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The Wait For It Podcast
Hosted by MrEricAlmighty and PhilTheFilipino, the guys discuss all things in Pop Culture from movies, gaming, anime and anything in between. New episodes every Wednesday, all you have to do is...WAIT FOR IT!
The Wait For It Podcast
International Feature: Emilia Pérez
"Emilia Perez" has stirred significant controversy, especially with its recent Oscar nominations, leading to intense debates about representation and ethics in filmmaking. We discuss the film's problematic portrayal of gender identity and the reception it's received from both audiences and critics.
• Examination of the film's premise and execution
• Discussion about the protagonist's portrayal and character development
• Analysis of the reaction it has garnered on social media and review platforms
• Insights into the Oscars nominations and the implications of its backlash
• Reflection on the responsibilities of filmmakers in representing diverse communities
Letterbox'd Synopsis: Rita, an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization.
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Speaker 1:Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino. Yeah, they've got you covered, and all you gotta do is wait for it.
Speaker 2:This is the Wait For it Podcast. Hey, everyone, welcome back to the Wait For it Podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm your co-host, phil Barrera, aka Phil the Filipino, and I'm your other co-host, Mr Eric Almighty, and for this edition of International Feature, we decided to tackle a very controversial film that we have both watched and we both have thoughts about. In fact, the whole world has thoughts about it and it is currently going through the news cycle, so it's very relevant here in oscar month coming around the corner. Phil Phil Amelia Perez is the movie we are going to cover and for the first time in a long time maybe ever it's a movie we're going to feature for maybe all the wrong reasons.
Speaker 2:Yeah, february was supposed to be a very specifically themed month, as it usually is, because last week's episode was Pretty Woman, which definitely go check out that episode to hear our thoughts.
Speaker 2:A little bit of a spoiler we very much enjoyed it. And then we were going to do another very iconic rom-com and then Oscar nominations happened and even though this did very well at, you know, the Golden Globes, and then we started to learn more and more about it, obviously, clips started going viral for all the wrong reasons and then, like I said, those nominations happened and I said to Eric, we're gonna have to watch this thing and we may have to pivot in February just because of what's going on here. So, preface this here in the very beginning there are a lot of issues going on outside of the movie that we are not fully qualified to discuss. We will bring them up because they are important, but there is so much happening with this and I said to you, eric, I feel like we should contribute to as much negative press as possible heading into oscar season, unless I enjoyed it and we have not discussed this film at all.
Speaker 1:Phil has watched this, maybe finished watching it minutes before we started recording. So he heard my reaction and immediately said we had to do this. And, phil, if you like this movie, more more power to you. We're gonna talk freely about this movie and we're just going to get this out of the way. If you have not watched this movie, we are not here to convince you to watch it. If anything, this is a word of warning which should really tell you what type of episode we're about to get into.
Speaker 1:But if you really want to hear what all the fuss is about, we'll try to break it down for both audiences that have not seen the movie and have, but that will include specific details about the film's plot and progression. So if you don't want to hear any of that and then you want to join in on the ride we're about to journey on, go check that out, come back here. But yeah, we're going to talk very freely about this movie, although it just came out in 2024. It is too much for us to simply tiptoe around. We're already going to be doing a lot of tiptoeing, as Phil kind of alluded to, for a lot of issues that we are not really qualified to speak on. But, phil, I am ready to jump into it. All the highs, all the lows and everything in between. All the highs, all the lows and everything in between.
Speaker 2:So let's get to the Letterboxd synopsis Amelia Perez. It released in November of last year to all audiences. It was a Cannes Festival Festival might as well be a Festival. I think that's probably what they're all doing over there at the Cannes Film Festival just fisting each other. A festival, darling Right. How many of those have we come across during this podcast? And just as fans of film in general. But, amelia Perez, you know, as it was making, those rounds started making, started making a lot of noise within the film community.
Speaker 2:It was directed by the lovely Jacques Ayudade, I think that's how you pronounce his name. The synopsis Rita, an underrated lawyer working for a large law firm more interested in getting criminals out of jail than bringing them to justice, is hired by the leader of a criminal organization. Once again, a lot of things happening on the outside of this movie. We will talk about that a little bit later, but here is where we will start, because we always try to start on a relatively positive side, point out things that maybe did work the idea of a Mexican cartel member hiring a really good lawyer to help him and his family, even though separately, disappear because they want to go through a transition and kind of reinvent themselves on paper is not the worst premise that I've ever heard for a film.
Speaker 2:It's not Like if, in some other universe, where this is directed by someone who's not an asshole, by a cast and crew not a cast, we'll talk about the cast but by a crew that you know maybe actually gives a shit about the source material and learning about what they should have learned about. It's not the worst thing ever in terms of like a premise for a film, and I think that's what you were alluding to whenever you first watched it, because you were like I get what they were going for. However, you know shit on a canvas. It's pretty much. It's kind of what happened, you know, when they give paint to monkeys in a zoo and then they sell that painting for thousands of dollars in a zoo and then they sell that painting for thousands of dollars.
Speaker 1:really impressed. That's this movie and watching it. 13 oscar nominations just absolutely crazy. And we're going to talk, maybe towards the end of the episode, about how that's all unfolding. Uh, this episode will come out well well before the oscars actually happens, but I pretty much know where that's going to go and at this point, who knows what else will have unfolded or been revealed leading up to the event.
Speaker 1:I just don't understand what is going on right now with some of the nominations and the Academy. Now I'm not going to act like I am well versed in the Oscars, the Academy, the voting selections, all of that, but in doing some research it does seem like the Academy has been more international, which raises more concerns that internationally this film has been received very well by many critics and when we look at things like rotten tomatoes I mean it is currently certified fresh and we'll talk about those scores specifically I just feel. I feel like this is a movie that, objectively, is a bad movie because it doesn't execute any of the vision that it presents forward and you're also dealing with several delicate subjects for so many different demographics. I am none of those demographics. This movie is not for me. But even I walked away highly offended at the material that was presented, and there are.
Speaker 1:You know you can have a difference of opinions on things like the Mexican cartel and trans rights, but there is a delicate way to touch on some of these topics with a little bit of human decency and also with a little bit of like ethicalness that I feel is missing from this movie completely, from its direction to the acting, from its direction to the acting, though I will say I think people like Zoe Saldana probably thought they were a part of something special, because in her performance, I mean, she is doing everything she can to stop this movie from drowning and I think that's a testament to why she got the Oscar nomination and, I believe, won a Golden Globe Phil. I really want us to dissect this movie a little bit and kind of take things slowly. Talk to me about the first 15 to 30 minutes of this movie, because I told you the first 15 minutes I was like, oh, not bad. And then we take a turn and you know what song the turn happens.
Speaker 2:so I'd love to know what were your initial thoughts about half an hour going into this film when you now learn about the premise that you just said isn't awful on paper to some of the execution mistakes they made early on yeah, before I do that, I want to touch on what you said about, you know, in terms of this being received very well by, like, international audiences, film critics, you know, and something that I watched, you know, in preparation for this, is, you know, when we're talking about all these movies that are supposed to be like part of representation and you know, the Cannes Film Festival gives it these awards trans people and, you know the Hispanic community, are not watching this movie at the Cannes Film Festival. So then when fast forward, glaad, you know, is then reviewing the movie and saying it is highly offensive, you know, and that's just talking about the transgender community, we haven't even gotten to the Mexican community and how they deservedly, are incredibly upset and and they should be. This is, like you said, this is a wildly offensive movie and we live through an age where judd apatow put out rom-coms every year, so we know what offensive films are. Um, so, yeah, that's a really good point that we're getting like in where the crew and I'll say again, I'm getting distracted. But, yes, so in the beginning, like when you get the premise of the film, you're like, okay, I, I see what they're going for here.
Speaker 2:It is a little on the nose where she's like oh, this is the really, really smart woman lawyer who has to walk her superior through a court case. You know, she gets the bad guys out even though she wants to get the good or help the good guys, and that's all stuff we've seen before. But again, you can rope me in with that premise and, yes, it's such a good point about zoe zeldana. It's so. It's such a bummer. This is the thing that she's gonna get recognized for in terms of winning, because she's fantastic, even, you know, outside of, obviously, the avatars and the guardians of the galaxies. She's just a fantastic performer and, unfortunately, this is going to be what is associated with her forever. And I know you have always been a Selena Gomez fan. You know how I feel. I am done with people saying and telling me that she's a talented actress. She's not, and take the Spanish out of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah For the record. For the record. I like her music.
Speaker 2:Oh, that's fair.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I was never over here. Like wizards of waverly place let's.
Speaker 2:Let's bring it my whole thing is um murders in the murder. Why am I murders in the bill bill?
Speaker 1:why am?
Speaker 2:I one of those getting the name of the show only murder, only murders.
Speaker 2:I knew murders was in it, yeah yeah, because I really, really enjoyed that show and every time she's on the screen it just completely takes me out of it. She's also dating benny blanco, another deduction. So anyway, but I I'm not. I'm just kind of done with it, with people telling me that she's a good actress. She is not, but, and then we'll talk about Gascon a little bit later. But yeah, and then we get into that. That number, the one that you have all seen, whether or not you've seen Amelia Perez, you have seen this number and it's right before. It is another fairly interesting back and forth between her and I can't remember the name of his. His name is the, the cartel leader. It's escaping me right now. Again, I think as soon as the movie ended it's been trying to escape my brain pretty much immediately. So that in and of itself, that conversation also not bad. But then we jump into it and it's just kind of balls to the wall, nonsense for the next hour and 45 minutes.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I was definitely curious what was going to happen, because the movie starts off completely in Spanish and then it just pivots at that song and even Zoe Zaldana like doesn't sound great, they're all like talking. One of the things I hate the most, which will resonate especially yeah, this was the cartel leader's name.
Speaker 1:It'll resonate with the whole movie. But I also hate that whisper talking like normal singing. That's not my type of musical. I know some musicals thrive on that and some people really like it. I don't.
Speaker 1:And I think this musical specifically didn't have enough music that really caught my attention. But you make the switch to english and then you make this like real grand, like stage, about this gender affirming surgery, which I felt wasn't in very good taste. You have the conversation with several doctors that are again singing very badly. It's just not very good in english. Right, if it's in spanish maybe it has some flair, but according to people who speak the language, you can't even make that out in this movie. So what the hell were we actually doing? And then phil, this movie.
Speaker 1:You know to kind of skip towards, I guess, the most of the plot that is occurring here. This movie takes a turn from I want to live a different life and I want my family to be taken care of too. I want to ruin my fucking family's life and I want to be selfish and egotistical, and there's a lot there that can make a complex character, but they don't do any of it, phil. To me they presented amelia perez as a complete monster, like a complete monster, and, I think, when your main character is a trans character, maybe and again, I'm not the demographic to speak on this but maybe you don't want your main character to be a monster, a literal scumbag, selfishly brings her family back into the mix, causes all of the escalations and is very aggressive, very, very aggressive in everything that she wants. So I'm very curious Well, as we get towards the middle of the film, a lot of the manipulation that happens. What was your take on Amelia Perez, the character when everything was said and done?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and this is again when everything was said and done. Yeah, and this is again probably the main, primary thing that a lot of people are upset with because, like you said, she is the switch from Monidas to Amelia. It's presented in a way that it is essentially absolving Monidas of what has happened, which in no way is that the case. It's also presenting the fact that, like, it's reaffirming stereotypes, gender stereotypes, that it's the woman that is more nurturing and more loving and that Amelia is also still partially Menides in this story, and that's a huge, huge issue. So, yeah, I agree with you because, while we are using Amelia also as a vessel, I've also seen people describe her as just being like a thing to move this plot along, and you are also humanizing and kind of glorifying oh well, these cartel members wanted to help. Like this is a huge problem in Mexico, a massive problem. The cartels and the Sicario are demolishing what's happening in Mexico.
Speaker 2:I've heard so many horror stories just because I listen to a lot of true crime podcasts, and that's another thing. We haven't even gotten to the Spanish. It's like the Spanish speaking. There's so much. It's even all intertwined. Like you said, presenting Emilia in this way and then also entrenching her with this Sicario reclamation project. It's gross, it's, it's just gross very much.
Speaker 1:I don't think that this was the right premise to make your main character feel like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, like such a such a absolutely tone deaf decision. And when it comes to everything about this movie, this is a french film and there's nothing authentic or like just again real, even film in france, uh, in mexico they didn't even film in Mexico.
Speaker 2:French crew.
Speaker 1:It's just not authentic in any way, with a French cast and French crew and not doing it in Mexico. Again, so many things that are just so problematic with this film. And at the end of the day, right, even if you took away your personal feelings about it, this movie just really isn't entertaining in any way. So it's not a good musical. And then, when you break it down from a film perspective, there are some cinematic shots here that are very confusing. They do things like through the cell phone with Selena Gomez that took me out of it.
Speaker 2:I hated that scene so much. The cell phone with Selena Gomez that took me out of it. I hated that scene so much. And she's going into the closet where there's a dance number for some reason To a song that is not very catchy.
Speaker 1:I hated it. It's not very good. Selena Gomez has given absolutely nothing to do here. Now, I'm not gonna defend that. She's a good actress, right, but none of these characters are really given much to do. There are just so many issues, phil, so many issues. And these issues were all present when it got 13 nominations.
Speaker 2:And when people watched it at Cannes.
Speaker 1:Yes, this movie just absolutely suffering. Now, scores and all of that are starting to come into play. Uh, we'll talk about the drama that has ensued, uh, since the announcement. But yeah, phil, what else do you want to talk about this movie? This is your chance to kind of let loose and rip it apart. I think for me, as much fun as it would be to destroy this movie, I just ultimately feel disgusted and I, from a rating perspective, made sure to reflect that in my rating, which, if you know me and you listen to the podcast, I don't usually go to a certain territory when it comes to rating movies. But I'm there, I am there, man. So what else did you want to kind of rip into or or give some thoughts on?
Speaker 2:uh, on, a little further yeah, I think you could even make the argument because obviously the one, the scene that's going viral, you know, men to a woman, like that whole scene is terrible. The scene right after with the, the european doctor, is again terrible. Singing, like you mentioned, is just as bad. It is so bad. And then the, the Selena Gomez scene, like I just you just talked about with her on the phone and in the closet also terrible. Listen, I've gotten, I've taken shit and I've taken my uh, you know my wounds. As far as with wicked, I'll watchicked every day before I even think about any song from this, and not to mention like, like you said, none of them are good. No one's even really singing. Very well, that that's the whole thing.
Speaker 2:And, and I remember when I didn't really know too much about Amelia Perez and I remember hearing about how Zoe Zaldana had to learn how to rap, I was like I beg your pardon, what do you mean? Like, what's that meme? The Jennifer Lawrence meme? What do you mean? What do you mean? What do you mean? You had to learn how to rap? So, yeah, there was one thing that I did laugh at in the movie, and it's when Amelia buys the boys the ski, the ski machine, the ski video game. I thought that was kind of cute. And then you see like the maids playing on it, like right after they go to school or something. I thought that was kind of funny. That was the only time I went, that's like.
Speaker 1:It wasn't even like a, it was like an exhale of the nose, you know, like except she's also probably using that to completely manipulate those children 100, 100 so every everything just like has a turn into something gross or just like not very effective character building the line of dialogue where selena gomez is like my.
Speaker 2:My part is like, still throbbing, for I was like where the fuck did this come from?
Speaker 1:Yeah, there was that whole angle who wrote this shit.
Speaker 2:Was it also the Lacey?
Speaker 1:Who was credited?
Speaker 2:It was also Jacques Fuckface. I'm not, I guarantee you when he wrote that he was like oh we, I guarantee you when he wrote that he was like oh we.
Speaker 1:That was Jacques.
Speaker 2:Ocean. We, we really need Peter.
Speaker 1:Peter does that whole scene perfectly, I might need to bring Peter in to record that specific scene and just use it as a soundboard clip. We've lost all sense of the plot, as as did this movie. Um, it's fitting that this movie pretty much ends in a blaze of glory. Uh, so I'd like to maybe skip ahead to the ending of this film.
Speaker 2:So we go through this entire journey of this character and she just dies in a fiery car You're talking about like the love interest that just kind of came out of nowhere, yeah, and then there's like a shootout.
Speaker 1:There's like a cartel shootout or something going on there and basically she's just lauded as this legend, as this like oh, amelia perez, let's all mourn her. She did so much. And again, when we look at this movie from start to finish, it's not just problematic, it's just it's not just a bad movie, but it takes all of the themes that could be somewhat effective. Again, phil, it's not the most absurd plot that could be done. I don't know if this movie would ever be more than a three out of five, but there's a okay movie that could be made here, somewhat entertaining movie, and by the time you get to that ending it's like oh so there really was no hope, there really was no shot at there being some type of redemption or payoff, and I said this in my review that I did after I watched the movie.
Speaker 1:This movie is both somehow too short. It doesn't give the characters enough room to breathe or to grow properly to where you can really resonate with them. But thank God this movie isn't any longer than it is already, because it's too damn long. So I don't know Again, when a movie starts to have that tough, too short, too long tag on it, it's not only a movie I never want to watch again, but it's a movie I would never recommend for someone to see other than to just completely shit on it and because they, like you know, hurting themselves, inflicting self-harm upon Also.
Speaker 2:Yeah, call the hotline for those people Like please check on your friend If they if they just walk in.
Speaker 1:I want to watch.
Speaker 2:Amelia Perez the Amelia Perez poster on their wall. Please just call somebody. Yeah, because this is different than when you look at the other films that are at the bottom of our list in 2024. Mine, more specifically, because I watched a lot of bad films. This is different from a Madam Web or a Borderlands. You get it, you understand even the joke.
Speaker 2:You understand the end game there money we want to put out, we want to use this giant property to print money. I don't know what is the goal here again, because the director is talking about spanish and mexico in general, of being, uh, you know, spanish specifically being like a dirty language, like the language of the poor and so like. Why did he choose a setting for something that he doesn't even have any respect or any type of admiration for it? It just I would, really I can't wait till years from now we are going to get that like documentary, which will really be funny if it's on Netflix. Wouldn't that be wild? It would be poetic. Because I'll tell you this, I watched this today and it's not on.
Speaker 2:You can't find it like on the front page anymore. A couple of weeks ago it was there and even when you search it, find it like on the front page anymore. A couple weeks ago it was there and even when you search it it does say oscar nomination. But I had to like go into the search bar and we're gonna talk about that, oh yeah.
Speaker 1:No, we're gonna. Yeah, we're gonna recap some of that for sure, so that um like trying to pull the drawstring, yeah, so hopefully we have because of what's happened.
Speaker 2:And again, we you talked about what's going to happen between now and Oscar season or the Oscars. We don't know what's going to happen between now date of recording, friday night, february 7th, and Wednesday when the episode comes out. We're going to be like, well, shit, I wish we could have talked about that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, it's going to be rough. And you know, Phil, if we can, let's go ahead and let's talk about the reception of this film, our scores, and then we could talk a little bit about some of the Oscar drama that has plagued this movie. You know, to kind of wrap things up, but yeah, Rotten Tomatoes letterboxed averages, let's get into it because it is. It is not good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, eric, alluded to it earlier 73 certified fresh score on the tomato meter 17 popcorn meter score for users over on uh letterboxd it is currently at a 2.2 out of 5, with 20 of those reviews being a half star. Let's see what's highest next. It looks like two star reviews at a 13% is the next highest, tied with one star reviews also at a 13%.
Speaker 1:So and those those half star ratings, that's over 73,000, 73,000.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's got 401 fans, which is. I would like to talk to the 401 of you that selected the like button on this movie. I will tell you this quick story as well. There was a guy that I worked with at my previous job and we he was like a big film guy but he's like one of those more like kind of really in-depth film watchers and we, you know, I was his friend on letterbox and I saw his review and that he gave this a three and a half and I unfollowed him. So we don't talk anyway. I don't give a shit. He's never gonna listen to this, even if he did. Fuck yourself. What's wrong with you, I don't care. We didn't really talk anyway, so I unfollowed him. I wish I still had the review up. I also want to bring up this before we talk about our scores the funniest thing I saw on youtube. I saw in one comment said something like this movie is like saying bonjour to an italian waiter at a chinese restaurant in scotland.
Speaker 1:Uh, and yeah, yeah, that is accurate.
Speaker 2:You know how, when, like your older relative, orders their margarita in Spanish. That's kind of what's happening. That's kind of what's happening here, eric, I will go first. I gave this a one, and even that feels like generous. I guess it's just out of respect for zoe zeldana because, as you alluded to, she is trying, and I'm sure whoever was in her ear told her this could be something really special and she probably is overdue for one of these recognized performances. Did she not win anything for avatar, or was that?
Speaker 1:all like cinematography stuff, special effects, yeah, no, not, not for performance.
Speaker 2:I don't, I don't believe yeah, so I mean, we, we know how talented she is and, again, it's a bummer that this is going to be tied to her forever. Um, she has also been very outspoken about some of the other things that have happened that we'll discuss here in a moment. But yeah, eric, I gave this a one. It would go back and forth in terms of just just talking about 2024 films between this and Borderlands. They are gross for different reasons, obviously, but that's along the lines of the worst films that I saw in 2024, of course. So, yeah, one out of five for me.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So when I watched this movie I did give it a one and a half out of five. It was my bottom film, tied with Joker at a one and a half out of five. Uh, it was my bottom film, tied with joker at a one and a half score, and I don't normally give films lower than a two. I don't, I don't usually watch those type of films, so the fact that I had two of them from last year alone was pretty alarming, both musicals.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna be honest, I dropped it down to a one just now just because, like just talking about it, I don't really have anything positive to say other than there are pieces of this film. It's also not the worst shot film in the world. There are very weird cinematic choices that have been made from an editing standpoint and direction standpoint, but again, zoe saw nana. There's somewhat of like. I could kind of understand what they were maybe trying to go for at certain points, but they completely lose sense of any reality, their own plot and any type of humanism that I think for a story like this you have to have. So I have dropped it down to a one and to no one's surprise, for all of the international films. We've seen at least 28 international films in our series. It is last, and it is last on both of our lists. I believe it's the only one we've given Congratulations boy in the heron.
Speaker 1:It's the only movie we've given less than a two, two, and it's not great, not great. So yeah, that is my score. I don't love telling people to watch this to just shit on it. I'd rather you just skip it completely. But if you are gonna watch it to join the conversation, just know it's a movie you're never gonna forget, but not for any of the good reasons you normally have that feeling for it's gonna sit with you for, unfortunately.
Speaker 2:So you know I do anticipate that score getting lower. I don't know what it was. When you saw it, eric, you did mention it was.
Speaker 1:It's gone down since you saw it, so it like we said oh yeah 2.2 now, so it was, I believe, like a 2.4, maybe close to a 2.5, and then the rotten tomatoes. The audience score was just under 30 okay, so it has gone down drastically, drastically.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think people wanted to see what the fuss was about and this is the type of movie because obviously the comparison is crash, which is easily the worst film that has ever won best picture and what happens is someone makes a movie that they think is inclusive and they think is going to address let's address all the issues going on right now, right, let's. Let's address sexism, let's address trans rights, let's address racism, and we're going to put it in this movie and everybody is going to love it. And, unfortunately, when you talk about oscar bait, that's what this is addressing and that's exactly what happened with Crash. So some of you may be too young, which is crazy to say.
Speaker 2:Crash came out in 2004. It is a race bait movie. It is incredibly offensive. It's a white savior film. It is terrible, and I remember Eric, a close friend of ours, was like this is one of the greatest movies. Former close friend, this is one of the greatest movies. Former close friend, this is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen and I remember watching it being like this was racist as shit. What is?
Speaker 2:wrong with you and we don't really talk to that person, but anyway, yeah, if someone tells you they love amelia perez, you probably shouldn't talk to that person anymore no, no, you shouldn't at least crash, had like an all-star cast, like the casting here is also not very strong across the board.
Speaker 1:I do not. I do not think that you know the lead actress for this film. I understand momentum wise, like for the moment, what that does to get the nomination. I understand that is important, but other than that, from just a performance standpoint, I don't think she should have gotten the nomination. I understand that is important, but other than that, from just a performance standpoint, I don't think she should have gotten the nomination for best performance by an actress. You can get away with Zoe Saldana. I think there is maybe one or two more people that would have been more appropriate, but if you wanted to give it to her, I guess I understand. I don't think her performance was extraordinary. I think she was the star of a sinking ship. So that's really all that I have to say on that part.
Speaker 1:But talking about the Oscars, obviously a lot of stuff has happened since the film's release and specifically a lot has happened since it got the almost record-breaking 13 nominations for the Oscars. So let's go down the line and just kind of quickly discuss this. There were already a lot of discussions. Apologies, stuff like that, comments that were made, but everything really got turned on its head by the director of the film, which, phil, I think you mentioned this made many stupid comments charried on top with the Mexican Spanish language is for poor people is the summary statement. Then you also had Carla Sophia Gascon, again the first openly transgender woman to to be nominated for an Oscar, is one of the most vile human beings that you can find on Twitter, and that included tweets that she got backlash for from things like comments on Muslims, george Floyd and diversity at the Oscars. Then, on top of everything, phil and this is where I really want us to talk about the fallout from all of this Everyone is distancing themselves from their lead actress here.
Speaker 1:The director has Zoe Saldana has and Netflix has. Netflix is not going to push for the nomination any further and they're not financially supporting her to even go to the Oscars, based off of some recent reports I've read. So, phil, all that to say, this may have been a surprise to many people for the amount of nominations it's got, but there's a real possibility. This movie walks away in a blaze of glory like the end of its own actual film, with zero actual wins at the Oscars. So how do you feel about that and any kind of thoughts about how this movie has again set itself ablaze?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and once again, I think when people probably started, when people started hearing about this movie, there's a trans woman in a trans role that they're hearing is a complex character, right Like that is surface level, a step in the right direction.
Speaker 2:And then you know we are where we are now. So when this thing won best picture at the Golden Globes, I mean and I hadn't seen it yet yet I don't think you saw until after it won, correct? So I mean, let's just talk about. I've seen all these movies at this point except for one, and you have seen it. So it's not better than a real pain. It is certainly not better than an aura. We like, kind of we enjoyed challengers. I know people love challengers. It's not as good as challengers. I assume. It's not better than the Substance and it's definitely not better than Wicked.
Speaker 2:And thank goodness I don't think we've seen any of these other films that were nominated for non-English language films. So we probably need to go watch some of those Because they're probably pretty upset. And, yeah, I'm sure the Golden Globes is is very happy. That I guess going did not walk away with an individual uh award over, I believe, wasn't it? Yeah, it was a demi more. So you know, the fact that all this has happened is, you know, and it might walk away with nothing, that's fantastic, but like it shouldn't be here anyway. So, regardless of what happens, 13 nominations, that doesn't go anywhere. It's nominated for as many Oscars as Oppenheimer, you guys. That's the example that I use, because it's the most recent thing that I can point to.
Speaker 1:Oppenheimer, are you guys listening? Are you guys listening? Are you guys listening? Yeah, it um, it's again. Just it's again. It's really um, oh, my god, it's just really rough. I was just kind of looking through just some of the things that maybe we didn't touch on. We didn't even talk about the papa song, which, uh, you smell like my dad, yeah, and that's also just some of the things that maybe we didn't touch on. We didn't even talk about the Papa song, which you smell like my dad and he was like yeah, and that's also something that would not happen.
Speaker 2:If a trans woman is taking certain substances, she is not going to smell like that kid's father.
Speaker 1:And like, again, I understand the intention is that, like there's a familiarity there because obviously this fucking psychopath has brought her kids back into her life and is literally lying to their fucking faces like they're stupid. So, yeah, no, like I, again, I get it. It's just execution, it's distasteful, it's just, it's's distasteful, it's just, it's very distasteful. And we are not. We are not the type of people to beat the drum and like, oh my god, we didn't get this representation or oh my god, they should have done this casting like this. We're pretty open. If it works, it works. Um, this movie in no way shape or form works. And again, it's just not surprising to see the blowout of this film and the self-implosion that has happened from its highly controversial lead actress yeah, and that's the other issue too is that they believe people that create movies like this or nominate them.
Speaker 2:They think, well, you should just be happy with representation in general. We're past that man. They say, well, you should just be happy with representation in general. We're past that man. That's not the case anymore. So, yeah, as far as everybody else that is nominated for actress in a leading role Cynthia Erivo, mikey Madison, demi Moore, fernanda Torres and then Gascon so yeah, one of those.
Speaker 1:I think Demi Moore would probably be the favorite and I probably put a revo right behind her, so I would also do a revo, although I would love to see mikey madison win it yeah, and anora is again.
Speaker 2:We talked about this in pretty woman, another movie that people have had discussions about, and um, but uh, yeah, mikey, I would love to see her because anora got nothing at the golden globes, if I recall correctly.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't think she'll get it. I think the reason I wouldn't give it to Demi Moore because, again, I wasn't the biggest fan of the substance. I can't acknowledge her performance was good. I am just a big Wicked supporter and, to kind of tie it together out of my bias, this is probably a shoo-in for Ariana Grande to win Best Supporting Actress.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 1:I would love to see them both win an Oscar Because I love both of their performances. Quite a lot from Wicked.
Speaker 2:Monica Barbaro, felicity Jones, isabella Rossellini. Oh man.
Speaker 1:I know.
Speaker 2:I didn't see the Brutalistist, but obviously we love conclave. Yep, that was the other thing that that guy mentioned. That was in that I used to work with. He also mentioned that if you don't think that this deserves some sort of like recognition or awards, but you think that conclave was really good, that's insane. I was like nope, nope, I'm, I'm out, I'm out. Yeah, that's absolutely insane. I wish I had screenshot the review, but it was absurd.
Speaker 1:And I've openly talked about Conclave. For those of you that have not heard my thoughts about it, you know to tie it in here. I thought it was very tastefully done.
Speaker 1:The ending of conclave yeah if you have not watched conclave I won't spoil it, but there's a reason I'm bringing it up on this particular episode with the themes. We're talking about another movie, unlike conclave, which I really loved, and that wasn't a central point. It was more of a a major development that happens, not a central plot point. I saw the tv glow has a ton of underlying representation that, while it wasn't a movie targeted for me, nor did I really enjoy it as a film, I didn't really think it was for me at all. I could understand that this movie probably meant a lot to other people where emilia perez, this movie is not for anybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, who? Not for nobody? Who is this for? Yeah, to just really touch on Conclave really quick, because I texted you about the ending and then your answer was we don't really know it was. You know that one. You're not the audio-only audience, but like the gif where the guy is like he like leans back and I was like whoa, like the ramifications of the ending of conclave. I was just like man, that's, that's crazy. But to kind of wrap this up, best picture nominees Anora the brutalist, a complete unknown Want to see those as well. Conclave Dune part two Amelia Perez I'm still here. Nickel boys, the substance and wicked. So as far as best picture, I don't know, yeah, I would love to see dune or conclave take it. Maybe you do, maybe because of everything that's happened, you just kind of like get an easy win in there and give it to wicked.
Speaker 1:But I don't know, man, that's gonna be interesting yeah, but at this point it does look like they are going to probably be shut out. That includes Zoe Saldana. I think she still has a shot, but I don't think they're going to give that Oscar. I don't think they're going to give any Oscar to Emilia Perez, and that's the decision. It shouldn't have been nominated, as we discussed.
Speaker 2:Mi Camino was nominated for original song. Which song even? Is that there's two songs?
Speaker 1:Oh my God, I didn't even notice that they had two songs nominated.
Speaker 2:Which one's, el Mal?
Speaker 1:Oh, that's the one where she's in.
Speaker 2:El Mal is the one where they're at the gala, the fundraiser. And then what is this other one, mi camino?
Speaker 1:is that the first one?
Speaker 2:car and caminos. So which song is that? Oh my god, really. Oh my, it's the one where fucking selena gomez is seeing karaoke with her boyfriend oh, which, again, that was another example of like the shots, dude.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they're bad. Yeah, so I think we've um, I think we've gotten a lot off of our chest again. There is so much about this film that people that come from the demographic that this movie pretends it's for can really maybe express more detailed information about what makes it so honestly just disgusting to watch. But uh, again, from a two straight guys on a podcast that just are nerds. Yeah, those were our thoughts, I guess, so take them with a grain of salt, maybe form your own opinion, but I genuinely don't think that anyone could like this movie, like genuinely and I'm talking about if I gave it a one, I'd even stretch to like a two and a half, like anything above a two and a half out of five, like Phil did. We're going to probably cut you off completely, so just be prepared for that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, do not Objectively Respectfully.
Speaker 2:You know, sometimes Eric and I say a lot which is fine. There is no which is fine, that's not happening here. So yeah, this movie is about as poorly run as the dallas mavericks with nico harrison eric. So uh, you know, it's just uh, it's just bad all around honestly, I didn't.
Speaker 2:I didn't know I'd be seeing this, this many car crashes so close to each other oh, folks, that is Amelia Perez, and we hope that next month we get back on track with international features, because again we were talking about in January. Hey, great start, this is going to be great, but but then you know, we just had to talk about this given everything that is going on. And do you guys a favor if you're not going to watch it, to just warn you, we owe that to you as far as our audience goes. But if you want to find some of the films and TV shows, video games and also the wonderful content creators that we speak to, you can find everything you need in the Linktree link, in the show notes of this and every single episode. You can also follow us on social media, the most important ones being Instagram. Tiktok are growing and flourishing, might I add.
Speaker 2:Eric Discord community it's been a whole lot of fun in there, so if you want to roast me about how much I love Spy Family, apparently come on in. It's a great time. Make sure you join the Discord channel. We also stream every other week over on Twitch and we're on YouTube, so if you want to support the show, head on over to Apple Podcasts, spotify. Leave us five-star reviews like share, subscribe on YouTube. You know the drill. We appreciate all of that, but if you find yourself wanting more from the podcast and some behind-the-scenes stuff and getting to interact with another exclusive community here on the podcast, eric will tell you a little bit about that and let's get out of here. I don't want to ever think about this movie again.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so usually we do try to give benefits to our Patreon members, which you could be, but that would also require you to get episodes like this early and unfortunately we have to deliver this content to our patron family.
Speaker 1:We apologize, but normally the content is great. We're very happy about the movies we watch and we'd like to thank those people right now Briar, Stefan T3, kato Corey from the World is my Burrito and Vintage, and Bridget from Retro AV Rewind. Thank you so much for your monthly support and, if you'd like to join them again, early access behind the scenes looks and much, much more for episodes like this one. Plus, we have Patreon month coming, where they're recommending television shows, movies and or games for us to watch and play. So come, join the community or any of the free options and other communities that we have ongoing. All of that support is very much appreciated. My name is Mr Eric Almighty. That is my co-host, phil the Filipino, and please don't forget, we release new episodes every Wednesday for the podcast with bonus content on platforms like Twitch and TikTok, and all you got to do is wait for it.
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