Excuse the Intermission
Alex and Max take you on a journey through film with this discussion podcast about movies.
Excuse the Intermission
Top Five Guilty Pleasure Movies
What are the movies we love despite knowing they're not cinematic masterpieces? When the critics pan a film that you can't stop rewatching, should you feel guilty about your enjoyment?
In this deeply personal episode, we reunite as a full trio to dive into the concept of "guilty pleasures" in film - those movies we return to time and again despite (or perhaps because of) their perceived flaws. As Erica returns from her travels, she brings with her this question that reveals more about us as viewers than perhaps any other topic could.
We each approach this challenge differently - Max analyzes the numerical gaps between his ratings and the critical consensus, Alex passionately defends films no one else seems to appreciate, and Erica embraces the nostalgic comforts of childhood favorites. From the shark-filled waters of Deep Blue Sea to the supernatural scares of Annabelle Comes Home, from the teen angst of Twilight to the ghostly romance of Casper, our selections span genres and decades but share one common thread: they matter deeply to us.
The conversation reveals how our most treasured movie experiences often connect to formative moments in our lives. We explore whether a guilty pleasure can transition into legitimate appreciation when critical opinion shifts, whether certain genres are more prone to guilty pleasure status than others, and ultimately, whether we should feel any guilt at all about the films that bring us joy.
What movies do you secretly love despite their reputation? Join us for this confession booth of cinematic loves and discover why the films we're hesitant to recommend might actually be the ones that define us most as movie lovers.
In this podcast, three longtime friends revisit the movies they grew up with to...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
how's it? I'm alex mccauley.
Speaker 1:I'm max fosberg and I'm erica kraus, and this is excuse the intermission a discussion show surrounding our guiltiest pleasures. Erica is back and bringing with her an episode topic that is sure to scratch a unique itch ahead on today's pod, we will be celebrating her oscar ballot win and catching up on her travels over the last month. Those conversations up next on the other side of this break. Okay, we're back and we are whole again, all three of us in studio. Max, you and I have done our best to hold it down, but once again we have our third leg to help us stand together. Stand even. Erica, how are you? Where have you been? What's going on in your life?
Speaker 2:oh, man, it's good to be back. Um well, I well, I was sick for a minute, just for a little bit, and, as you can probably tell by my voice, I've caught something again. But um, in between that I traveled to denver for a week to see a close friend of mine and um, yeah, just been taking it easy, but you know nothing too crazy out there. Just you know, denver was denver, but what is that Just?
Speaker 2:crusty and brown and dead. But I had a really nice relaxing time, a lot of self-care. It was a nice like restful trip.
Speaker 1:Not that it means anything to me because I've yet to go back. I think I was maybe there for a layover on a flight once, but do you know where I was born? Where denver colorado what crusty brown. And dead.
Speaker 3:She says sounds kind of like you. I'll tell you what we're getting there. I can't wait. Oh my god, I can't wait to be in my walton goggins era oh, he is crusty and brown, yeah, and approaching death. I love him um okay.
Speaker 1:So, as you've been away from the pod, I think we all have reached this point now. It's funny that you reached it so soon into your amateur podcasting career, where you do not listen to episodes, that you are on no max. You've always been like this I listened to, I I used to listen to our episodes pretty religiously after we would release them, or at least once you were done editing them and you would put them in either a Dropbox or upload them to Buzzsprout early.
Speaker 1:I've since stopped doing that, unless I hear somebody say something oh, you got to go, like that was a great episode. You know you hear that. And then you want to go back and listen, since you were away for about a month, erica, you've gone back and listen. So what have you heard us talk about that? You wish you could have been in the room to maybe clap back on or agree with what. What is the last month of movie engagement looked like for you?
Speaker 2:Oh God, I mean honestly, I've been really dropping the ball on movies just in general this year. So I did see Opus so I was kind of you know bummed. I couldn't be a part of that conversation last week, but I did get to see that while I was in Denver at my beloved Alamo Drafthouse.
Speaker 1:Good to be back there, I can imagine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, it's not the same as being in Austin, which is kind of like I believe that's where Alamo started, um, and it's always just a much different vibe. And you know, my theater on a Saturday early afternoon in Denver, um, in like the suburbs of Denver, mind you um, there was two other people, so it wasn't like anything to write home about. But I mean, I just love to support Alamo Drafthouse. I think that they're just a great theater in general. So yeah, that was nice. But yeah, I mean, obviously I missed out on Max's film. You know, his film school episode, just so happy for you, and I was just cheering you on from afar thank you so much.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that. Uh gosh, I think I need to. I also I need to send you uh unplugged huh yeah, yeah the final cut that we've been showing people. Um, yeah, I'll get on that, uh, tonight, but opus, you saw opus I thought of you when I saw opus and I think I texted you like right as I got out of the theater what'd you think?
Speaker 2:yeah, I, so this was actually on my when we did our most anticipated for the year this was on that list for me, um, I liked it.
Speaker 2:I think that, like you know, to be totally honest, it felt a little bit like hollow to me. This. I felt like there was kind of a lot going on and not like it just didn't really scratch the surface for I. I was thinking about this yesterday because I'm like I know they're going to ask me and how am I going to explain, like, how I feel? Um, because obviously this is a movie that really takes a lot of inspo from a lot of our favorites right, you know a lot of great A24 movies um, but it just didn't really like fully get there for me and I think, by the time like things really started to like pick up the pace towards the end, um, I wasn't really even like that invested in it. I was just kind of like, oh okay, you know that's crazy, but I I mean, I don't know, I I liked it, I appreciated, like what it was trying to do.
Speaker 2:I saw a lot of people talking about how they're like this is just a fucking rip off of, you know, blink, twice, the Menu, midsommar, and then like some other movies, and I'm like, well, that's OK. I mean, yes, like it pulls a lot of inspo from those movies. But like those are really great movies to be inspired by. Like don't we want more of those anyway? So yeah, I wasn't like mad about that. I think a lot of people like were so butthurt because that was like a huge part of it. But, um, I mean I I will say, uh, john malkovich just fucking killed it, but that wasn't a surprise because he kind of kills it and everything he was amazing.
Speaker 3:He's 70 years old and he's doing a role like this is, uh, pretty, pretty exciting stuff. It is a movie that has been like getting killed yeah and and I'm someone who really, really came out like loving it and thinking it's like the best thing I've seen this year from the 2025 release schedule, um, and you know, I was thinking about the episode we're doing today In the future, opus could become one of these guilty pleasure movies.
Speaker 1:I love that. That's great. Are you ready for this segue?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, absolutely, let's do it. Yeah, so well, I kind of wanted to just do like a little bit of I mean, why I chose this episode. And you know, when you guys, when I won the Oscars ballot, I really wanted to do an episode. That was like just typical Erica, like I want to know, like what makes people tick, and I want to know, like know, like you know the, the psychology of people and I think you know, learning stuff like this is just such a personal thing.
Speaker 2:Like what is your guilty pleasure? What is like you know, what's your comfort movie, what's something that makes you feel good? Like, what are you afraid of? What are like, what makes you laugh? I like to know those things and I think that film does such a great job, excuse me, at like people's film interest is a really great window into who somebody is, um, and so I thought you know, gosh I mean I'm joining the podcast very late in your guys's um career in this. You know you guys have been doing this for like five years now, so I had to make sure I did some. I was choosing something that you already hadn't done and I just thought this would be fun. I mean, it's like I want to know, like what, what you define as a guilty pleasure Number one, like how do you even go about that?
Speaker 1:And at the end of last week's episode, I was going to ask if you heard that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah so you guys had a really great conversation and I loved your conversation about it too, because I was like that's exactly like what I wanted to kind of invoke in this episode in general, like those kind of conversations, and you're kind of like okay, like what, well, shoot, is it like? Does that mean it's something indulgent, or is it like I'm kind of ashamed to like it, or am I embarrassed? I mean, um, or is it something that like is feels more comforting to me, like what is that?
Speaker 2:but you know I'll tell you that the way I define a guilty pleasure is something that I am not necessarily proud to love, or like, I'm like you know, like it's almost like a sweet treat kind of like when you're you're on a diet, um, you're like, oh, it feels good in the moment to watch this, but I know I shouldn't be doing it, or I know it's like not great, like it's not a great movie, but I don't care. Um, so yeah, what did you guys think?
Speaker 1:in the last few weeks, I was pondering this episode, so I was thinking more about it following our conversation that we had to end last week's episode with max, and I thought of this and I thought there's really no sensitive way to bring this up.
Speaker 1:But but I think that on this, like just on the surface, a guilty pleasure has so much to do with, like archetypes and gender stereotypes and your age and all these other factors that play a part into the things that society expects certain people to like, right. And so the way I started to think about this was that, like a movie that a red-blooded american 30 year old male might love, say apocalypse now is, could never be a guilty pleasure for me, right? Just because of what society expects me to be into or whatever. Or my film history, however, like if my mom say was like I just love me, like my guilty pleasure movies are just like 70s and 1970s and 1980s war films, that would then all of a sudden be totally valid as a guilty pleasure movie for her. And now I don't necessarily agree with that, but I think that makes sense, if, if that makes sense if she feels guilty for liking it, then yeah, then that makes sense and that's.
Speaker 2:I think that like there is a little bit of like embarrassment that comes with these pics right where you're kind of like, oh fuck, like but like no one should feel embarrassed to like anything right and that's what I was gonna say is, you know, and I'll get to this here in a second but yeah, you shouldn't be ashamed, because who gives like?
Speaker 2:I mean, at the end of the day, like, let's just preface this whole, this whole episode, by saying, like, who gives a fuck? What you like? Like, I mean I, I don't think there's any wrong like taste in movies. You know what I mean. Like, if you want to watch like all of the cartoon barbie movies on your weekend, then go for it, girl you know, I don't care you know like doesn't affect me what?
Speaker 1:what did you think? And, max, I can't remember if we said this on air or off air, because we continue to talk, you know, in preparation for for this episode last week, and and I a good example of what we said. How quality can affect this, though, is that, like, maybe 10 years ago it would have been like it would have tracked a little better to say that something like mean girls for me is a guilty pleasure movie. However, now I'm like no, after just like watching film and loving film and appreciating all different kinds of movies, I have no problem saying that mean girls is like a 10 out of 10, perfect movie for what it's trying to accomplish. Yeah, did we say this on air? I can't remember. You did it, and then I brought up like okay, but the inverse to that is, if I was like the Hilary Duff joint, a.
Speaker 2:Cinderella story, that would still work as like a guilty pleasure movie that was a perfect example which, honestly, I thought was hilarious.
Speaker 1:You know, my Chad Michael Murray bag is deep.
Speaker 2:I watched that movie like not that long ago actually, and I sat there just like oof, but I'd watch it again. There just was like oof, but I'd watch it again. Um, that's, yeah, that's a perfect example because, yeah, maybe like 10 years ago, when mean girls was still pretty new, and becoming a cult classic yeah, like as a man, I mean that's, you know, unfortunately there is that gender stereotype, I guess.
Speaker 2:But like saying like, oh yeah, I love watching mean girls on a saturday night by myself. Like that would be a little bit of a guilty pleasure, I guess. But yeah, now that it has kind of reached this like cult classic phenomenon, I think that doesn't so much fit the bill anymore. I mean, here's the thing is like whatever that's, everyone's going to be different with. Their guilty pleasure is like I actually I posted something in my Instagram stories the other day asking my followers like hey, like I want to know what your guilty pleasure movies are, and this one guy responded with like this really sweet movie, a friend of ours, matt Rush, and I was like wait, I actually love that movie. Like I would never feel guilty for liking that, but I can understand, like I mean, you know maybe why he thought that that was a guilty pleasure for him and that's it's such a subjective yeah but I love that because for an episode, for a podcast purpose, it's a great idea.
Speaker 1:For an episode, yeah, because we can take it in any direction yeah, what about you max?
Speaker 3:uh, you know, biggest shout out to uh letterd because I really jumped into the numbers. I went very analytical with this process where I went through, like my film diary or whatever, everything that I've logged decade by decade, four stars or above and are, at least you know, on average like a star or below lower, lower consensus yeah in consensus.
Speaker 3:So I went for like movies that I love and then and then I also factored in like rewatchability, because that gave me a huge list of movies to pick from. And then I picked out stuff that has the most, like you know, the the biggest gap between the the consensus average and what I rated it, and then the rewatch ability on top of that of like what have out of. Out of this long list, what are the ones that I returned to the most.
Speaker 1:That was going to be my next question what, what did that list originally look like? And then what was the process to weed it down?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so, yeah, I mean the. The original list is probably 40 films long, maybe 35 films long, and then to weed it down to just five, again had to do with like, okay, how many times have I re-watched this, you know, in my life recently? Do, maybe, you know, own it? Yeah, do I own it? Is it something that, like even on re-watch, like no matter what, like I'm sticking with my original rating? Yes, uh, you know, like my number one film is known as a bad film and yet every time I've re-watched it, it's five solid stars and, like you know, my reviews are like god, this is just so fun to watch I love that I, that I love that approach.
Speaker 2:It's like, like you said, super analytical. Um, I'll be curious because, like I do want us all to kind of like when we go through our list, to kind of like I said, you know, I, when I texted you guys this, I want you to plead your case a little bit, like tell me why you're like, hey, I know this movie sucks ass, but like I love it because of this. You know, and and like and then I'm curious like, are any of the movies on your list? Are you shameful of them? Like, are you feeling like kind of embarrassed that you like them? I mean, I think it's kind of hard to ask. You know three people who love films so much Like I'm not, I would tell anybody my list. You know I'm not really like ashamed of them, but I do feel some kind of like like cringe, cringe when I watch them.
Speaker 2:Like I'm like god, I erica, like we love this movie, like really like you know, but but then I'm like yeah, bitch, we do, you know, and I'm and I'm not afraid to admit it you know, um. So I'm excited to hear what you guys say, but I liked, I like the 40 on your list, dude it's a big list.
Speaker 3:It's a big list and I'll be able to, you know, read off some titles at the end here. But, uh, people are fucking brutal, absolutely on letterbox.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know absolutely there's a ton of really great guilty pleasure lists that people have made on letterbox and I look at I, I looked through them just and it almost kind of because I was like surprisingly having.
Speaker 2:I'm like, well, there's just not a lot of movies that I wouldn't like admit to liking. Um, but once I saw like some of these other people's lists and kind of what they were doing with it, then I would see these movies. I'm like, oh my god, like how could I have forgotten about that? Yes, like add it to the list. Like there was so many to kind of peruse, which was fun.
Speaker 1:A big thing that I tried to do was look within franchises and find films that I love from within a certain franchise, because those are, I think, when you start to get to like, the real niche, micro genres within some of the bigger umbrellas of just like action or horror.
Speaker 1:Whatever the case may be, and thankfully because we've been doing this podcast for so long, some of these, some of these films, are going to be ones that I've talked about before, but in different contexts, but that make a lot of sense as far as like maybe being a lost horror sequel, which we've touched on before, or being a movie that was a box office bomb that you know, we've done a whole episode on that before, but I did want to bring some sort of fresh perspective into it, based off of what erica was saying. As far as like and then it totally aligns with what you're saying, max we're like, on every rewatch, I'm like, like no, we ride for this film. We will not be deterred by, like, the top review on Letterboxd being one and a half star and everyone else agreeing with this movie being dog water. Like no, we're going to. We're going to go to bat for this movie every single time.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:OK, who you're running the show, erica, you, you can pick who goes first. If you want to go first, you want to go last, totally up to you.
Speaker 2:I think we should let our film graduates go first.
Speaker 3:Here goes all my street cred.
Speaker 1:With the number five pick already.
Speaker 3:With the number five film on my top five guilty pleasure list according to the numbers Deep Blue Sea, A movie that Alex and I talked about, I think, on our shark episode a couple years back. This is a movie that I firmly believe is four and a half stars, Comes in at 2.9 stars on Letterboxd consensus on letterbox uh, consensus, consensus, Um. And, like you know, I think also another thing about these movies is that we're going to we're going to touch on some like nostalgic, like feelings around these movies. Right, Deep blue sea, One of the first, one of the first like rated R movies that I saw with a group of friends at a sleepover, Like I vividly remember being at drew young's house shout out drew and all of us guys like in the living room the big screen tv.
Speaker 3:We had rented this movie, watching it. I remember you know that for also spoilers for all these movies that we're going to talk about the Sam Jackson moment when he gets snatched off the platform inside the facility that they're in by a shark is still just like one of the greatest deaths on screen and like most surprising deaths to this day, mid monologue.
Speaker 3:Mid-monologue. We've got a crazy cast of of characters here thomas jane, probably like at the apex of his celebrity, uh, as as this rough and gruff marine biologist, because that's what marine biologists look like. Yeah we've got llL Cool J in the you know as the cook, with his bird and his religion.
Speaker 3:And his faith, yes, and the almighty. And then, yeah, other people like Sam Jackson in here. You know the sharks even going back and watching it, like the CGI has aged terribly. Even going back and watching it the CGI has aged terribly, but it's such a fun violent shark movie that I always find a good time when I throw it on, and one that I've rewatched more than I'd like to admit.
Speaker 1:It scratches one of those micro subgenres that we're talking about of like animal attack movies, because I have the almost exact same relationship with Lake Placid. Yeah, shout out my guy Derek Schomburg. It was a sleepover at his house and we're watching that alligator in upstate New York.
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:It's like tear through people.
Speaker 3:It's so fun Like those movies are great guilty pleasure movies.
Speaker 2:That's a good start. Alex is going to go next.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is the first movie I thought of when we did this, when you introduced this exercise, and so I as well had to go straight to Letterboxd to read my reviews, to make sure that I'm standing on business. And, sure enough, a rewatch review from November 14th 2022 reads like this, and I'll let you guess the film that I'm talking about. The pinnacle of post-Hunger Games pandemonium, young adult book to screen post-apocalyptic, dystopian science fiction is squarely in my guilty pleasure warehouse or wheelhouse, and this first installment of the james dashner books works on every level simple exposition that introduces our plot, solid performances delivered by likable actors and, most importantly, mounting suspense achieved through conflict that is equal parts thrilling and mindless exactly what I look for in a binge worthy film franchise. If exciting, if exciting, medium stakes pg-13 action is what you're craving, you can't go wrong with this one.
Speaker 2:The film maze runner I was thinking the maze runner so that's on the poster.
Speaker 3:That review is on the poster excuse the intermission.
Speaker 1:So 2014, directed by west ball Ball, who guess what people are saying is directing the 2027 on-screen adaptation of the Legend of Zelda.
Speaker 2:Oh wow, big news, oh interesting, just broke this week Wow.
Speaker 1:Wes Ball coming off of great success with the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes last year yeah the planet of the apes last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so a filmmaker that kind of cut his teeth in, you know adaptation, big budget, sort of family friendly-esque action, adventure stuff here. So the maze runner such a great entry I had to have. Um, such a great entry for the young adult fiction adaptation subgenre here. I had to get this in here because I eat these movies up, whether it's the divergence series or hunger games, um, but maze runner really is like the one for me. That likable cast that I mentioned earlier dylan o'brien, uh will polter, patricia clarkson is kind of like the big bad and this movie is is really fun. There's a good mystery to to this first film when you don't really know what's going on. I had not read the books the first time I watched it, so it was one of these deals where it comes to HBO on a Saturday night I fire it up and I'm just so pleasantly surprised. The creature design of the Grievers is really, really cool. So I've always loved the Maze Runner movies and this whole subgenre in particular. So it was a no-brainer for me to go this route.
Speaker 2:I do really remember liking the maze run like the first movie, because I also didn't read the books but I that was very, very closely tied to like the hunger games era, which I did read all of those um. But yeah, that movie is, that's a good one, because actually I didn't see any of the other ones.
Speaker 1:Sports trials goes hard in the pain as well.
Speaker 2:Well, my first movie is kind of like a I think you'd probably ask a lot of people and it has a massive following. I mean, it's a classic movie for a reason, but I think for me this is a guilty pleasure for considering how often I watch this. This is a guilty pleasure for considering how often I watch this and a lot of um. I get a lot of heat for watching it as often as I do and that's dirty dancing, um, I know that's kind of like who doesn't love dirty dancing? But I was talking to my friend about this cause I was like well, I don't know if this is like going to be a good pick to to mention, and she's like sure, people love Dirty Dancing, but do they love it as much as you do?
Speaker 2:Are they watching it multiple times a year like you are.
Speaker 1:I think that's a good point.
Speaker 2:Obsession can take a likable film and push it into that guilty pleasure. And also also, this is a movie that's also, like to me, a little cringeworthy. Um, at times there's, you know, some questionable acting. There's a questionable relationship between jennifer gray and patrick swayze um, just as far as age gap goes, I think. But, um, you know, it's cheesy, it's corny and that's, I think that a lot of you know, when I was going through and picking a lot of my movies, is that a lot of them? You know, I kind of gravitate to those really corny movies where you're like, oh God, this is, this is so bad. But it's also like, oh, this is one of my, I mean, I think, think dirty dancing is probably like top five all time for me.
Speaker 3:Wow, I mean, no one puts Erica in the corner, no.
Speaker 2:I love this movie so much. I love obviously the music, the dance, numbers and everything about it. It's so great. But I will say when people, when people close to me, hear me watching this, they're very much like, oh God, she's watching dirty dancing. So that's me starting off kind of mild on my on my list. Okay, I love that.
Speaker 3:I respect it yep, uh, my number four, chris, my number four movie on the list is a movie is a christmas movie called for christmases
Speaker 3:that's a great uh this is one I fire up every single year, since since the day I saw it in theaters I think I was working at the theater when it came out um, you know again of another four and a half star movie, according to max, coming in at a 2.6 on letterbox. Wow, yeah, and honestly, I love this movie for one single moment, and it's when Vince Vaughn has to go and play our lord and savior, our lord and savior well, no, he's not Jesus, he's just Joseph, he's Joseph in the town hall play and it is just an amazing piece of work and I just I, I honestly think it's just some of the funniest shit I've ever seen vince vaughn do.
Speaker 3:Uh, the way he's like really nervous to go on stage. And as soon as he gets on he's like Like hello, how can we swaddle this baby? Yeah, so, and it's got the only Tom Petty Christmas song that Tom Petty ever wrote at the end of this film, that he wrote specifically for this movie called I think Last Christmas movie, uh, called I think last christmas. Uh, and, yeah, man, I, I, robert duvall, john farvro, fucking uh, who's who's the mom?
Speaker 2:is it mary?
Speaker 3:steinbridge steinbergen. Um, uh, as, as one of the mothers, we've got, uh, reese witherspoon, of course, absolutely. You know another person who is like, kind of like at the apex of her star here she's so likable in this movie yeah, she's fantastic. Her, her uh sister in the movie is uh the original uh galinda uh, chetwood, chris and chenoweth yeah chenoweth that's why you were pointing at me yeah, um
Speaker 3:but yeah, I mean another great sequence I I can think about is like when reese witherspoon has to go in the bouncy house with all the kids, like just hilarious stuff, really, really good pg-13 comedy when, when the baby throws up on her and then vince is like you gotta get away from me yeah if I smell it, I'm gonna throw up it really is like like a sneaky, like one of the best vince last vince fawn stuff. I agree, yeah I agree.
Speaker 1:Great, pick my number four, my number four and my number three. I feel like fit this list personally, because the way I kind of attack this assignment too is like what are the standards? And that's so stupid and pretentious to say but like what are the standards that I hold myself to? And then when do I allow myself to throw those standards out the window and just indulge in some stuff that I know is like B level, if not lower, and within the horror genre, a genre that I hold near and dear to my heart and that I take very serious but also know how to have a lot of fun with.
Speaker 1:I have to mention 2019's Annabelle comes home for me because within the Conjuring franchise which this is the sixth of eight films within the Conjuring franchise, in the third Annabelle movie I think so many folks wrote it off and still view it as something that is like subpar in terms of quality and story and execution and everything else. I personally think that it is the best of the Annabelle films and I think Annabelle is a extremely effective horror villain. And I love this movie because it is like a gateway film where Annabelle is all of the sudden let loose to basically control everything else in Ed and Lorraine's like locked room. This movie just has such a great aesthetic to it that fits that 70s and 80s um time period that it's set in and it doesn't feel glossy the way that so many movies nowadays um, the way they're shot, the way they look. Just you can't buy into the fact like, of course there's always going to be some suspension of disbelief that you have to have when a movie is set 50 years in the past or whatever the case may be.
Speaker 1:Um, but the way that this movie is is directed by by gary dauberman, who's only done one other feature-length film, which is unfortunately the salem's lot hbo film that came out last year. Not a good look for my guy gary, but annabelle comes home really, really strong because he follows very simple 1970s horror tropes of a babysitter, her friend and a kid in a house and horror shit is happening all around them. This movie is so much fun and I feel like it really fits the horror guilty pleasure for me because I know that if I wanted to watch something of greater quality within this own franchise, it's out there for me. Because I know that if I wanted to watch something of greater quality within this own franchise, it's out there for me if I wanted to watch a 1970s film about a babysitter and a kid and shit hitting the fan.
Speaker 1:there's better stuff out there. For me, however, what I return to now every single october, and if not a couple of other times throughout the year, is Annabelle comes home, and it was a big deal for me to track this movie down on Blu-ray, and I wanted to find it in the wild. It was not one of those that I was like we'll just order it on Amazon and get it to the house here.
Speaker 1:I was like I want to find it, I want to find it with the slip cover and I finally did and that was like a really special moment for your boy when I walked into Half Price Books one day and there it was.
Speaker 1:And so Annabelle Comes Home, huge soft spot in my heart. I think that it is one of these lost horror sequels and I don't know if it will ever have its like reclamation moment where people come back and appreciate it. For what I at least see in it, which is really good practical scares without musical cues.
Speaker 3:you get a little bit of everything in this movie um including some bad cgi with the werewolf monster, yeah, and, but like that the werewolf, nothing really hinges.
Speaker 1:there's a few moments of like low stakes where, oh, is the werewolf going to get the person outside the house? It's not going to happen, I think, maybe like a boyfriend, though, actually does die via the hands of the werewolf, but anyways, it's not like that's the huge part, a huge part in the movie really, and so and it's shot with some fog so they can kind of cover it up whatever um, really the only blemish, but I think that helps the movie feel sort of awesomely bad to me, right? Um, so Annabelle comes home. I mean, max, you know this.
Speaker 3:You've been singing praises for this movie for a long, long time. And yeah, in fact, on the Lost Horror sequel.
Speaker 1:I want to do a full episode on the film.
Speaker 3:Didn't we do Annabelle series? We did not. No, okay, but to come, maybe this year, yeah, and also too.
Speaker 1:I love come maybe this year. Yeah, and also too. I love that it's not really about ed and lorraine like all the other conjuring movies all the other movies within that series have such a big part or vera flaminga and patrick wilson play such a big part in them.
Speaker 3:It not so much in this film now they show up for a cup of coffee.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, great cold open when they're bringing annabelle home back to the house like it's a great origin movie.
Speaker 2:Annabelle comes home, yeah, I think I've ever seen annabelle comes home, but I do like annabelle um I I you know. Surprisingly, on my list I don't have any horror movies mentioned really that's.
Speaker 3:That's interesting because I thought horror would be like a big uh genre throughout the list.
Speaker 2:I have two horror movies online yeah, well, and kind of like what alex was mentioning about like standards. Right, I think that horror is that one genre that I do have, that I do have standards, and not very often am I like breaking them. I guess, like I don't know, because I have like a mission when I watch horror movies and that's to really be scared and kind of traumatized from it. So if it's not doing it for me, then then I usually just kind of write it off, but, um, yeah, there's no horror on my list, but I like that. Um, so my next pick is might be a little unfair because it is, I'm gonna kind of include the franchise in it, because it's kind of impossible for me to just pick one, but you'll see why.
Speaker 2:Um, this is these are movies that I feel guilty for like loving as much as I do because it's just kind of weird, and that's the jackass movies.
Speaker 2:I love jackass so much I don't know why, but I think just because I grew up watching jackass and wild boys and Viva La Bam like after school, like every day, and then the movies were just this, I mean obviously, obviously this big compilation of the shows just piled into one.
Speaker 2:Um, and I I frequently visit, revisit these movies often and I usually watch them back to back, not just one or the other. But I that was like you know I have to kind of I saw somebody else had this on their list and that just made so much sense that I had included it in mine, considering how often I watch it. But it's also like just because of the nostalgia, like I think even like Jackass Forever, when that came out a few years ago, was like really kind of emotional for people who love and really just appreciate Jackass and the evolution of the men on the show and in real life, right, cause you know a lot of them have just kind of gone through hell and back. Um, so it's, it's one of those, it's, it's this is like the epitome of for me, like a guilty pleasure movie, cause I think it's a little weird that I love them so much, but I do so.
Speaker 1:I finally got to Jackass Forever, I think last year and felt the exact same emotions where I was like, wow, it's been like a 20 year journey with these people as just a part of pop culture and when you're a part of pop culture the way that, like Steve-O has been and Johnny Knoxville has been, you know their lives were so public for a long time there.
Speaker 1:So like steve-o battling with substance use and you know bam and all these other guys we do, if you pay attention to this kind of thing, you just know a lot about them. And so to see them kind of usher in, like there was a lot of newcomers in jackass forever and and so that was really special I think. And so, yeah, these movies they like to me. I don't know if guilty pleasure would be the right term, but like there are movies that you wouldn't think to label like sentimental that I feel like are very sentimental.
Speaker 2:I think at this point now they are because, I mean, with our generation. Like the way I feel about Jackass is that it like I feel like I grew up with these guys like in my home, like just watching them so often and um and just laughing at them and that was like a huge like. I mean, that was just my kind of humor growing up is like you know, that was like we watched as a family a lot, um, like america's funniest home videos.
Speaker 2:So we so jackass and all those other, the spinoffs of jackass were like my, our version of that, because I was watching like the raunchy, like um, you know them actually like genuinely hurting themselves, just being stupid, and I just got a kick out of it. I thought it was so funny. But then, as I've gotten older and then, like I'll never forget seeing Jackass Forever at Alamo Drafthouse and my theater was packed and honestly, like it was just so, I mean I think like got teary-eyed towards the end because I don't think that like we're not, we're never gonna see Jackass again. But it did feel like the end of an era. And you realize, like gosh, I was like 12 years old at home watching this and you know just, I was sneaking watching it too.
Speaker 2:I wasn't really like you know, my parents didn't love that. I was watching these guys like on TV all the time, but it was always on after after school and Steve-O was like a big, a huge crush of mine growing up and like I I don't know, I really do like have a soft spot for them, like just moving forward and so. But watching like the first Jackass, and then like what is it? It's like Jackass 2, and then there's the 2.5 and then 3D when that came out, all those movies, and you're just like, oh my God, they just get more and more ridiculous. But Jackass Forever felt like, oh my God, we're all getting old and it was kind of crazy.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sentimental. I think it's also really interesting. Like jackass, the show kind of launches, you know, reality tv into the stratosphere, which then creates this whole, you know, because to pick from and a lot of it is these reality tv shows you could absolutely look at the rise of jackass and mtv as an actual television channel, not just a music video channel.
Speaker 1:Right, and they go hand in hand and so without something like the success of jackass, you probably don't get a laguna beach, you probably don't get all these other mindless guilty pleasure programs.
Speaker 2:Yeah do you remember like nitro circus too? Yeah, and then, um, robin big, robin Big was a big thing. Yeah, it was like a whole era.
Speaker 3:Punk'd Punk'd.
Speaker 1:Even Jackass in the little offshoot of Jackass was obviously like CKY, can't Kill Yourself, which like that stuff was so outrageous, but also part of that moment as well, things you had to sort of like sneak around to watch.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a good pick. My third movie is from 1996. Action movie starring Kurt Russell, halle Berry, steven Seagal, john Leguizamo Leguizamo, leguizamo Executive Decision. I don't know if you guys have ever seen this. No, it's directed by scott bard, who is usually a editor. He directed three. He's directed three total movies this, us marshalls and star trek nemesis.
Speaker 3:Really random, um, at least the first two aren't, at least. But uh, this is just like if mission impossible took place on a airplane. For the whole movie it's uh, it's a terrorist or have taken over a plane in the air. So a team of you know operatives have to sneak onto the plane and climb around in the rafters and take these terrorists out. It is pretty bad.
Speaker 3:Again, oddly, with something like Deep Blue Sea, it has an unexpected death right in the beginning. Who you think is going to play a bigger role, but then all of a sudden out of the movie. But this just goes back to my love of Kurt Russell. Like I, just Kurt Russell. For me it, just as an actor, is a guilty pleasure actor for me, I will ride or die with any one of his movies. You know, I looked at something like maybe putting dark blue on here or you know any of the carpenter stuff? Um, I you know, captain Ron even, but I I love kurt russell and this is one of my just like all-time favorite just shitty b-level action movies from the 90s.
Speaker 3:It's a, it's a hot 93 seconds, uh minutes, minutes the crazy was 93 seconds, 93 minutes and uh yeah, just a, just a great thrill ride, that like for a movie again. You know something? I give five stars on letterbox and it comes in a little higher, but only 3.1 stars consecutively or uh, uh consensus. So yeah, executive one, I dvd when I fire up. Uh, if it's like a slow sunday, you know it's.
Speaker 1:It's a great background movie too. Yeah, I'm really glad that I don't have anything from the 90s represented on my list, and I mean we grew up with so many films like that, so I'm really glad that there is representation here on the pod my number three film. It gets ranked above Annabelle Comes Home because I've had more time with it. I've had 10 more years with this film in comparison to Annabelle Comes Home, and it's 2009's Underworld colon.
Speaker 2:Rise of the Lycans Underworld colon.
Speaker 1:Rise of the Lycans. Now, the reason why Rise of the Lycans beats out Annabelle Comes Home, not only because it's had more longevity, but also because this movie, I truly believe, is for me my nightmare on Elm street. Three dream warriors, halloween three, season of the witch. What it does to build the lore for the underworld franchise is truly remarkable, like really really well thought out storytelling. And when I was preparing for this episode I actually made a crazy connection to one of my all-time favorite films, and I can't really remember too many other movies that even have the opportunity to do what this film does.
Speaker 1:But it also has some twin peaks fire walk with me to it, because we learn the events of rise of the lichens in the first two underworld movies through exposition and storytelling, through the bill nighy character, victor coming back, we learned what lucian did. We know all of this stuff but we've never seen it much like in twin peaks. Fire walk with me. If you've watched the entire television show, you know the events of what is going to play out in the film in firewalk with me. You know what happened laura palmer's last couple of days, but you've never seen it before and so rise of the lichens kind of scratches, that same itch where, like if you're a junkie and you are into this series, I remember Galaxy Uptown Theater, seeing it by myself At like a 10 o'clock showing that I'm sure you just let me walk into.
Speaker 2:Max.
Speaker 1:And geeking out, having so much fun with this movie and understanding that, like no one else is experiencing this movie the way that I am experiencing this movie, no one else is experiencing this movie the way that I am experiencing this movie. But I just think that, on top of of showing us the vampire lycan relationship and and how this ancient blood feud really came to be, and also, like you know, all the really interesting political and and social hierarchy between the vampires and the lycans and the way that, you know, the vampires forever kept the lichens as slaves, basically. So there's this whole class structure to it as well, and in the way that, like michael sheen is so into and who I think is like a great actor, the way he is so into playing the lucian character and the way that bill nighy takes his character as victor so seriously as well, and then rana mitra coming in and understanding that she is basically in the kate beckinsale role as a death dealer, and kate beckinsale was so successful in those first two movies that she really felt like she felt the pressure to perform well in this movie, and so everyone is taking their job so serious and it is so appreciated by me at least. I think that 2009 everyone always talks about that like 2006 to 2009, era of visual effects and cgi. You see, the pirates of the caribbean movie cited a lot here. The way that um, you know, scars guards face looks, and the way that the the tentacles of davy jones look and everything like that how it looks. It's the same thing with the werewolf transformations in this movie. They look so good and I get a lot of that. Is it because we're shooting in extremely well designed sets, the production design of these old Victorian castles and the costumes?
Speaker 1:Like this movie just has no business being as good as it is, and I don't understand why no one else recognizes it for that, because I think that every little attention to detail was paid to with the most amount of care possible and that it is like borderline, a perfect movie Like it is. It is so successful at what it's trying to do. I could have plugged a lot of different things in here. You know like I want to give a shout out to a lot of these, like lost horse sequels and this like paranormal activity. Seven next of kin could have been here by my guy, william eubank as well. I did, you know, shout out the annabelle franchise, but the underworld franchise and rise of the lycans specifically, I think like reaches a real apex here with this third sequel that just no one seems to care about and that I, I mean, I watch this movie all the time, so shout out to my guys I love that.
Speaker 3:I love that underworld. Underworld is like such a underrated underground fucking franchise from the 2000s and I feel like 2010.
Speaker 1:I'm sure some people out there probably feel the same way about maybe like one of the resident evil movies. Sure, right, like they exist in the same world, sort of of being like you know that's obviously a video game adaptation, but you know just that whole mid-2000s um move. You know movies that you're like they're making another one of these they're making another one of these dirty, dark wet yeah r-rated r-rated action horror, sci-fi, action horse yeah, doesn't get better if you want that.
Speaker 1:It does not get better than rise of the lichens and I am a safe space to come to. To talk to him about okay.
Speaker 2:Well, my next one is a early 2000s classic in my book 2002, live action scooby-doo oh wow, okay, now you're cooking, yeah this is.
Speaker 2:This is like my. I mean, I have so many like really epic movies on my childhood lineup but this one in particular just goes so fucking hard Like I, I really. And then you know, I found like since being on TikTok I have found that this movie just has like such a cult following and I love that. I've kind of found my people who also just are like wait, you used to watch Scooby Doo all the time and like the soundtrack just went so hard and yeah, I mean, and, um, yeah, I mean I want, I mean I'm I won't lie like this is a perfect guilty pleasure movie because I re-watched this. You know like it's, it's definitely hasn't. Maybe it's been like a year since I last watched this.
Speaker 2:Um, something, a great background movie to put on like kind of brings me back to child, like my childhood. I loved scooby-doo like the cartoon growing up. But this movie with like matthew lillard, sarah, michelle geller, freddie, prince jr, linda cartellini, I mean just an all-star cast for the 2000s. Also does not hurt that my husband, mark mcgrath, makes an appearance in this as well performing as sugar ray.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, I loved this and like when I, my brother and I used to watch this a lot and I always see these like really funny videos where people are like pov woke up in 2002 and the, the dvd like menu screen is playing and it's two in the morning and it's like just this blasting music from the movie, like that tribal music. But my brother and I used to watch this a lot and I just remember seeing this at the time and just thinking it was not only like the funniest movie I'd ever seen, also just like, again, the soundtrack just elevated it so much to be this like really fun action, like nostalgia, like almost like an like a pg-13 version. I don't think it's rated pg-13, though, but there was a little. There was a couple like you know, uh, like I mean I wouldn't even say racy, but like just some scenes were like you know, they're flirting and like back in the day.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm like 10 years old watching this and I was like, oh my gosh, this is not the cartoon I'm used to and, um, I just loved watching this and it still, to this day, like brings a fat smile to my face and, um, I don't know, I love it. I think that matthew lillard and um let's see who voiced scooby um, neil fanning, um, the two of them together were obviously like they made this movie so funny. But now, even watching it as an adult, there's so many like little innuendos like thrown in, like when they're at the very beginning of the movie. They're like in the van and they're it looks like they're hot boxing the van but they're actually like cooking inside and it's like.
Speaker 2:You know, everyone knows they're kind of like these stoner, like characters almost, um, or at least that's how I interpret it, but, um, okay, that's a correct interpretation yeah, but um, you know you, you pick up on a lot of little like little nods, like almost like adult humor thrown in that maybe like went over our heads as kids.
Speaker 1:But um, I think just the two of them together like were so funny and just made me laugh like like belly laugh as a kid and still does what's so interesting about this movie and the cult phenomenon, the, the cult status that it's reached now which I do feel like, is it is like a phenomenon because I have seen it as well on social media, cited by millennials who still ride for it is that Scooby Doo was not our generation's.
Speaker 2:IP.
Speaker 1:Like the only reason why this movie worked, not only because of the casting, but is because of the access of cable television, television and there's still being this idea of a monoculture, where the studios knew that every single one of us in the 90s was growing up watching scooby-doo reruns on cartoon network or nickelodeon or whatever channel broadcast I'm pretty sure it was cartoon network, but because of that there was a market for not only our parents to want to go see it, but for us to want to go see it as well, and I there would.
Speaker 1:There's just no way that a one-for-one comparison like that would work nowadays. Like we in the us in the 90s watching a television series that was popular like I don't know, 60s, 70s, whatever, and then reruns play forever and ever and ever. Um, would be like if they tried to release I don't know like name some random cart, you know if we're going back like 30 years almost. Like if they tried to release I don't know like name some random cart, you know if we're going back like 30 years almost. Like if they did a rocket power movie, like no one would. It would be. We would all say like that's cool. Yeah, a live action rocket power movie wouldn't mean nothing nowadays to kids, you know to kids.
Speaker 1:And not to say that the level of iconography of scooby-doo is the same as Rocket Power, but maybe like Rugrats.
Speaker 2:They did a live action.
Speaker 1:Rugrats, but I just would that even. Would they even try to get that to work?
Speaker 3:nowadays it's called Baby Geniuses. They didn't make that.
Speaker 2:I think that, like the casting for Scooby-Doo was just so on point.
Speaker 1:So, perfect.
Speaker 2:I mean, it really is just. They could not have picked better people to play the cartoons come to life.
Speaker 2:I mean it, it's great. I I wanted to read some of the just I noticed that with like, I love letterbox for this exact reason, because you could go on a movie like opus and just see the first like the top 10 reviews, just kind of destroying it, you know, and and I'm like does it really deserve like a half a star? Absolutely not. But then you could go on a movie like scooby-doo and you can just tell like who the millennials are on this app. Just fucking ride or die for this movie and just people are like no offense, but this is the best movie ever made five stars and you have thousands of people agree.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Mentally I'm at Spooky Island getting my soul stolen. Velma is upsettingly hot in this. I mean, scrappy Doo is a punk ass bitch, I mean, and these are all like five star reviews just down the line and it's just and it's funny because it's like you can tell this is a very like near and dear movie to a generation and it's a movie that I like. Up until recently, joining TikTok, seeing this cult following, I had no idea and even like one of my best friends, her and I have very similar like silly nostalgia movies that we love and I remember us bonding and we're like, wait, you like Scooby Doo-doo, like it's just, it's yeah, it's a great, it's a fun movie fuck yeah, I've never, you know, I've never seen scooby-doo, really the live action movie okay, well, I there's no time for you to come to it, oh yeah I.
Speaker 3:I mean, I loved Scooby-Doo growing up as a cartoon as a kid, but yeah, I don't know why I just never went to the film adaptation of it as a kid or an adult. So I'm putting it on the watch list right now.
Speaker 3:There, you go my next film, might I I? This one has again a big disparity between ratings. Consensus says it's a 2.8 star movie. I gave it. I give it five stars every time to rewatch it. Alex, I know you love this movie. Can't wait. It is Alien 3. And you know the Alien franchise, I think overall more positive than like most eight movie franchises.
Speaker 1:I'm so, if I could just interject real quick, yeah, go ahead. I'm so happy that this franchise made the list because I have it later in an honorable mentions, yeah. But I felt weird about it because I'm like is a guilty pleasure, still a guilty pleasure if it has been reclaimed?
Speaker 3:right, and so that's where I I was.
Speaker 1:I was uh now, I had that just full disclaimer. I have that for covenant covenant.
Speaker 3:But alien 3 also feels a little bit reclaimed.
Speaker 3:However, going through and reading what people the people who are watching this and even watching the assembly cut are still just giving it two stars, one and a half stars, one star.
Speaker 3:Because people find it boring, people find it long, people find it tedious, people find it tedious and like that's kind of why I it's beloved in my eyes because it is like you know, we always talk about how it is much more to a, what alien is as opposed to what aliens is, um, and even though it does have a little bit of aliens in it, because there is a group, a larger group of people fighting against the xenomorphs and there are multiple xenomorphs, yes, um, throughout this movie. But this movie just on on a, on a technical visual style, like just looks so fucking cool and is really, really, I, I think underappreciated. And who knows, maybe it is reclaimed, because I just said it was reclaimed, but I still find it underappreciated. Whereas something like alien resurrection, like the fourth one that comes out, also could definitely be a guilty pleasure for somebody, because that one is kind of like seen as like, like goofy bad, but like in a sense, to where it's almost like cool goofy um where.
Speaker 1:This one is just so like pissed off at this one.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this one is just so hard to watch, I think for for the general audience, um, but again, like it gave us David Fincher like it.
Speaker 3:And if you watch it as that, as like it gave us David Fincher like it, and if you watch it as that, as, as you know, cause it is Fincher's first feature film like how could you not love all the little tiny details and and noticing what he's doing, just even on his first film, uh, as as such a you know film, uh, as as such a you know meticulous director that he is now known for? Um, but also, I don't know, this movie just fucking rocks. I just it is, it is very punk, right, like in in a franchise that I think kind of, even in the later stages, with something like covenant or, um, you know, the one we just had, romulus, you know, does sometimes play too much like classic rock and roll, right, um, if that analogy makes any sense. But, yeah, alien three, uh, again five stars compared to the 2.8, one of the one of the biggest gaps on my list, so I had to throw it on.
Speaker 1:I think that when something goes against the grain, it's a real good. It signifies that it like transgressive and that people do not align with and you're like, no, but I fuck with that, then that's the perfect definition of a guilty pleasure, really, and and honestly too, one that I think.
Speaker 1:To go back to our conversation from the end of last episode, where I don't know if you know if we're in the lounge, the grand cinema, or you're with the seattle film society, or and you're having a big group conversation about alien movies, xenomorphs you yourself might not even, within the first 15 minutes, bring up the fact that you love alien 3, and that's not because you're necessarily like in the closet about it, but just there's so much else to discuss right, and then it's like, and then once you're a half hour into the conversation, you're kind of like okay, now here's a hot.
Speaker 1:Take guys, I think, alien three is also really good fucking rocks. That's the perfect definition of it, yeah, yeah okay, my top two I had.
Speaker 1:I had a lot of fun with my first three. You know we have sci-fi, horror franchises, young adult fiction, adaptations, all this stuff. My top two. I will fight a motherfucker over, like I and I have before, and here are the reasons why. It's because I've never shown either of these two movies to somebody else and had them not like it, and so I, for the life of me, can't understand, like I really can't understand. Anytime I hear either of these two movies slandered and I hear them talk whenever they are talked about in in a public space, on social media, on another podcast. I've never heard anybody else try to defend these movies and yet everyone in my life who has experienced these has a great time with them. The first one, my number two film in the guilty pleasure category is the tim blake nelson film from 2001.
Speaker 1:Oh, great movie I've never seen it oh, came out when it was really popular to make the teen drama adaptations, retellings of Shakespeare films, and so this is like the forgotten ugly stepchild of 10 Things I Hate About you, of Taming the Shrew, which I forget what the adaptation I guess I was. Yeah, 10 Things I Hate About you was adaptation of taming the truth.
Speaker 3:There's been a couple of Shakespeare in love is right around this time.
Speaker 1:Um so oh comes out and is an adaptation of Othello, and you have the most incredible three hander of Mackay Pfeiffer, josh Hartnett and julia styles at the peak of their power at the turn of the century, there, right in 2001, and they crush. Every single one of them crushes. And this movie not only works to me, I think, as and I love it because they're pulling no punches like some of those other movies were meant to be teen comedies and like do good at the box office and everything like that. This movie tried to get really dirty and really grimy. And another reason why I think this really works as a guilty pleasure is because, like this is not a fun movie. This is not a movie that you watch to feel good, and yet when I watched this movie, it gets me going. I love this movie for so many different reasons. It not only is a great high school movie set at a preparatory basketball academy. Well, it's a preparatory basketball. It's a preparatory academy that has a reputation for being like a basketball powerhouse in the.
Speaker 1:Carolinas, which again really well researched. Carolinas, which again really well researched, and I think it took me a while to understand like that's brilliant to set it in the Carolinas, especially North Carolina, because that's where you have Duke, that's where you have UNC, that's where you have all these hoops, powerhouses, so that makes a ton of sense. It plays as an awesome basketball movie and Tim Blake Nelson, an accomplished actor, directs this movie so well in these moments because it is not like they are long takes where I'm sure it took a minute for whether it's a stunt double as Mekhi Pfeiffer or Mekhi Pfeiffer really out there, but like Josh Hartnett is out there setting picks.
Speaker 1:He's down on the block grabbing rebounds, mekhi Pfeiffer is bringing the ball up the court and the camera is not cutting. Like a really really good sports movie, on top of being a really emotionally engaging and upsetting shakespeare adaptation where, like mckay pfeiffer playing the othello character is just named odin, oh and so like we're not really trying to like trick anybody. Uh, josh hartnett is hugo, desi is the julia styles character, so desmondina like we are not far off from the source text at all. Um, an amazing soundtrack in this movie, like a great early 2000s rap soundtrack that introduced me to deep cuts by like outcasts, by most deaf and talib quali. Like I'd never heard Blackstar together, I'd never heard the Equimini record before with Outcast, and so opened my eyes to so many different things.
Speaker 1:As far as like teen movies go, the way that soundtracks and like a jukebox soundtrack can be used in a movie, I mean, like Max, I know I've shown this movie to you. You know I've shown it to every single person in our friend group. I never have people watch this movie to you. You know I've shown it to every single person in our friend group. I never have people watch this movie and be like, yeah, that that just like kind of didn't do it for me. Everyone by the end of it is like fuck, that was crazy, and like I.
Speaker 1:This movie holds up like I rewatch it and it holds up and it is upsetting. There's a extremely upsetting scene between Mackay Pfeiffer and Julia Stiles and this movie. Josh Hartnett is so good in this movie as this manipulative son of a bitch who will do whatever he wants to get what he wants and his dad, who is the head coach of the basketball team, is played by Martin Sheen and Martin Sheen is amazing in this movie. Like for me, again a five star movie that gets destroyed anytime it's it's brought up or mentioned. Like people actively do not like this movie and for the life of me, I can't.
Speaker 3:I just can't understand why this is a core alex text too like. As someone who has been watching movies with alex since we were 15 years old, this is a one of the ones that he sits you down when you become friends.
Speaker 1:It's so true.
Speaker 3:At 16 years old or 15, and you watch in Winnie's basement. Yeah, this is a great pick, thank, you.
Speaker 2:I added it to my watch list. I've never seen him.
Speaker 3:It's good.
Speaker 1:Thank you Right.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 3:It's good.
Speaker 1:It's good, and the thing about this movie is like its moment will never come back around it like it'll just, it's a moment like we just had the heart netissance. No one brought it up, no one like we got oh over here. We got oh we got.
Speaker 1:Oh, nobody cares um, you know, julia styles, mckay, pfeiffer, these are not people in everyday movie culture anymore. Um, and so it's just, it's not gonna happen, it never will happen, but it is so worth going back and, if you like it, fight for it. Because, like, the reviews on letterbox are so bad and I don't get it like I just whatever, whatever, wait till I get to my number one.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, you really built that last one up, um, okay, well, my next one is this is like, in my opinion, the epitome of a guilty pleasure movie, because I love to hate this movie interesting take, but I also hate that. I like this movie too. I think I think love loving this movie is a very strong a little too strong for me, um, but that is katherine hardwick's 2008 twilight and not no pull a seat up to the table.
Speaker 3:Yeah, this is we've showed this movie as a podcast to a group of people at a bar. I love that.
Speaker 1:Like two years ago, and everyone still has their Team Jacob, Team Edward shirts on Talk about Twilight all the time right now. Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:Go the floor is yours.
Speaker 3:The woods are yours.
Speaker 2:This movie is so fucking awful. But I watch this because I can't not watch it Like I don't even know, like what my I don't even know what my defense is for it, cause it is so bad, but this is a movie that my you're talking about the first one. Yeah, Just just the, just the first one.
Speaker 1:What I don't know. The first one is legitimately good. If you were saying this about, like breaking down part two disagree, okay, disagree, okay I just that.
Speaker 2:So you know I'm I'm really big into acting, you know, and I, if there's bad acting in a movie or show or something that will literally ruin a movie. For me, this movie like I mean I'm not gonna shit on anybody who, like you know if they're like, well, no, I think it's actually really good. Like I mean I'm not a I'm not a film critic, right, like I don't what do I know, but I think, in my opinion, this movie is so, is so terrible, but I love watching it because it's entertaining yeah I loved the books.
Speaker 2:You know, twilight is a huge phenomenon and I mean, obviously I don't hate it that much. My best friend and I, when the first thing we did when we moved back to the pacific northwest was did a twilight tour together because this is a movie that we would put on and get really stoned and watch and just like tears streaming down our face like laughing at.
Speaker 2:This isn't a movie that I particularly watch and actually like get the reaction maybe katherine hardwick was looking for when she made this movie like I'm laughing like this is a comedy to me, um, and it is just like kind of the, you know, I mean the beginning of a obviously massive franchise that has really it. It kind, I don't know, I mean it could shit the bed a little bit, but, um, I don't know, I, I it's like the. This is the guilty pleasure movie for me. It's not my number one, obviously, but, um, it's, it's this one in particular. Sometimes I'll visit New Moon. I rarely ever watch Eclipse or Breaking Dawn, one or two. Twilight is the movie that we put on when we want to laugh, we want to watch something nostalgic, you want to watch something that obviously, like I could recite, you know, front to back, but I'm getting a kick out of the whole thing the whole time two things about this movie.
Speaker 3:This film, the first twilight was by far the craziest opening night I had ever witnessed or experienced at the movie. Working at the movie theater, I I kid you not Like I've never seen the theater so busy for a movie opening at Thursday. On Thursday night at like 10 PM, like absolutely insane crowd. Secondly, this movie just came up on a podcast, a movie podcast I was listening to today, and someone was fighting that it is the most important movie for millennials.
Speaker 3:Huh, which we all are millennials yeah so the fact that it's number one on your list really weird that that number two or number two on your list.
Speaker 3:Really strange that that uh serendipitous that it has come up twice now today. And yeah, I agree, I'm in the same camp as you where I think this is a technically a bad movie, but it is such a rewatchable and, yeah, I do feel guilty pleasure, like you almost, almost like a train wreck right, like you can't look away type of movie, um, but one that is extremely beloved. So I think guilty pleasure is is all over this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. At its core, it is very primal what it's trying to get across and in a story that's been told since movies were made in hollywood. However, it is it that that weird time of the young adult fiction adaptations of cgi getting a little too wonky and katherine hardwick who I think is a really great director, honestly um, having kind of a blank check to do whatever she wanted, and it comes together in something that is almost I view it as more of like, especially that first movie, and it has to do everything with knowing what pop culture's reaction was to the film's release. But like it, it is like watching an event, it's like going to a carnival show or something. Every time you sit down to watch this movie, and sometimes that can be like a train wreck, a car crash, but it's like a spectacle, that first movie, I think, everything that it's trying to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, the books were so good too. I mean, I read all of the books in high school and I remember just being so excited for the movies to come out and I mean, even then, when they came out, I think I was what. This came out 2008. So I was like a junior in high school and, yeah, I mean it. Just even watching the, you're just like, oh, my God, like what happened? You know the books are so good and at least what I remember them to be. But yeah, I think I know, like most girls that I know at least, will put this on like at least once a year, to just it's a cozy rewatch. But you're like, oh, it's not a good rewatch at all, like this is not a good movie, but there is something very nostalgic to it that you know, it's just it. It became this cult classic, like this weird phenomenon. I mean even like you know, kristen stewart and robert pattinson themselves are like totally admitting like how shit this movie is.
Speaker 1:Well, they themselves have gotten so much better as actors since, oh my god absolutely and they're so and so like it's by comparison. They are bad in this movie, but like everything they're doing is so good for the movie, it'd be like watching. It's like watching like yokage rookie tape or something where you're like this guy's good and he's got talent, but he's definitely not an mvp yet. And now you watch robert patson and christian suit in anything and you're like, oh, they are in complete control, right their career.
Speaker 2:Since this franchise has. It's very interesting to kind of look at and see how far the two of them have come individually and and just finding themselves, um, but yeah, I mean tw, I had to add it. I mean I was like this is like the guilty pleasure movie.
Speaker 3:No, I think Twilight is again like a very definitive guilty pleasure and probably one that you would find on a lot of people's lists, so I think that's a great, great pick. My number one guilty pleasure movie, a movie I again, I believe is a five star film. Each time I re-watch it, uh, the general audience believes it's a 2.7 star film. Uh, and, really honestly, this is a, a love for kind of the, the time and genre, uh, that this movie came out, which is 2003's freddy versus jason. I fucking love this movie. It is not good, it is, it is, but again, like a love letter to a, to those characters, but also to that that those early 2000s horrors, and especially the ones that we're going back and doing, like Texas Chainsaw Massacre, friday the 13th.
Speaker 3:This film, you know, I feel like the next nightmare, is kind of further down the line and we don't have Robert Englund in here. This is the last performance for him as Freddy Krueger, as freddy krueger, um, and this is it's made by ronnie you, who's like a martial arts guy, uh, and doesn't really understand. I don't know if he really understood the assignment for horror, um, but this is just like a beat-em-up action movie with jason and freddy krueger and it's got great teen like idol characters like from that time again. I couldn't tell you any of their names, but I recognize their faces every time they come on screen. Put some respect on kelly roland's name. Kelly roland is here, a pop star in a horror movie again a very early 2000 things to do yes, uh, we've got, you know, like a party in the cornfield.
Speaker 3:We've got, uh, a fight on a dock at a lake like it is, and we've got the the last scene.
Speaker 1:Listen the gasoline on the lake the gasoline on the lake.
Speaker 3:But then also the last scene of freddy, like coming back from the dead after you think he's been defeated. It is just, it is full of of of badness. But like it is such a great watch and such a fun watch, and because that is, it is like, yeah, it's, it's something you know. It's like it's like a peanut butter cup, it's like a reese's peanut butter cup.
Speaker 1:It's a guilty pleasure, for sure jason walking out of camp crystal Lake holding Freddie's severed head, and then Freddie winks at the camera is just like the corneous coolest thing ever. It's so awesome.
Speaker 2:It's really good.
Speaker 1:This is. This is a really good thing, Cause, admittingly, like you know, it's not again. It almost goes back to like my annabelle points, where like if you wanted to watch a better version of this. You know it's out there. Oh, absolutely, there's a better. There's better versions of 2000s horror remakes from the 70s and 80s there's better versions of freddie movies and jason movies and jason movies.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, it's good, it's good stuff.
Speaker 1:Okay, my number one film.
Speaker 1:Just recently re-watched it because thailand's having a huge moment, right now, of course, with the white lotus I've felt my bring up all the time on this pod and that I think is gonna have maybe, maybe one last chance at another moment here, because danny Boyle is making obviously 28 years later this year and so I think a lot of people are going to be going back and looking at his career. But for all things good in this world, I can't understand why we think that the Beach from 2000 is bad. Listen, I understand. It's true. Consensus thinks this is a less than movie.
Speaker 3:Listen, I understand it's true. It's true, consensus thinks this is a less than movie.
Speaker 1:Like hate this movie. They think it's so dumb, so stupid so derivative?
Speaker 2:I don't want to know this, people. Sorry, I don't have, I'll pull it up.
Speaker 1:You got the stats. I mean, the Beach to me has and always will be a five star movie. People have it. The consensus on letterbox is 3.2. So that's not bad, but it's not great. It is one of those movies where the top review is like a five-star movie. So the people who ride for it do ride for it. But then it doesn't take long to get to the two and a half the twos, the twos. A one and a half a two, I, I just could never be me that could never be me.
Speaker 1:This again is not. This is more fun than Othello is like. I want to reiterate that, like, the reason why Othello or O is such a guilty pleasure to me is because, like, I should not feel as good as I do when I watch. Oh, that's part of where the guilt comes from. The same can be said for the beach Like. Ultimately, it ends up, I would say, neutral as far as, like what it leaves you feeling.
Speaker 1:The message is loud and clear of like you need to unplug and you need to get out of the rat race and you need to experience life. However, that comes with a lot of risks, especially when you take it as far as Leonardo DiCaprio's character does in the beach. I just don't understand why people don't see this movie for what it is, which is a great story of this guy who's trying to find something out there in life and is trying to come of age, trying to experience all these things find love, find himself and he does it in this extremely exotic location which is shot beautifully, for all the, for all the uh behind the camera work that I appreciate, that danny boyle does here and that not, okay. So the script is adapted by a man named john hodge. The other, like my favorite fun fact about this movie is that this is adapted from an alex garland novel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so our, you know my man our guy, alex garland, back being our guy because of civil war, at least in my book. But alex garland writes the book. I've tried so hard to find this book. It is impossible to find. I would love to read it someday. Here's the guy who I really um want to highlight though this time around when talking about the movie Darius Conjee, the, the DP, the cinematographer for this film. Here's the other movies that he has done Seven uncut gyms, oak. That he has done, seven uncut gems okja, panic room. Just recently, mickey 17 and funny games.
Speaker 1:So michael honky works with him all the time david fincher works with him all the time bong joon-ho works with him all the time. It was such a light bulb moment realizing it this time around, because I'm like, oh no wonder. I love the way this movie looks, because this guy knows what the fuck he's doing in the movie.
Speaker 1:So the soundtrack, which moby is on here a lot with some really good stuff, like again, not like cookie cutter moby, stuff like yes, porcelain's on here, a few other things that have been played to death, but like in 2000, this was the time for music like that kind of like that ambient trance, um, music that that isn't necessarily like what you would call EDM now, but like just has it does such a good role for him, tilda Swinton, and then early role of hers, and early, I know you know said UK production and being a Danny Boyle film and everything like that.
Speaker 1:So he was obviously keen to her talents. But like one of the first times I can ever remember seeing Tilda Swinton in a movie, I mean like I could go on and on the reasons why I think this movie is great and rewatchable and it has so many different moments of him backpacking at first and then meeting Francoise and Etienne who is going to go to the island with, and then the adventure that ensues once they get to the island and becoming part of the community and him killing the shark. That scene is so amazing. And then when the downward spiral ensues and things start to hit the fan, it does become a legitimate thriller, and so I don't know if that's maybe the reason why I just I again like. Like you, erica, I I have the awareness that people don't like this, but I do not care one bit why like if they say it's because the movie has no identity and it's trying to be all these different things it's like well, guess what fuckers?
Speaker 2:that's what life is, that's what the movie's trying to tell you is that like leo, doesn't know what he wants in life.
Speaker 1:This character doesn't know what he wants in life and because of that he is finding himself in these extremely perilous situations, in a faraway land where he has no creature comforts, where it is just him and the environment and the bed that he has made for himself and that he has to lay in. I love this movie. It is a top 50 movie of all time for me. I have never not defended it as a five-star film, as one of the best Leonardo DiCaprio performances, as a great film in Danny Boyle's filmography. It is a guilty pleasure through and through, only because talking about it, and again, one that any person who I've ever shown the film to, they've loved it and really, really had a good time watching it, but one that, I guess, counts as a guilty pleasure because it is one that is viewed as less than.
Speaker 3:It is one that is viewed as less than, and so for whatever reason the public can have, it is a bad movie and I will keep it as a great film. Yeah, it's, listen, it's good it's good it's good, it's a great movie and, yeah, I've never understood why people, why it is held lesser than something like 127 hours, yeah, or even Slumdog Millionaire, like, even though we like Slumdog but like the beach is, and also like within the Leo filmography too, Right, even though Leo has made amazing movies, uh, but this is like young leo post titanic, post titanic, making the decision like I'm going to be a a film like star and I'm, I will take chances
Speaker 1:on like edgy scripts like this again like not a family-friendly movie, not a feel-good movie and one that you have to appreciate for all those different aspects of what it's trying to do and the risk that it was willing to take. And the other thing that really peeves me is that at least when I've heard it brought up like in passing on other film podcasts in other spaces is that people will just be like oh yeah, that film's not good and I'm like tell me why. Powers Like, oh, that movie's not good. Okay, Can you tell me why? Because I can tell you why it's good.
Speaker 2:Can you tell?
Speaker 1:me why it's not good Like I don't know I'd be. I'd be so interested to sit down in a room with certain people and ask them about this movie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so.
Speaker 1:I'm hoping, I'm really hoping, I'm waking up and praying for a fight when it comes to the beach like revisit Danny Boyle's entire filmography when 28 years later comes out. And when you get to the beach, my DMS are always open. If you think the movie's bad, let me know why yeah.
Speaker 2:He wants to know why. I think that's a great number one pick. You guys both have good number ones. I feel like my number one pick is so funny because it's like such a little kid movie. But where I stand, like just the history I have with this movie, I think you could ask any of my family members. They'd probably be like oh God, here she goes with 1995's Casper. This movie altered my brain chemistry at the ripe age of three years old.
Speaker 2:Oh, wow age of three years old. Oh wow, I had a spiritual awakening of sorts watching devin sewa walk down those stairs as a, as a real boy. Um, I think that was my first real love of my life, watching him and casper.
Speaker 2:Um, which is funny because the ghost or the boy you know, I actually had this conversation with my one of my close friends last night. Um, and we were, we were talking about this movie and she was like well, my hear me out, is casper like, like the cash she's like? I was crushing on casper like the actual ghost and I was just like, but devin say, while walking down the stairs in his, with his wispy Nick Carter hair and his white blouse, it literally changed my life. And so, you know, this is me really like putting myself out there, which is what I intended to do on this episode. Apparently, according to my grandmother, my grandma, this movie on vhs at her house when and I watched it, she had like the big chunky case.
Speaker 1:Right, this is not like the sleeve, almost like a clamshell. Yeah, that's what you called him exactly.
Speaker 2:um, she had, you know, five vhs is pretty much that we would just kind of circle through every time we were at my grandma's house, and this was one of them.
Speaker 1:And my granddaughter's coming over today. She's going to want to watch Casper.
Speaker 2:So the way she tells the story is that I was literally three years old. Speaks just volumes of my boy craziness throughout my life. But um, the moment when uh casper turns into a boy walking out, you know, and he's they're at the, she has the big halloween party he walks down the stairs. Apparently I threw myself back on the couch in just very dramatic fashion and was almost in tears saying I can't take this anymore.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh um, and honestly I I don't doubt that at all, because I know that watching that scene in particular used to like make me sick, like it would like hurt me to watch him like hold her and like dance with her, and then he like whispers, like can I keep you?
Speaker 1:I mean honestly it like it really I'm like how do you not have a restraining order?
Speaker 2:look on both of your faces right now. It's honestly amazing. No, I, just I. It changed it all. It really like changed my life watching that scene and it was just very telling where my, like you know, I went on to be a huge Nick Carter fan throughout the years, which is like he looks so much, she's got a type.
Speaker 2:Ladies and gentlemen, like he looks so much, she's got a type, ladies and gentlemen, but anyway, I also have found my people who have said the same thing about this particular scene. But OK, aside from that, I'll move on from that one particular scene From wanting to fuck the ghost.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're moving on from fucking the ghost. It's not the ghost, it's the kid. Devin Sewa I love this movie. I mean Bill Pullman, christina Ricci um, I love this movie. I mean bill pullman, christina ritchie. I love christina ritchie. Just growing up, I think she's just been one of my favorite actors, but, um, it just reminds me of being a kid, obviously aside from the bean boy crazy part about it, but um, a movie that I still to this day watch. This is like. This is my ultimate guilty pleasure movie.
Speaker 3:You look guilty. You look guilty. Well, when I see that clamshell at your house, there's some guilt there.
Speaker 2:I actually don't know if I have it.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I have it on DVD, or I mean on VHS.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this movie runs deep. You could ask anyone in my family about it.
Speaker 3:I love.
Speaker 1:That that's amazing, uh, okay. So, as far as honorable mentions go, I do want to revisit the, like reclaimed. Oh, this is actually a good movie. And if that takes it, what does that do? Right or like, how do we feel about that? Does that take it, then, out of a guilty pleasure arena for you? Because, in my opinion, like I again, I never have felt guilty about liking one of these movies, but I'm like, oh, okay, like I, I guess, if everyone thinks this movie is bad and I'm crushing on it hard, then it must be like it's a guilty pleasure of of mine. And so, like the, the number one movie that I'm. I'm almost, like you know, and this is an interesting concept too, to throw around where it's like, was it better when I was the only person that liked miami vice and no, one else liked miami vice.
Speaker 1:I'm surprised that was on the list.
Speaker 1:Well, because it's totally been reclaimed yeah, it's like this kind of modern masterpiece of digital filmmaking. And, oh my gosh, what michael mann did on collateral and miami vice is actually like so important, um. And then it's also like, outrageously over the top, the colin farrow performance and gong lee and everything else. But it's also just like it fucking rips and and so is life better when everyone likes Miami Vice or when nobody likes the beach? I don't know. I don't know the answer to that question. Alien Covenant Same thing. We're like it was so fun walking out of Alien Covenant and being like, oh, I'm the only one that liked this and everyone else is like I'm still kind of wrapping my head around, like Prometheus and did we need that? And now we just got this and I'm like no, this movie's just a horror film. This is like legit xenomorph, awesome action. And michael fastbender is david, is just ridiculously evil and I love it, but now so does everyone else same.
Speaker 1:Speaking of fastbender and ridley scott, I have the counselor on my list as well where, like the counselor, total guilty pleasure, but everyone's coming around to that one.
Speaker 1:Again, I have a trifecta of the inner city rise to power crime thriller of King of New York, new Jack city, and paid in full.
Speaker 1:That is a huge micro sub genre of drama films or like, maybe, action films that I love and that is such a guilty pleasure for me, but again one that I'm like I don't ever feel guilty about liking those movies Like, that is a rich sub genre of films right there you could go into, you know, deep cover, there's so many minutes to society, all the boys in the hood. All those movies have a different level of prestige to them, but those in particular, king of new york, new jack city and paid in full, I feel like, are kind of guilty pleasures for me. And then my final one, one that I just couldn't bring myself to list as a guilty pleasure because, again, like I will defend it as a five-star film to the day I die and hopefully we get a chance to do a big gre verbinski episode later. But like dead man's chest, I will fight you over my five-star rating of that film every day of the week, just the way.
Speaker 1:It is like curse of the black pearl.
Speaker 2:I get that people can love curse of the black pearl all they want. That's consensus, but like dead man's chest is the second one, and I think it's better than world's end.
Speaker 3:I think it's better than the second one, and I think it is it's better than World's End.
Speaker 1:I think it's better than Curse of the Black Pearl. Yeah.
Speaker 3:It's been a long time since I fired those, since I set those sails and sailed those seas. But some honorable mentions on mine.
Speaker 1:Let me get your answer to that little rhetorical question that I kind of threw.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know it it's hard. I, I, I don't know because because also, if, like you, are someone like it makes me think of something like opus or the killer, right recently, like I am like ride or die for these movies, and you know, in 10 years if it comes back around where like, oh no, actually this was really really good. You know, I, I think it's still, I think it's still a guilty pleasure for me because I've I've been living with the guilt for 10 years is that how you feel about it?
Speaker 1:Like would you rather your movie be universally loved?
Speaker 2:I mean, I don't see that. This is where I mean my whole stance on the guilty pleasure topic is that, no matter what anyone says, it's like about how I feel when.
Speaker 3:I'm watching it.
Speaker 2:You know, and like everyone could tell me, like it's like twilight is a perfect example. Like you know, this movie is, in my opinion, objectively so bad, but I still really enjoy it. And you could tell me like you could try to like defend it all you want, I'm still gonna like feel shame watching it, um. So yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 3:Um so, yeah, I don't know, honorable mentions, uh, anaconda from the 90s, another animal attack one, yeah, water world from the 90s, uh, which you know if, if there had been more rewatches, probably would have made the list, because I really do think after we did the kevin cost episode, watching that movie in full like could be a masterpiece there that people just kind of missed on. The Perfect Storm, I think falls into this where again kind of like objectively bad and cheesy but like at the same time just and incredibly rewatchable and thrilling movie, not happy but like so entertaining, something that is so fun, yeah, to watch. Yeah, um, uh, the, uh, the forever purge, oh, another one of these lost sequels that we, we talked about uh a couple years ago or whatever, but like that has a 2.3 star rating on letterbox I think the entire purge franchise for me that's when I did the original purge is 2.7 yeah, what are we doing?
Speaker 3:it's crazy. All those movies are actually really good. Yes, um uh, you know I had prometheus written down uh book of Eli the shallows.
Speaker 1:I looked at a lot of Jean-Michelette films the shallows being the number one.
Speaker 2:But again that one.
Speaker 1:I'm like. I feel like that has been accepted as a really fun and really good Like any. Any time on the sharks subdit or any time someone brings up like animal attack movies on the horror subreddit, people are always like you got to watch the Shallows. So I feel like once again it's there. I thought about you, erica, when I was thinking about found footage movies and what to put on here as above, so below, but every single time.
Speaker 2:I see people say like what's a good found? What's a good found? Footage, that's above. So below gets brought up yeah, that movie is honestly amazing, so it's incredible, another one that taking Pelham one, two, three, the. Tony.
Speaker 3:Scott film with John Travolta and Denzel.
Speaker 2:I used to love that movie so I totally forgot. It rocks.
Speaker 3:It rocks. And you know, I think that one has kind of like Out of Time as well, which is another great Denzel movie and Book of Eli I just named. Like Denzel is so good and has such a great filmography that these movies are kind of like the guilty pleasures of Denzel movies, right when, like they are lesser than you know, training day but they are fucking awesome.
Speaker 1:I feel the same way about john q, that's my like guilty pleasure denzel movie 100 I have my list of honorable mentions.
Speaker 2:Um, it's funny I feel like so many of these are tied to my childhood. That's kind of where I was obviously going with this list making anyway. But the Ace Ventura movies, pretty in Pink, that's one of those movies that it's like really not great, but I do love John Hughes, bring it On.
Speaker 2:Oh, bring it On is a great one, but then I was like is that a guilty pleasure movie Because it's such a classic, Like I think that is a great one. But then I was like is that a guilty pleasure movie because it's such a classic, like I think that is a classic I think it's a little lost to time yeah, so it works, yeah, um I saw a really funny instagram reel of like a millennial going around and it was one of these.
Speaker 1:You know, like office, like test your co-workers thing or whatever, and they're just like hey, I'd be like erica, finish this line, burr, it's cold in here.
Speaker 2:And people would be some toros in the atmosphere, exactly, and people?
Speaker 1:are like oh, do you want me to like change the thermostat, oh god did not pass the vibe check um another one.
Speaker 2:Uh, george of the jungle yeah, oh, yeah, yeah just recently revisited that. Um, this is a good one. The greatest showman which, as a musical lover, I did love the greatest showman, um and and and had my moment with that, my Big Fat Greek Wedding. That's a good one.
Speaker 3:But then again, that one was so celebrated too right when it came out.
Speaker 1:It's like a $300 million movie.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:But still, I looked at that title.
Speaker 2:I looked at it and then I got two like horror, two for test drive.
Speaker 3:Thought about rewatching it.
Speaker 2:You should.
Speaker 1:It's funny, it's really funny, it's really sweet um, and I just remember the grandpa using windex for everything.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, put some windex on it. Yeah, um, and then I guess two horror mentions, like sort of the lost boys, which is a definitely a favorite for me, um, but sometimes a hard watch. It's a little cringe at times yeah that that wouldn't see that. That's one that doesn't work on me, so that that is like, you don't like it, or you, yeah, you don't like it, not for me. Yeah, yeah, love it. Yeah, it's so good, it's like y'all are guilty um, that's a really good example, I think yeah, lost boys
Speaker 1:yeah, because if it, doesn't work for you, I like as someone who it works for, I totally understand why I'm just like yeah, it's just like hair metal, vampires, punk, like I know, boardwalk and like the most dramatic like it is so yeah, yeah, it's so corny, but I mean I watch that and just with stars in my eyes.
Speaker 2:You know, I'm like just I don't see anything wrong with the lost boys, um, and then van helsing.
Speaker 3:You know this is a movie that I'm so surprised this wasn't on your list, because this was a movie you I've talked about before. Yeah, yeah in in our 2004 draft and, like, I do remember loving that movie as as when it came out, right, but which what? We were like 12 or 13 when that movie came out. I remember fucking loving it, owning it, seeing it in the theaters, like, but I I feel like if I went back and watched it now I'd be like this is dog shit oh it is.
Speaker 2:I have re-watched it and but you know I I loved it at the time. I mean, and I still like you know that's the thing about a lot of at least for you know, a lot of these picks that you you ask people like, what is these? What is your guilty pleasure film? And I feel like, especially with movies, people are going to pick that movie. They have memories attached to.
Speaker 2:They have a story behind it which we all had, stories behind all of our picks, and like the way we were raised and growing up and you're like, yeah, like you know, this movie isn't great and it's. You know, I've revisited, even as an adult, and it like makes me cringe. Revisited even as an adult and it like makes me cringe, but I think about that time at my grandma's house, or I think about that time, you know, like having a sleepover with the boys when I was a teenager, you know, and it brings.
Speaker 2:It's like impossible to hate movies like that, because and that's the beauty of movies in general you know, I mean it's I love that and I think that like it's it like we can sit here and talk about all the the newest like a24 movie that was just like critically acclaimed, all this shit but it's like no, I want to know, like what you were watching as a kid. Did you fuck with scooby-doo or did you not like you know what I mean. Like I think that it like it really speaks kind of like to all of our experiences and like how, like what we were doing when we were kids, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:I think that's very well said, all right. So, erica, so great to have you back.
Speaker 2:It's good to be back.
Speaker 3:Yeah, please don't leave again. Felt whole again.
Speaker 2:Sorry for my scratchy throat. Everybody God.
Speaker 1:No, you were a trooper too. Sorry for my scratchy throat everybody. God, no, you were a trooper too. I don't even know. I didn't even know that tea from a coffee store came in that large of a cup.
Speaker 3:I don't know what that is.
Speaker 1:Two 24 ounce teas later and you're still standing Very commendable, all right, so it was great to have you back. Until next time, follow Excuse the Intermission on Instagram and the three of us on letterbox to track what we're watching between shows and we will talk to you next time on ETI, where movies still matter. Thank you.
