about killers of the flower moon, about oppenheimer with this year.
Speaker 1:It's like, as much as we loved challengers or dune part two, like emotionally deep down in someone's core, is that? Is that going to be the kind of movie that really sticks with them and resonates with, or Dune Part 2, like, emotionally deep down in someone's core, is that going to be the kind of movie that really sticks with them and resonates with them and that like makes them start to think about life, or is it just going to be for entertainment sake? And so I don't really think we've had those capital letter impactful movies come out yet. And I know they're going to come. I just don't know what they're going to come in the form of. So I'm excited about that unknown that that is hopefully waiting for us.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I think that's, you know, I, I think that's a little bit of what we used to have, right?
Speaker 3:You know, maybe and maybe we are getting to a point where we're just oversaturated with movie news and and you know castings and all that, and it does feel a little unknown. I mean, all the movies on my list aside for you know, one that I'm, or maybe two, I guess, that I'm kind of like really really following or I know, I know stuff about. You know, the other three films on my list are like kind of unknowns to me, but they they look interesting or they sound interesting or they've got you know a great, uh, an interesting young unknown director or writer behind it or a really good act actor or actress that maybe has been a couple of things and maybe this is like their, their big role, um, so yeah, uh, yeah, I'm, I, I love that, I love the unknown well, and I like that too, that the excitement is almost like we are um draft analysts or something and we're like who could be a breakout star from this year, and I think we'll get to maybe some of those, some of those candidates here in just a minute.
Speaker 1:You said you had already watched, you've already seen, some of the films that we had talked about earlier on our January episode of this fashion, and I know that, like I went back and looked at our notes as well, we had challengers on there, like I had mentioned Furiosa. What were some of the other ones, either that you've already seen, or just kind of some of the ones that maybe we can start this conversation off by just mentioning, the ones that we talked about back at the beginning of this year and that we don't want to double down on, but perhaps maybe that we've heard more news on, or just to kind of reiterate like, hey, yes, I'm not forgetting about this film We've just already mentioned it as far as anticipation, Well, doom part two was on my list and you know, I think that's still kind of sad.
Speaker 1:That sucked. That was just. I'm so sorry, yeah, so sick of sand.
Speaker 3:No, that that's still, I think, is like the the bar to beat as far as big blockbusters goes this year. So interesting that that came out in march, you know. Think if that were like a july release or a memorial day release, like that thing, that could probably really crushed the whole summer um, and looking back on it, though, we really needed it at that time, right I mean, yeah, that's the thing about this year. I think you really needed that anytime right, so far, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3:I I feel like maybe if it had come out later in the year, in these true summer months, maybe then we wouldn't be as down as, as some people are uh, on this year, but who knows? Anyways, doing part two is is fantastic, uh, to say the least. So uh. If you haven't fired that up, it's on streaming on max.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just kind of one of those that I throw on now it's. It's nice just to have on in the background. Yeah, just to have on in the background.
Speaker 3:Yeah, love Lies Bleeding was on my list. That also was, I believe, a February release. A good little thriller and I think kind of ages better every day compared to some of the other stuff that we've seen already this year. You know again a very exciting filmmaker, and rose glass with her second film. You've got kristen stewart in it, ed harris, um, and just a good like by the numbers. You know, thriller with horror, science fiction touches in there.
Speaker 3:Uh, I would body more for sure, yeah, yeah, um, and I I think one that might, might end up standing out, uh as the year continues, uh. And then I also had another one I saw, uh that I had on my list was called spaceman, which was a netflix sand movie.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sandler, adam Sandler as a, as you find out in the film, he's from some Eastern European country and he's on a voyage in space and I think he, like he starts he stops eating and starts hallucinating and seeing a talking a large talking spider and you don't know if it's and starts hallucinating and seeing a talking a large talking spider, and you don't know if it's, if spider is real or not. It claims it's another alien race, intelligent race, has come across galaxies to find Sandler and it's all about him and his, his relationship to his wife and his brother and he has to go through and face his trauma on this spaceship I can tell by your tone you loved it oh yeah, I thought I thought it was pretty much, it was a pretty big drag.
Speaker 3:You know, I when I initially found that movie and why I was excited. I thought it was going to be more of like a spaceman on a foreign planet, but really you're just in this spaceship the whole time and it's got some really great production design in it. But and I think, I think I wrote this in my letterbox I, I, I think it makes because it's adapted from a book and I bet you the book is a really great read and very internal, very expansive, uh, to go inside the mind, but on film it just for me it did not translate. Uh, as a good time. Um, so those are the three that I've seen. We're about to see the bike riders and horizon. Uh, an American saga, part one. Uh, here at the end of june.
Speaker 1:So did you have that? Did you have that down back in january? I had horizon.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I only part one though I I didn't realize part two was coming out in august, so I'm I'm equally jacked for that as well, but um this is a good place and time to be where we're excited for both.
Speaker 1:Who knows, after part one if we'll be excited for part two, but as it stands right now, we're excited for both.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah. So those were, yeah, those were kind of two. I you know I also interestingly had Megalopolis and Mickey 17. Mickey 17 got moved to 2025. Megalopolis who knows if we'll ever see that movie.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know it premiered at con and no one bought it and it doesn't sound like anyone is very interested in buying it. So hopefully Francis can can get it distributed in some way. Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just have a couple that I wanted to give updates on from my list back in back in january that, the first of that being maxine, just because I feel like that is the. It's as far as, like all systems go. It's on the top of my list. It's coming out july 5th, high west can't wait. Conclusion to the pearl trilogy here, so that's really exciting.
Speaker 1:Um, apartment 7a, the prequel to rosemary's baby, that's an interesting one. Right now, fall 2024 no specific release date yet. However, from what I'm reading is it's going straight to paramount Plus, which is not good. That's not a good sign. But at the same time, again, I'm choosing to be positive about this. But, however, in a year where, like you know, fox took a chance and just released the first Omen in theaters and it was incredible it was amazing. I just saw somebody on the horror Reddit page write a huge thing about it and the outpouring of support for people just being like, yes, this film needs to be talked about more was so cool to see. So I'm hoping that this straight to streaming release for Apartment 7A isn't like an early indicator of something really bad, because, again, I've kind of said that that movie might make or break my year. However, that's where we stand right now Um, father, mother, sister, brother which is the new Jim Jarmusch film that wrapped shooting, um and is expected to release in late 2024, but potentially early 2025, is what I just saw.
Speaker 1:So some might get that one this year. And then the room next door, which is the first American production from Pedro Almodovar that began shooting in March of 2024. So just a couple of months ago. So hopefully he can turn that one around and we still get that this year, because, again, if Jarmusch releases a film, if Almodovar releases a film, that's that's a really good sign, like what you were saying, kind of like for the indies and if there's not too much else to focus on, it's going to bring a lot of people's attention to not only those films but also their you know those great directors filmographies, so that'll be exciting. And then one other, one other one from from Cannes as well to Cronenberg's new film, the Shrouds did get picked up and that's going to release in September of 2025. I had that one on my list. Oh, wow, excuse me, september 25th of 2024.
Speaker 3:Okay, I was like why is it getting pushed so hard?
Speaker 1:No, no, no. No one's trying to take away the final cut from Cronenberg. He will release that film in its entirety this year. So excited about basically all of those, but nervous about apartment 7a now. So we shall see with that one. But okay, we have. We have a couple films here each that we're excited to talk about. So what's the first one on your list?
Speaker 3:uh, the first one on my list is going to be released on September 20th, 2024. Says it's limited, but it's a mystery thriller, drama, sci-fi from a 24 starring Sebastian Stan, called a different man and it sounds. It's got a little elephant man vibe to it. Uh, an aspiring actor, edward, undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, but his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare as he loses out on a role he was born to play and becomes obsessed with reclaiming what he's lost. Wow, Uh, the director is Aaron Schimberg. Again, just like someone, this is his third film, kind of out of the indie world. I haven't seen any of his other stuff but just from looking at, like the poster and kind of the vibe that they're going for this, this looks like it could be very, very disturbing.
Speaker 3:Uh, and we love a24, so I I had to throw it on the list that sounds incredibly interesting yeah, and you know, stan sebastian sand, another one of these guys right now right, like, and someone who is always kind of like around, but maybe like, finally, if, if he can be like this, if this is a star making vehicle for him, uh, and especially in the horror genre or or sci-fi, mystery, thriller thing, that that could be really cool well, I think a lot of people really appreciated fresh remember that film that kind of came out towards the end of the pandemic there.
Speaker 1:However, that was just. You know, that was a straight to streaming Hulu release, and so this I think yeah, you're right would give him a chance to take his notoriety to the next level. The first film that I want to talk about is Long Legs. I'm so excited for Osgood Perkins, who apparently is just like trying to be super hip right now. Just go by oz. So oz perkins. Uh, second, second film yeah, osgood perkins. Of course, maybe I should just call him oz. I don't know. We'll just call him oz, so oz um.
Speaker 1:Son of anthony perkins. Famous actor, portrayed norman bates and psycho, for those of you who don't know and has been just moving around the horror space in a really cool way over the past 10 years doing a little bit of acting. He showed up in Jordan Peele's Nope. He was the commercial director at the very beginning when they're trying to work with the horse. He's got some really funny lines at the beginning of that, and then he's the director of, I think, the underappreciated kind of slow burn hard gym of that A24 mold there in the 2010s, the Black Coat's Daughter, just like an all-time favorite of mine and so really excited to see what he can do with this film that's going to star Mika Monroe and Nicolas Cage. So for fans of it Follows, they will obviously know Mika's CV and she is this kind of like budding scream queen has really worked well within genre pictures and then just like a creepy good role.
Speaker 1:For Nick Cage I've stayed away from the trailer so I'm not sure if he has any kind of look going or anything like that, but I know he plays the titular character of Long Legs, who is a serial killer. This feels just If you read the logline, it kind of feels like a Silence of the Lambs type of story where Monroe is playing this up-and-coming FBI agent who takes on very serious cases when it comes to like homicide work and just kind of starts to go down the rabbit hole of this case, which leads to getting tangled into the occult, which gets her down into you know, another level of hell and it just starts to spiral. So I I cannot wait to see how, how dark and how twisted and hopefully how effective this film is. And so long legs comes out on July 12th and let me just say that, like middle of July it's, it's real meaty. I can't wait for July in the theaters, um, and and it basically starts with long legs.
Speaker 3:You got to love a horror movie in the summer too. Yeah, like just a nice cool summer night, and we're going to be we're going to be scared out of our minds in the theater. I can't wait for that. Can't wait. My number four film actually comes out this Friday at the Grand. It's in Tacoma, washington, before it hits Seattle. So come on out to the Grand Cinema, because they get their films first. And it's called I Used to Be Funny, ah yeah.
Speaker 3:Directed by Ali Panqui and stars Rachel Sennett. Sam, a stand-up comedian struggling with PTSD, weighs whether or not to join the search for a missing teenage girl. She used to nanny. I have season tickets for Rachel Sennett. I will go out and see whatever she's doing. Next, you want to talk about high batting average. I don't know if she's struck out yet. I think she's on a hit streak with things like Bodies, bodies, bodies or Bottoms, or Shiva Baby. So I'm hoping that this will just add to her awesome filmography that she already has right now and, like I said, it's going to be in theaters this weekend. I can't wait to go visit the Grand and check it out Again.
Speaker 3:Ali, uh panque, you know, uh, unknown writer director. She wrote the film. She's also directing it. Uh, she's done some tv stuff, some black mirror episodes, so I I think you know if there is a you know, if there's a missing girl teenage involved, there's probably going to be some sort of thriller vibe to this, as well as a comedy. It was up for it was a 2023 nominee at South by Southwest for best film. So I'm just I'm very excited to see this and can't wait to get my hands on it this weekend. Yeah, that's really exciting and I'm right there to see this and can't wait to get my hands on it this weekend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really exciting and I'm right there with you with Rachel. It's like the, the genre of films that she she's choosing to be in, they kind of don't have a home, and I mean that in the best way possible where like bottoms, bottoms, bottoms is like a horror comedy and it's really effective. Effective at being both of those things. Um, I would say bottoms is it's like a parody comedy, you know, um, that doesn't take itself too seriously. And then Shiva baby's like a horror comedy, almost like if you have anxiety and you watch that film, it almost feels like you're watching um, the Rosemary's baby or something, this woman being trapped in a situation that she cannot get out of um. So so I'm right there with you. That that's really exciting. It's been a minute since I've been to the grand too, so if you're down, I'm down, I will see you there.
Speaker 1:Uh, so the next film that I have here is called cuckoo. Cuckoo is going to come out August 2nd, so right at the beginning of August, first weekend stars Hunter Schaefer. Cannot wait to see Hunter Schaefer start to expand their presence outside of just Euphoria. I feel like Euphoria has kind of stalled and you're starting now to see everyone from that core really start to take off. Obviously, zendaya didn't need any more publicity or any more work. She's already an A-plus lister. But you look at what Sidney Sweeney's done since then, which Jacob Elordi has done since then, and now I feel like it's Hunter Schaefer's turn. So really excited for them and really, really excited for this film.
Speaker 1:And now you've been to movies with me countless times and you know how I respond when I'm watching a trailer that I know nothing about. But then all of a sudden, like I hit, I just hit that moment where I'm sold and I'll stop watching. I'll. I'll physically turn my head elsewhere and kind of either look down in my lap or plug my ears or do something because I don't want anything more spoiled for me.
Speaker 1:The cuckoo trailer did this to me in about 15 seconds where I was just like oh I'm, I'm in, I don't need to see anymore it. It's kind of giving like shining energy where, where it's like a hunter shaver plays um, a young person who's going to a town in the german alps because her father has taken up work there or she's going to live with a new family, something along those lines, and the town has secrets and the. The character that hunter plays is starting to uncover these secrets and it seems like there's a sinister past and, you know, haunting imagery is starting to follow her around, just all these boxes that it's just checking off for me that the trailer is edited so well, um, it looks like a really good, just like star-powered vehicle for hunter to really show their acting chops. So I'm excited for that. I'm excited, I'm exciting for it.
Speaker 1:I'm excited for it to be thrilling. I, I'm excited for it. I'm excited for it to be thrilling. I'm not necessarily sure if it's going to be scary with a capital S or anything like that, but if it does also turn out to be like an effective horror film, then that's just like a bonus. That's the cherry on top, because it just looks like it's going to be really entertaining, really fun and thrilling. So that's, that's a big one for me.
Speaker 3:It's got a great poster. The interesting thing about Cuckoo and Long Legs is that I'm I'm seeing their posters at like big cineplexes, like big big movie, like chain movie theaters, so that's very exciting to see them, that they're going to be in these large screens.
Speaker 1:And the director of Cuckoo, a guy named Tillman singer, has directed one film back in 2018 as as a feature, and so again like someone who's getting a chance to, I think, really make a big splash with their sophomore project here. Um so so again it's that like scout for the future, who who could be some of the new names here in in genre filmmaking looking forward or going forward, and it looks like Tillman could be one of them if this is successful.
Speaker 3:Right on, uh, movie number three uh, again, another like this is a first time director. Uh, they uh also wrote the uh, the screenplay, nicholas Larson. This comes out July 5th 2024. Again, limited. So another like indie film. It's called Mother Couch and even though it's an indie film, it's got Ewan McGregor, rife Fiennes and Ellen Bernstein in the cast plus.
Speaker 2:Taylor Russell.
Speaker 1:And Taylor Russell who we love.
Speaker 3:In a remote furniture store, mother, played by Ellen Bernstein, stations herself on a green couch, refusing to get up and leaving her three estranged children. David and his siblings embark on a mind-bending journey to reveal life-altering family truths, and it's a comedy drama as well as Bill does. But again, I'm loving the writer-director palette that we have going into this summer and I hope you know Aaron McGregor, I think, is always such a good actor who you know. Unfortunately, star Wars looms heavy over him and I would, even though he's had plenty of plenty of roles. But it would just be great to see him come out here and do another great indie, like he did way back when with the Beginners, something like that. But also Ellen Bernstein great to see her kicking, oh my gosh. Yeah, yeah, and I don't know. Could be funny, could be boring, but I'm in I'll be there.
Speaker 1:My next film, another one that came just kind of out of nowhere and I feel like that's a trend here with a lot of our with a lot of our movies that we're anticipating right now, but this is called the Substance, and this film took can by storm, where I saw a lot of people speculating that it could contend, and I think it did play. It was in the running for Palme d'Or, so it almost took home best picture at Cannes. So the Substance is again the second feature from a really promising director. This is Coralie Fargett's second film. She directed Revenge, another film from the 2010s that I think is like a five-star movie, just an incredible entry into the French New Extremity, if you will, of action, thriller, horror, and so if you haven't seen revenge first off, I highly highly recommend that film. Super exciting, just beautiful photography, and you want to talk about like a triple threat.
Speaker 1:So poorly is the writer, director and producer on this film, which stars? Um, it's. It's demi more and margaret qually like at the core, and it seems like it's going to be body whore. It seems like it's going to be um, a commentary on celebrity sort of obsession. The quick log line is like a fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell replacing substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.
Speaker 1:And so when you can picture Demi Moore and then Margaret Qualley right now, I feel like that's perfect casting and this film I cannot wait for. It comes out a little bit later, not really a summer release it's September 20th but then that also makes me excited to where, like if this film competed at hand for the Palme d'Or, like could this be a genre picture that maybe starts to starts to drum up some, some exciting awards buzz here in the United States. So really excited to see again the second feature from an up and coming director that I think shows a lot of promise oh yeah, margaret Qualley, someone who's having that hell of a year.
Speaker 1:She does an incredible run.
Speaker 3:Yeah, she's going to show up again on this list. Um, so my first three movies were were all very pretty indie films. Now we're, you know, got to get into some something a little bigger here. Um, it's called Wolves and it's supposed to come out, I believe, in the fall of 2024. I don't see a specific date here. It's directed and written by John Watts, who, of course, did you know he's done Spider-Man movies, most recently, probably some of the most enjoyable, you know, late game Marvel movies. But the big thing about this movie is that it puts our, our two best friends back together again. Finally, brad Pitt and George Clooney. The synopsis is one sentence, because they don't really need to sell this. It says follows two lone wolf fixers who are assigned to the same job.
Speaker 1:I saw this as well when I was like refreshing all the lists that I was using to help me come up with the content for this episode, and I saw this film, wolfs, and I thought, oh cool, like another horror film perhaps. And then as soon as I clicked on it and saw like the still image of Brad and George, I was like, oh, this looks fantastic yeah, I mean I don't even care if it's bad, I just can't wait to see these two back on screen together.
Speaker 1:I mean the chemistry, having so much fun yeah, they have unbelievable chemistry.
Speaker 3:It's been too long since I think burn after reading was the last film they did together.
Speaker 1:Well, the thing I love about it too, is that in very serious roles they have both played fixers before, because brad pitt and killing them softly is like a fixer an enforcer, if you will, for the mob. And then, of course, michael clayton one of clooney's best films, one of his best roles he's a, he's like a fixer for high corporate entities. So I just I think that this is such a funny pairing, funny casting, incredible premise, because just the look of of the still photos of them on set, it, it looks like it's going to be. It looks like they're going to be having fun. This doesn't look like it's going to be all that earnest.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, and just a great. What a great title. Yeah, wolf's. But yeah, there is a trailer.
Speaker 1:A a great title, wolf's yeah.
Speaker 3:Wolf's. But yeah, there there is a trailer, a couple of different trailers out for this right now.
Speaker 1:I've stayed away from both of them.
Speaker 2:But, I just can't wait.
Speaker 3:You know Amy Ryan also makes an appearance in this film, who is always very solid, but excited to see what John Watts can do outside the Marvel machine.
Speaker 1:Absolutely very solid, but excited to see what john watts can do outside the marvel machine. Absolutely. My next film is it's um. It's the next installment to a franchise that I I knew I wanted, or I guess I should say that I knew I needed, but I didn't know I wanted it this way and that's A Quiet Place day one. Now John Krasinski has been tagged on IMDb on Letterboxd. As far as future projects go for A Quiet Place part three, ever since A Quiet Place part two wrapped production, I think his vision is to make a trilogy with the characters from the original story there.
Speaker 1:However, this is, like now, an, an offshoot into the same world, and it is done under Krasinski's watch. He is a producer on the film. I'm probably the lead producer, I would imagine, but this is directed by Michael Sarnowski, who, whose last film was pig and now Pig was, I think, one of the best films really to come out during those COVID years of 2020, 2021, a really subdued and an intimate and really heartfelt story that I feel like there's a lot, of, a lot of things that could be translated from the way that film was shot, made and told into a quiet place film, because, even though you think of? Do these, do these monsters have a name? Do these aliens? And clickers, the clickers? Okay, so you think about clickers as these hyper violent killing machines right, almost like a xenomorph um on cocaine or something. But but the whole point of the whole way you survive in a quiet place movie is obviously to be as still and as silent as possible. So that's where I feel like a lot of the isolation, a lot of the character study stuff that we saw in the film Pig could translate really well to this film, a Quiet Place Day One, which also, by the way, features Lupita Nyong'o, who I think over the past 10 years you could take her filmography and put it up against just about anybody's and you'd be hard-pressed to say that there's, there's not somebody else. Choosing more interesting projects and as far as like how they command the screen when it is their turn to be in the shot, lupita is like, I think, top of the list, whether it's us, whether it is their work in some of the Black Panther movies. I'm really, really excited to see, to see her in a horror film and in within a universe that I think is kind of.
Speaker 1:I just rewatched A Quiet Place part two and I feel like this this franchise is really starting to announce itself as like, perhaps, perhaps like the signature horror franchise of the at least the back half of the 2010s and into the 2020s. Now, like I don't want to say it's maybe one of the best of the 21st century. Quite yet I'd have to do more, I'd have to think more about that. However, I'm like the first two quiet place movies phenomenal, and now if we get two more, um, I think we're looking at like a really, really substantial entry into like alien movies, into sci-fi movies, into horror movies, and so I cannot wait for this film comes out really soon too.
Speaker 3:I don't have the release date written down, but I know it's the summer june 27th a couple this month baby, yeah, yeah, okay yeah, it's gonna be really interesting to see how how this movie is, just because you know, emily blunt is kind of the centerpiece of the first two movies and brings a level of you know, know, prestige to what she does Right and and being being in those films and not that anyone is is below Emily Blunt. Lupita is one of our best actresses, but I feel like I I connect Emily Blunt, John Krasinski with those quiet place films so much. It's gonna be really interesting to see a whole new cast.
Speaker 1:Yeah I think that's fair.
Speaker 3:I think that's fair thrown into this and it's you know it's trying to do the prequel thing, which you know can be can be good and can be bad, but with a great filmmaker like michael uh sarnowski behind it, I think you're right that he's probably a a great pick to uh to do something in the quiet place universe and again, pig was his first feature length film, so we have another sophomore project here from from a promising up and coming director.
Speaker 1:So I love, I love that about it. But I do think that everything I don't want to call it skepticism or put words in your mouth or anything like that, but what I'm hearing you say, I think I agree with where it is going to be interesting to see how a story within this universe, within this world that does such a good job building out its world, is told without those characters, but that does such a good job building out its world, is told without those characters. Um, but but again, I'm hopeful. I think that there's a lot of meat on the bone when it comes to the quiet place universe, like show me what's happening over here, show me what's happening over here, show me what's happening in present time, show me what's happening on day, one kind of deal yeah right right on, well, uh, right on, well, my number one.
Speaker 3:we're already at number ones here. And yeah, listen, I am, I'm, I'm your ghost pilled. I'm Emma pilled. I'm Jesse Plemons pilled. But kinds of kindness is just, I am. I actually was telling Kaylee this the other day, like I am too excited for that film, that like it's probably going to be.
Speaker 1:It might fall short of your expectations Totally.
Speaker 3:I know it's going to disappoint me in some way. I don't know, maybe not. I am just so stoked for this fucking film it is. It's one of the best trailers I think I've seen in the past 10 years.
Speaker 1:I might just need to turn you down in my headphones. This is good that we're not together actually right now for this recording, because I know nothing. I just absolutely know nothing.
Speaker 3:Neither do I, and I have watched the trailer a thousand times. That's why it's so good. All it does is make you want to go watch this movie, and the fact that Jesse Plemons won best actor at can Yep Is is very exciting. You've got Margaret Qualley Once again coming up in this conversation. She's going to be in the film. Willem Dafoe oh chat Hon Chow. Hunter Schaefer is also in this, oh yeah. And and then Emma Stone, like after seeing you know what she did last year with with poor things, winning the Oscar and then watching the curse. And now and now we get to go back into another Yorgos movie with her, and she just announced her and Nathan Fielder are going to be making a movie together, with Nathan writing and directing for his first time.
Speaker 1:I saw that. Yeah, I saw that.
Speaker 3:I'm just Emma. Emma Stone is is the one, she's the one, and I, I, I will be behind anything she does from this day forward, from, you know, until the end of time. So I'm I. I love the poster too. I think the poster is just a beautiful piece of art. I, I'm just, I'm so, so excited and I can't believe yorgos is giving us two films in a calendar year.
Speaker 1:Um, or a physical year or whatever you call it right, like in a right, like in a 12-month span.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and I just really think he's at the top of his game right now, so I cannot wait for kinds of kindness.
Speaker 1:And neither can I. I totally agree with what you're saying about Emma too, where not that it's like a competition or anything like that but if we were to turn back time to say like 2012 or something, and you were going to have to, you know, put your, you know, plant a flag on the career, in the career of someone going forward, I think there'd be people that would say Jennifer Lawrence. I think there'd be people that say perhaps Saoirse Ronan. I think there would be people that say Scarlett Johse Ronan. I think there would be people that say Scarlett Johansson, still, maybe you just kind of it. Emma Stone, definitely in that conversation, but I do think that she has ascended to to the top of her game. I mean, she's the reigning best actress at the Academy Awards. She did that, working with your go here we go again. So what's not to love?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's, it's. I, uh yeah, end of this month.
Speaker 1:Can't wait, cannot wait so there's a couple more here that I think that we'll kind of just like share our excitement for at the very end. Um, but the last one that that I want to talk about a little bit is called and I'm not sure if it's going to be a 2024 release or not, but more news is starting to come out kind of like every week, every month, about this movie, and so I really hope we do get it. It's called flesh of the gods. It's called Flesh of the Gods. It's directed by Panos Cosmatos, who is the director of Mandy Behind the Black Rainbow and then did another film during the pandemic called, I think, vanishing or the Vanishing, something along those lines. So a really interesting director. I mean an auteur in almost the purest sense, where this guy makes the movies that he wants to make. And I don't know too much about this film other than it stars Oscar Isaac and Kristen Stewart in the two lead roles and it sounds very, very interesting. It almost sounds like a Gaspar no type of film or something. The line that's on Letterboxd right now reads Married couple Raul and Alex descend each evening from their luxury skyscraper condo to venture into the electric nighttime realm of 1980s Los Angeles when they cross paths with a mysterious and enigmatic woman known only as nameless.
Speaker 1:She and her hard partying, her and her hard party partying inmate raul and alex oh she, okay, I'm stumbling all over this, but basically she lures them into a glamorous, surrealistic world of hedonism, thrills and violence. Wow. So if this is anything like mand you know it's going to be visually appealing at least Will the story have any bearings, will you be able to connect any type of thread to your actual existence? I don't know. Will it be just some drug-induced LSD type kind of odyssey, maybe, and maybe that's what we need? So I don't know. Will it be just some drug induced LSD type kind of odyssey, maybe, and maybe that's what we need? So I don't know. I'm I'm very much looking forward to two flesh of the gods, though I think that could be a really, really fun, like perhaps October release or something that's just kind of like one of these weird elephant type movies.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's, that's very exciting weird elephant type movies. Yeah, yeah, that's, that's very exciting. You know, mandy, mandy, you had such a huge cultural moment. It'd be cool to see Oscar Isaac and Kristen Stewart in the middle of that as well.
Speaker 1:Now, of course, this whole pod could be about the future best picture winner twisters.
Speaker 3:Of course I mean. But listen, people, people, people, they, then they wouldn't turn on the pod right now I'm sure some people are gonna be like oh they're just gonna talk about twisters.
Speaker 1:We got to keep dangling the carrot, though listen, we're gonna be there.
Speaker 3:We're gonna be there day one. Uh. Glenn powell continues to uh up everywhere on social media.
Speaker 1:He produced and narrated a documentary that just hit Amazon Prime about the Blue Angels. Have you seen this? Have you fired it up yet? I need to.
Speaker 3:I want to wrap myself in an American flag, and then I'll watch that.
Speaker 1:Fire it up. Yeah, I got to watch that, but yeah, so that fired up. Yeah, I got to watch that, but but yeah, so that's that's July 19th, so a week after Long Legs, and then I'll just watch Twisters like three times, four times a week until Cuckoo comes out August 2nd, like that. That run right there between the middle of July through August. Cannot wait for.
Speaker 3:Glenn Powell recently said in an interview that he believes that there's an action sequence in twisters that may be the best action sequence of the 21st century and it's the. It was the hardest, physically, the hardest thing he's ever had to do. So just continue to do what you do, glenn, and you're killing it. If anyone hasn't go fire up hit man delightful film, yeah, he just he's on fire and twisters is going to be amazing. I don't care what anyone says, it's going to be so, so fun.
Speaker 1:Exactly that's what I think. I think it could end up being the most fun film of the year, and not that's really quantifiable or you don't earn a, you don't win an award for that but I think that's what we have on our hands here. Um, I know a film you talked about the first time around was alien romulus. I'm there with you now, cannot waitot wait for that. After being in the theater while a trailer was playing, but not watching the trailer, what I could feel in that moment was something exciting, and so that, and everything I'm reading too, people are, I think the skepticism is dying down and the excitement is building. So that is really exciting. Um, I also have written down here trap, just because m night you never know like talk about just fool me once, fool me twice. M night you could fool me 400 times. I'm still gonna come back and try again. And if you're gonna set a film in the world of electronic dance music and it stars my guy, josh Hartnett, guess what? I'm there.
Speaker 3:I'm surprised you don't have the Russell Crowe vehicle hidden theaters.
Speaker 1:On Friday, june 21st, the exorcism so I was so confused when I saw this because I thought is this just not related?
Speaker 3:to the's exorcism.
Speaker 2:Not related to the Pope's exorcism.
Speaker 3:He's just doing another exorcism movie.
Speaker 1:I can't believe it I can't believe it Unbelievable.
Speaker 3:The synopsis for this is crazy. Russell Crowe stars as Anthony Miller, a troubled actor who begins to unravel while shooting a supernatural horror film. His estranged daughter, Lee, wonders if he's slipping back into his past addictions or if there's something more sinister at play.
Speaker 1:I love it, let's go.
Speaker 3:It's like a meta take on the Pope's Exorcist.
Speaker 1:You, you know what put it at the top of my list. Um, let's see. I also have written down just a few movies that we don't know too much about, but, um, that I think are going to be very exciting when they do release a nora, which of course did win the palm d'or at can this year. Sean baker's new film starring Mikey Madsen Seems like a real, real high quality film there that I think will play really well. Once it releases Alpha, which is the new Julia Ducarnu film. I don't know if it's shot yet. I do know that A24 picked up production and distribution for it, so I love that pairing right there.
Speaker 1:And then Bird, another film that played really well at Cannes and that stars Barry Keoghan as kind of a neglectful single father to like a 12-year-old daughter. That sounds like it really showed Barry's acting chops and was pulling on people's heartstrings as well it can. So looking forward to that. Looking forward to it, nora. Looking forward to Alpha. Just wanted it, nora. Looking forward to alpha. Just wanted to get those out there too, before before we jump off the mics here yeah, barry.
Speaker 3:You know I'm a little down on barry right now, so I'm excited to see bird. I think he's a bit of a goof he's getting too wrapped up in this.
Speaker 1:Uh, I don't know what her name is Sabrina Carpenter, this pop singer, this espresso, yeah doing music videos.
Speaker 3:That's what it is. That taste is still in my mouth. You know, I don't know, but hopefully Bird brings it back.
Speaker 1:Berry will always have a special place in my heart because of the killing of a sacred deer, which I think it's time for you to re-watch, in anticipation for kinds of kindness probably. Um, because that's one of the, that's one of the most kind of psychopathic performances, I think out there it's right up there with something like funny games, take it, you know any anything in that, in that, I don't know that. Slow burn madness, weird slow burn madness, psychopath young person, um, yeah, kind of like.
Speaker 3:Yeah, kind of like a norman bates, honestly um, we've also got terrifier 3 coming out this this uh october, I believe.
Speaker 3:What a year for horror uh, yeah, uh, can't wait to see what dominic lenone does for his, I think the what the fight, it's the final chapter for art the clown, yeah, and he just, you know, I mean it's just gonna be a gore fest and we love that every once in a while. I also stumbled across this movie from Doug Lyman, coming called the Instigators, which is really interesting, if it actually comes out this year because it's Matt Damon and Casey Affleck and they are teaming up. They're like two heist men who team up or or get assigned to the same job. It's like wolves, but like, but maybe like, more action, serious, yeah yeah yeah, kind of things.
Speaker 3:Um, either way, uh, you know matt damon and with someone named affleck on on screen, screen usually is pretty good, so uh can't wait to see that, and hopefully Doug Lyman, you know, I know he kind of had a weird moment there with, uh, whatever his last film was, because it wasn't released in theaters.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, it'd be nice if you can kind of return to form.
Speaker 3:Yeah, It'd be cool if it was, if it was just like a really good solid action movie.
Speaker 1:It'd be great to see Matt Damon do that again. Absolutely All right, so, again, a lot to look forward to. A lot of unknown as well, though, um, but that that gives us, that gives us room for a lot of excitement and for a lot of anticipation, so we hope that we've mentioned a few films now, too, that you can look forward to. That's going to do it for us this week. We'll be back next week celebrating the release of inside out, too, by discussing our favorite Pixar films. I've already seen you and this is the benefits to letterbox, of course you're already doing the work blogging. Yeah, I think you just slapped a good old three star rating on a bug's life.
Speaker 3:Listen, man, it doesn't hold up, not not when you're watching stuff like Finding Dory and Monsters University. A bug's life feels a little.
Speaker 1:A little empty God even those sequels. You didn't even mention nemo or monsters inc.
Speaker 3:But to university and dory doesn't even hold a candle yeah, I'm trying to cover the ones like I'm I'm not the most familiar with, okay, and uh, I mean pixar. Listen, we'll have this conversation elongated next week, but like, what a delightful little film marathon that I'm on.
Speaker 1:You know that's true. I don't want to. Yeah, let's not. Let's not lose sight of the task at hand here and how pleasant it actually is this week.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah and just really strong. Really there's some really strong films. It's going to be hard to whittle it down whether we do a ranking or a hall of fame. I don't think we've decided, but yeah.
Speaker 1:I was talking to a student the other day about Ratatouille. They were unfamiliar with Ratatouille and I told him you don't understand that. Ratatouille is like one of the goat animated films maybe of all time. And they were like what are you talking about? And I'm like no, no, no, no, no, go back, watch it again. Ratatouille is so good.
Speaker 3:So interesting, I actually watched that. Well, this is a story for next week. We'll get into it next week, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, in the meantime, please follow Excuse the Intermission on Instagram and the two of us on Letterboxd to track what we're watching between shows, and we will talk to you next time on ETI, where movies still matter.
