Late To The Party - Taxi Driver

Travis Bickle, a lonely Vietnam War veteran working as a NYC taxi driver, descends into violent vigilantism as his mental state deteriorates and his disgust with urban decay intensifies. Martin Scorsese's legendary 1976 character study features an iconic performance by Robert De Niro that continues to influence cinema decades later.

• Robert De Niro's transformative performance as Travis Bickle remains the film's standout element
• Scorsese's portrayal of 1970s New York City creates a character of its own through gritty, atmospheric cinematography
• Bernard Herrmann's jazz-influenced score perfectly enhances the film's sense of isolation and brewing violence
• The film's ambiguous portrayal of its protagonist has led to controversial interpretations over the decades
• Travis Bickle's character has influenced numerous films about isolated, disturbed individuals, most notably 2019's "Joker"
• The "You talkin' to me?" mirror scene has become one of cinema's most referenced and parodied moments
• Modern viewers may find the pacing deliberately slow compared to contemporary films

Letterbox'd Synopsis: A mentally unstable Vietnam War veteran works as a night-time taxi driver in New York City where the perceived decadence and sleaze feed his urge for violent action.

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Transcript

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Speaker 1 0:00

Welcome to your go-to source for entertainment Wait for it Gaming , wait for it Anime PLUS ULTRA . Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino . Yeah , they've got you covered and all you gotta do is wait for it . This is the Wait For it Podcast

Introducing The Wait For It Podcast

Speaker 1 0:33

. Hey , everyone , welcome back to the Wait For it Podcast . I'm your co-host , phil Barrera , aka Phil the Filipino .

Speaker 2 0:40

And I'm your other co-host , mr Eric Almighty , and for this edition of Late to the Party , we are talking about a film that we have yet to see , that , in film circles , is talked about quite a lot . In fact , when we started making a list of movies we hadn't seen , this is probably one of the biggest ones that we've yet to arrive to as far as an episode

Confronting Taxi Driver's Legendary Status

Speaker 2 1:03

goes . Phil , we are here to talk about Taxi Driver .

Speaker 1 1:08

Yeah , taxi Driver is on . Pretty much every film you need to see before you die list Films that everyone has seen . When you scroll through the letterbox , everyone talks about Taxi Driver and obviously mentions Martin Scorsese .

Speaker 1 1:25

Now we've done a Martin Scorsese film here on the series , which , of course , was Goodfellas , one of my favorite films of all time . Eric did enjoy it , but not as much as I did . So we're revisiting the Martin Scorsese film and I know for a lot of people that can be a bit of a mixed bag , so very interested to see how this film you know how we felt about this film because I want to speak very carefully about this and how I arrived at my score and it's going to be an interesting conversation regardless , Eric , because this is a very , I think , polarizing movie . The farther away we've gotten from 1976 , which is when it came out , and traditionally are older films than us is a very , I think , polarizing movie . The farther away we've gotten from 1976 , which is when it came out , and traditionally older films and us don't vibe with the best . So we'll see how it goes .

Speaker 2 2:16

Yeah , yeah , god forbid that one of us maybe didn't enjoy it as much as the other , or maybe didn't enjoy it as much as people in general , so you gotta stick around to find out which one of us , which one of us , is gonna be . Um , it's me , no , and listen , we're we're going to like it's .

Speaker 1 2:35

I get it . I totally get it , because I am there as well for probably half of this , and it's not like a . It's not even like a half one and half two , it's a . I like bits and pieces of this .

Speaker 2 2:47

Didn't like any of that .

Speaker 1 2:49

I like bits and pieces of that , so it's a really strange conversation . So let's , let's just start from the beginning . Let's go with the synopsis first , once again . Taxi driver in 1976 , directed by barton scorsese . On every street in every city , there's nobody who dreams of being somebody . Mentally unstable vietnam war veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in new york city where the perceived decadence and sleaze need his urge for violent action . So first off , eric , it's crazy we didn't see this before . Watching this and then think , like this is the Joker . Did he do anything original in that ?

Speaker 2 3:26

first movie Between this and another movie we haven't seen that is referenced . That is also a De Niro and Scorsese film . The King of Comedy is brought up a lot .

Speaker 2 3:39

Did Todd Phillips do anything original ? Respectfully from what I've seen clips of from that film and now watching Taxi Driver , I get the complaints . It's going to be tough to hear my opinion and also know that , despite the fact that this movie in mine and everybody's eyes , joker has fallen off a bit with time and aging , I still like it as a film . I still can't deny that I enjoyed Joker . So I'm just going to have to live with the fact that I know that Joker is a clear ripoff of now these two films , one of which we've seen and one of which that I didn't enjoy nearly as much . So I'm putting that precursor out there . You can save your comments . I get it . I can't defend myself .

Speaker 1 4:26

Yep , this is very much a film bro movie . It's a film that is for people who have studied this craft , who understand the meaning of shots that we cannot comprehend , and that is okay . So I want to start off by saying this is not going to be like our typical episode . We cannot go here's the good , here's the bad . It's just not structured that way . It's just impossible .

Speaker 1 4:52

So this film is not for everyone , and if you're not going to really dive into , or if you have no understanding of , kind of specifically when it comes to , like , displaced veterans , if that's not a thing that you're really entrenched in or have an understanding for , then you're really goingrenched in or have an understanding for then you're really going to just break this down to a film of a guy who is just lonely and probably mentally ill , who becomes very , very violent over time , and you'll just think about how much of a . So that is why I couldn't , I wouldn't be able to recommend this to anybody and I'll be upfront with you , eric , even though I know my score is higher , it's not a movie I want to watch again either . So this is going to make for a really complicated conversation .

Speaker 2 5:45

Yeah , and I think it's going to be important to understand where our ratings come from . I get made fun of

De Niro's Performance and Character Analysis

Speaker 2 5:50

all the time that a certain rating of mine means I don't like a movie , and I'm going to be honest , I'm around that point . We'll talk about what my actual score is because , upon sleeping on it , phil saw this today as a recording . I saw this last night as a recording . This movie is extremely fresh on our minds . On purpose , we're recording this like a month ahead as well . We're getting really ahead on our content . Congratulations to us .

Speaker 2 6:15

This is why Because we're going to need some time to craft our thoughts and also make sure that when we do these episodes , they are fresh on our mind , they're planned out and with this plan in mind , you know , let's talk about the film from top to bottom . This film is a film from the 70s , so I mean , we're going to talk openly about the plot . If you have not seen Taxi Driver , this is not the episode to find out why you should or shouldn't watch it . We're going to talk freely about it . And , phil , I do want to at least start with the biggest positive , which is Robert De Niro . Like , the performance , for what the character is is excellent , like Robert De Niro . You talking to me .

Speaker 1 6:57

I didn't know . That's what this was from .

Speaker 2 6:59

I didn't either I didn't know , I knew it was a pop culture moment . I've seen De Niro with the mohawk and I've seen that clip , so again , it was really fun to watch . In that aspect , it's a lot of everything else .

Speaker 1 7:15

It's a lot of everything else with this movie that I have . Probably . It was crazy seeing him that shredded too . I didn't , I did not . I was not familiar with robert de niro's game . Yeah , for sure . For sure I didn't know he was ever that , that big . So yeah , goodfellas come out that was 1990 , so it's like 14 years later , so he was already like older and established .

Speaker 2 7:34

So , like I never knew , he looked like that yeah , and I mean he was pairing with scorsese the way leo is now like he was pairing with scorsese a lot back in that time frame . Uh , it's crazy to see , crazy to see . But yeah , I mean like , ultimately , what it comes down to for me is just the movie really hinges on De Niro's performance , which is why I think a lot of people like it so much . Jodie Foster is also in this and for what we do get out of her , not bad . I mean she's 12 in this movie , so there's that as well . Outside of that film I really can't like name any other standout performances and at times I don't even know if I like the dialogue very much . So I don't really have a lot positive to say . But my score is going to reflect very focused on De Niro's performance and how his performance at least kept me interested somewhat throughout the film .

Speaker 1 8:29

Yeah , and I very intentionally wore this shirt for this episode Because I know this character . When it comes to Travis , there are a lot of comparisons when it comes to , you know , the main character of American Psycho , and there is a reason not Patrick Bateman . There's a reason like why I don't go parading , that I'm a fan of Patrick Bateman and I'm not a fan of Patrick Bateman and the things that he does . I'm a fan in Christian Bale's performance of Patrick Bateman and I think there are a lot of people that feel the same way about Travis Bickle . And actually I know that a lot of people feel the same way because I did a little bit of a deep dive and watched some videos and it's . There are plenty of comments of people saying that they understand how Travis feels , they relate to him , but I also saw , you know , the more encouraging comments were like I related to this person and I saw the problem in that .

Speaker 1 9:28

So this film is very much one I think is incredibly relevant today .

Speaker 1 9:32

So I would recommend it to a specific audience in hope that they learn something positive , not that they find Travis Bickle some sort of hero or idol .

Speaker 1 9:43

That , I think , is what makes this maybe a little bit of a dangerous watch in 2025 , knowing where we stand now and listen . There are a lot more people that are way more , way , way more predative to talk about something like this than we are , but we can talk about it from a standpoint that we are men and that we do know that there is a mental health crisis when it comes to just being open about your feelings and feeling lonely and I already alluded to you know , being a veteran and I'm from a military family and how those people are displaced . There's a lot of themes going on here that are very uncomfortable

The Ethics of Travis Bickle

Speaker 1 10:15

and lead to an uncomfortable place , and I can see how , like in the story that Scorsese grabbed when they got there but , eric , there's just a lot of nothing going on . Like in between it's like a lot of nothing , but there is something there . You know it's fucking polarizing , it's all over the place .

Speaker 2 10:32

I don't know , polarizing is a word that you could use . Listen , if you relate to this movie , I do think there is a problem . I do think , if you relate to this movie at all , really it is kind of an issue , because I don't want to be the guy that's like this movie , spreading this type of propaganda and trying to make things happen . But this movie did also inspire a real-life assassination . You know what I mean . I mean and like that's not surprising and I hate to keep bringing up joker , but because that movie is essentially a ripoff of this one and people complain about it in the same way . I don't think joker did that . I didn't feel that way .

Speaker 2 11:10

In joker personally , a lot of similar beats happened , but I thought more was fleshed out as to the whys of the character and some of the background of the character . Also , having the Joker IP worked for me In that movie . So again , it's a different situation . In that sense I can only judge this character based off of what the film gave us and like this character is kind of treated like a martyr by the end , a little bit right , like I just don't know how you see the end of the movie Like Joker but that's what I mean by Joker had the IP behind it .

Speaker 1 11:44

Right If you put him in a mask and you put him in paint and you add Gotham City instead of New York City .

Speaker 2 11:52

we're looking at this differently Because he's playing a villain . This is a real person , a real person who's just kind of an evil , crazy piece of shit . Mental health aside , that is what is happening here . This person's a bad person and there's no redeemable qualities at all . You think there is with the 12 year old hooker , but not really Not . When you kind of dig a little bit through and you kind of see are your intentions that pure ? Are you really the savior here ? It doesn't really feel like that's the case . So there were a lot of moral things that took me out of the movie .

Speaker 2 12:28

And for a film like this , if the score is amazing which I know some people are going to say it is I don't think it is . I think sometimes it was a little bit too cheesy , like a little over the top . In moments , the violence moments were a little over the top . The score at times was good , great even , and then also over the top . And then the cinematography I don't think is anything to write home about .

Speaker 2 12:55

It's hard to say that , though , for a movie that came out in the 70s . So I'm trying to respect the time . I don't want to say I love Scorsese as a director , because I think when I go over movies I've seen . I very half and half . I'm a little iffy on his movies compared to other people but , like I guess I just expected more with the name attached to it and I thought that that would carry the gaps of this movie to where , even if I didn't morally like the character or the way the plot was going , I could at least , as a film bro , look at the movie objectively and say , oh yeah , but it was like perfectly crafted . Did you feel that way , phil ? How did you feel about the other filmmaking elements that we typically talk about when it comes to Taxi Driver ?

Speaker 1 13:39

I definitely like the score more than you , but it's also something like you said , like I mentioned earlier , that I don't really have the intent of going back to . I am always going to be a fan of New York City as a character itself , just because there are so many different ways to explore New York , or still , even all this time later , it's still very much this kind of like magical place for so many different people from all different walks of life to life together . And I think anytime that that is done properly and I think it was done pretty well here I am going to be a fan of it . And also , like this is tough for me because really I'm viewing this to the lens of is this going to be as good or nearly as good as Goodfellas , which is never really in like when it comes to any film . It's not really fair , but when it comes to comparing Scorsese , then yeah , I think I should , probably I should be able to expect is this as good as Goodfellas , or at least close to it ? And it certainly was not . So the other parts of this , you know , that are being explored .

Speaker 1 14:41

That kind of did speak to me , was finding some sort of feeling like your work doesn't matter , or feeling like you're in a job where you're literally in his case , in Travis's case , just driving around in circles and also having to spend time with people that he hates . He hates everyone . So , like you said , like there is no , there's no redemption , there's no redeeming quality to Travis Bickle . There's no redeeming quality to Travis Bickle . And I do agree that if , especially now and where we are at currently , just society-wise , if you find some sort of solace in this character , that's a problem man .

Speaker 1 15:18

That is an issue that you need to look into . So that's why I hope that if somebody were to watch this for the first time all these years later , like we did , did we're able to identify those issues . So it's a really interesting discussion . I really would love to break this down with somebody that has like an understanding of these old movies , because for us , like we have talked about , it's been a mixed bag and I want to be able to understand these films better than surface level , without necessarily having to do a new type . That would be nice , but , yeah , it would be very selective as far as who I would say who I would suggest this to in a modern day watch .

Speaker 2 16:05

I'd agree with that . This is where my rating is going to get a little weird , because I typically will rate it would be a particular rating if I still think that someone should make their own opinion about it . I think this is a movie catered to a certain people . You know . If you felt related to this film or this character or this plot , I can understand that . But , like film , the reason I didn't really have any like feeling like that , I think is because there wasn't enough of a how we got here . Like we just are , the actions are just being taken . Like you're saying , he didn't like the people he worked with , he didn't like his job . Okay , well , the solution to that was to buy a bunch of guns and try to , you know , sweep away a child , like that's , and take , take a girl who for some reason was interested in you to a porno . Like that's what we got . And like I just felt like there wasn't enough investment for me to be able to relate with the character , enough to justify the actions . So

Scorsese's Filmmaking Techniques Debated

Speaker 2 17:07

again , I feel like I in the minority here .

Speaker 2 17:11

I think this is a movie in a time capsule and if you've watched it in that time capsule and it meant a lot to you , for whatever reason . Right , maybe it is of its time , cinematically great , but as someone in his 30s , going back back to watch it from 2025 to when this was released , it just wasn't my thing . It just wasn't my thing . I don't know how else to explain it . If you were 30 when this movie came out and , for some reason , you're of the age that you're listening to this podcast , then you might you might be able to tell me off , but otherwise I need to hear from another 30-ish year old person in 2025 who just saw it this year to understand me . I don't know how else to say that .

Speaker 1 17:59

Yeah , it's weird , man , because my score is going to reflect positively .

Speaker 1 18:15

My score is going to reflect positively because , like I said , I did find value in the themes and value in watching the film and it being kind of used as especially with Travis Bimble specifically being used as an example of why we need to do better and where the problem lies in a lot of things , specifically when it comes to mental health , we've had the benefits and the extreme blessing of having people in our life , specifically a lot of very strong women who have encouraged us to be open , and this is the opposite of that . This is what happens when there's a very toxic attitude going on , not towards just women , but just society in general . So , again , a lot more qualified people to discuss that than us here . But still , this is what the series is all about Just visiting these films that people hold in this high regard and kind of try and get an understanding of , like , what is it that draws the big-time film junkie to a movie . So I see I understand why this is on some of those lists but , like I said , not something I'm going to be visiting anytime soon .

Speaker 1 19:16

Eric , are you ready ? We can jump into scores ? Ours are . I know it's probably not surprising that they're pretty high when it comes to a film people think you should see before you die .

Speaker 2 19:31

No , not at all .

Speaker 2 19:31

No , let's get to our scores and then , I think , what we're going to do for this particular film . Uh , we typically talk about similar films , so we will do that here today , but I also will just bring up martin scorsese's filmography and deniro Niro , but I think together they're kind of they're going to be kind of crossing a little bit as far as similar films , and I want to see like which ones we like , which ones we don't . So you can maybe get an idea of like where Phil Scorsese experiences , where mine is , I think , with Scorsese specifically , you have to watch multiple films of his filmography , which we have I don't want to say it's a lot , but we have and I think , based off of those films that you've seen , maybe you'll have a better understanding of where each of us are coming from . I don't know if that'll help . That's like my last ditch effort to not be completely shit on , in my opinion , which is happening more and more these days . But , phil , yeah , I'll do that after we go over the reception of this film and then our scores .

Speaker 1 20:32

Yeah . So let's start off with the Rotten Tomatoes 89% certified fresh tomato meter score . 93% popcorn meter score when it comes . Oh , we wanted to bring up IMDB . Hold on a second Taxi driver IMDB . Let's see . Here it has an 8.2 , god , that is high IMDB . And over on Letterboxd no surprise there , a 4.1 out of 5 rating on Letterboxd .

Speaker 1 21:01

For me I gave this a 3.5 , it started off as a 3 , I moved it up just a little bit after doing a little bit of a deep dive . Moved it up just a little bit after doing a little bit of a deep dive into it and getting a better understanding of the themes and also re-watching some scenes as well under a different lens . You shouldn't have to do that for a movie . I don't admit that . But I gave it a three and a half because I do feel like , again , a lot of the things that were discussed in , that were mentioned here , did resonate with a lot of stuff that's going on now and a lot of stuff that you know I think a lot of people have thought about when it comes to just where they fit in in terms of all of this . So three and a half for me .

Speaker 2 21:36

Eric richland

Scores and Reception Breakdown

Speaker 2 21:37

yeah , so I have been accused of this thing that I do not like out of three . I did yesterday put it in a three on first watch , but it's not about liking the movie in a three . I'm going to put this out there now and every time I have to give a movie any reviewer's fucking rating . For my brother it's not that I don't like a movie or like a movie . It's objectively out of three whether or not I liked it . I obviously didn't like it enough to give it a higher score . I didn't dislike it enough to give it a lower score Objectively .

Speaker 2 22:18

I can understand why someone would like this movie . I can figure it out in my brain , the way my brain works . You can like this movie La La Land , totally different movie but I gotta use it . I get why you like it . I get why other people like it . I get why it was nominated for an Oscar . I get why you like it . I get why other people like it . I get why it was nominated for an Oscar .

Speaker 2 22:36

I get that I did not enjoy them . I have a lot of things against it , but I do know the cinematography is very good . I do know that the choreography is very good . Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling while I didn't like their chemistry in that , more than like Crazy Stupid Love , their chemistry is unbelievable .

Speaker 2 22:52

There are things I can call out . There are things I can call out a lot of things that I can say objectively , I don't feel that with this movie and that's not to say that my opinion , my subjective opinion here makes it objective . But because I can get like if somebody said this is a perfectly filmed like you probably have more experience than me I had to take my personal feelings into play a little bit more on how I felt about this film and all that to say my final score I'm giving little bit more on how I felt about this film and all that to say my final score I'm giving it is a two and a half . I couldn't quite give it a three because while I could understand where you're coming from , like you could recommend this to the right person , I don't see very much redeemable about this movie and we've had harsh opinions before . If you've been with the podcast , you know our Akira or Akira opinions .

Speaker 2 23:41

We know that movie was generational the Shining we're infamous for . We know that movie is generational . I can say objectively that I get why people like those movies too , but there's something extra behind it that made me dislike the movie to a point that I'm pushing that objectivity to the side , and that's . My score is a two and a half , though Down from a three yesterday . I slept on it and I not only have no desire to not see this movie . I also have no desire to talk to anybody about this movie .

Speaker 1 24:13

if I'm being honest , talking about this movie , if I'm being honest , and a lot of the scores that are closer to where you have it are newer , are from like 2020 on , and I think that speaks volumes . Even a person who also gave it a three and a half was this is let's see , this is a . This is a very scientific view , this the movie y'all constantly nutting over , so that kind of gives you an idea of how people were feeling .

Speaker 2 24:45

I did read a couple reviews that stood out to me . This guy said the score and the cinematography were excellent , but the rest I don't know . I truly wish I liked this more than I did . You want to be a film pro , so bad , but it's just not working out . He gave that a 3.5 . Someone gave this a 4 , but their comment was Paddington 2 was out on DVD .

Speaker 1 25:03

I saw that one . Here's one , I think , that probably aligns with this . It's a 2.5 . We get it , it's objectively good , but I had absolutely no interest in Travis as a character and no interest in the thriller as a progress . I think men are so boring today .

Speaker 2 25:21

One star review At this point . I think you all forced yourselves into liking this , because what the fuck that's ?

Speaker 1 25:27

the review yeah , the most poignant one from 2021 , a half star . I don't ever want to be anywhere near men who claim this as their favorite movie , so there you go Same yeah . Same Red flags galore .

Speaker 2 25:43

Yeah , it's unfortunate . You know I'm open to listening to people why they like it , but like I am going to judge you a little bit as a person , so again , that's where my rating came in . I think it would depend on why you enjoy it for me .

Speaker 1 25:56

If someone comes to me and be like that Travis guy man . They're like rubbing their hands together like plankton , Get away from me , man , Back up man . But again , if you enjoy it , I didn't laugh , I didn't laugh . But anyway , let's talk about some Scorsese films . Eric , and also De Niro , what do you got ?

Speaker 2 26:19

Yeah , so sticking with Scorsese to start , obviously so these are the highest average ratings on Letterboxd of movies , some of which I know you've seen , some of which I've seen , and we'll kind of do a little mini more like this to start , like , if you've seen it , let me know if you like this better . And we'll kind of do a little mini more like this to start , like if you've seen it , let me know if you like this better . You , fellas , obviously I already know you like that one . That's like one of your favorite films of all time . The Departed is a movie that we've wanted to watch . It is on our list . The King of Comedy I have wanted to watch that . I have wanted to watch that Raging Bull , another De Niro film from Scorsese , I've wanted to watch that . The Last Waltz I've never seen that . Casino . That seems like something you would have watched . I haven't seen that . No , no , shutter Island I did watch that , yeah .

Speaker 1 27:10

I enjoyed that . Shutter Island is mentally just a chore , but I would watch Shutter Island . Truthfully , I wouldn't watch either one if I had a choice , that's crazy , but if I had to go . Well , no , just because of how fucked up Shutter Island is , you've got to be in a mood , but I would certainly watch Shutter Island first . Yeah , it's understandable .

Speaker 2 27:36

There's After Hours which I have not seen . George Harrison , living in the material world , haven't seen that . Killings of the Flower Moon . My voyage to Italy for Kevin's City . It's Wolf of Wall Street . I enjoy that film . Phil has not seen it . I own it , that's crazy Goodwill baby .

Speaker 2 27:58

I just named a ton of movies have you seen ? I have not , okay . So the real question is like again , I've only seen a few scorsese films and the other ones that I have seen goodfellas , shutter island , wall street I do like them . They're positive sports . I didn't like this one . Phil , it seems like you might not have as much Scorsese view as I thought I really don't .

Speaker 1 28:21

I thought I , yeah , really , when looking at these . They're all films that like , like , remember we wanted to see Killers of the Flower of the Year in 2020 , but we just never got to . And it's also , isn't it ? Also , three hours long . So , yeah , that's true .

Speaker 2 28:42

Yeah , but no . So that's Scorsese's filmography . Again , I don't claim to have watched a lot of his films , and that's what I'm saying . I think we have to know how much of someone's Scorsese viewing they've seen , because maybe I don't have an appreciation for his filmmaking , maybe I need to see more films . But , phil , obviously the Godfather comes up with Robert De Niro . You have Goodfellas . I remember watching Heat like way back in the day , I don't know . I heard it was good . I think it was good . It wasn't anything that left an impression on me , it's got a 4.3 .

Speaker 2 29:16

Yeah , these are the highest average ratings on his movies that I think we might have seen or heard of Once Upon a Time in America

Comparing with Other Scorsese Films

Speaker 2 29:23

. I didn't see that . The Deer Hunter , A Bronx Tale yeah , a lot of films here . I don't think that we have seen either Silver Linings I we have seen Silver Linings .

Speaker 1 29:34

I mean he's a supporting character in Silver Linings .

Speaker 2 29:36

Yeah , maybe if I change it to popularity , obviously Joker as well , jackie Brown , I haven't seen American . Hustle Stop . It is the out of popular films on Letterboxd . It is the 14th film .

Speaker 1 29:50

That's upsetting . I don't want to talk about it anymore .

Speaker 2 29:55

I didn't see .

Speaker 1 29:56

American Hustle , but he's in that Limitless Meet the Fockers . Why'd you skip the Intern ? The Intern's a good movie . I've seen an eighth of it on TikTok .

Speaker 2 30:11

It's Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro . It's also funny because I brought this up with my brother who recently ranked a bunch of movies and I was like , hey , is your algorithm the same as mine ? Because I definitely have seen those like , yet that's why I watched them . So I'm sure he'll have opinions on the intern as well . There are more De Niro movies that I've seen . I've definitely seen way more De Niro . I've seen Analyze this .

Speaker 1 30:34

Did you see Dirty Grandpa ? I'm tired of this grandpa . I forgot he's in Machete .

Speaker 2 30:40

I did too , but anyway , yeah , I've definitely seen him in more films , but out of popular or highest ranked , there are definitely more that we could have seen . When we talk about similar films to Taxi Driver , I'm going to name off a couple films , phil , that you've either heard of or I know you have watched . So would you rather watch this or Joker ? We're just going to start with the easy one , joker . Okay .

Speaker 1 31:08

Have you seen Fight Club ? No , no , it's very upset because it's like one of her favorite movies .

Speaker 2 31:13

Yeah , more people are going to get upset with you as well . Yeah , I would prefer Fight Club no Country for Old Men . I would prefer . Fight Club , no Country for Old Men , I would prefer . I don't believe you have seen it , but you have seen American Psycho .

Speaker 1 31:23

Oh , american Psycho , Absolutely American Psycho . Could you imagine if I said Taxi Driver ?

Speaker 2 31:31

That would have been crazy Taxi Driver or the Dark Knight .

Speaker 1 31:36

Eric , come on , keep moving .

Speaker 2 31:39

You haven't seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood . I personally enjoyed that a little bit more than this . I'm worried . Drive with Ryan Gosling 2011 .

Speaker 1 31:48

We haven't seen that one . We talked about it , didn't we do ? On this ? Yeah , but you would already see it . Yeah , I've seen it .

Speaker 2 31:57

Did you ever watch the uh the machinist with christian bale where he gets like really scared ? I already have not , I know you're talking about that ?

Speaker 1 32:04

yeah , I enjoyed that . Uh , scarface , scarface is stupid , but it's a fun time , man that's really it that I think you might have seen .

Speaker 2 32:13

I'm gonna go to imdb and see what is here . I will say , in this area , I feel like I do have a little bit more human experience than you do . Django Unchained Did we talk about that ? I haven't seen it . No , I haven't seen Django .

Speaker 1 32:26

Would you prefer Django ? Yeah , but like by default . I mean Django is another one of those I don't think is made .

Speaker 2 32:39

I I mean Django is another one of those I don't think is made . That's still like . I think Leo's probably still iconic . Yeah , that's pretty much it , phil . If we want to talk about that , one was all over the place . Sorry guys , we kind of had a little wrinkle there . Next time we'll be more organized . But I will tell you that where this film ranks in my late to the party list is at 29 out of 35 . Ranked on Letterboxd . It is behind Tucker and Dale vs Evil , which objectively is not better than Taxi Driver . I get that , but I did rank that at a three . And then the Menu , which is a movie that I was more disappointed in .

Speaker 1 33:12

Yeah , we are in the minority for the Menu , for sure .

Speaker 2 33:16

Maybe upon a rewatch I'd give it a three . So again , the bottom of my list other than Lego Ninjago is questionable , is questionable . I will read the bottom of my list from 29 . Taxi Driver , the menu , akira , scott Pilgrim vs the World , shin , godzilla and the Shining . Objectively I understand that , subjectively I hate them .

Speaker 1 33:40

Lego Ninjago why the fuck is that here ?

Speaker 2 33:43

That is a bad movie . Yeah , Bill . Where did it end up on your list ?

Speaker 1 33:49

It's number 22 for me , right behind the Adventures of Tintin and in front of Spirited . It is also before Tucker and Dale vs Evil , so yeah , but is also before tucker and dale versus evil , so yeah , but I also gave it , you know , higher score , so yeah , number 22

Final Thoughts and Episode Wrap-up

Speaker 1 34:02

for me .

Speaker 2 34:03

So that's where we all landed , guys , and um , that's really all I have to say on the matter . Like I , I don't think this is going to turn out very well for me , but it is what it is . This is what I'm going to just say . Even if I was to re-watch it , I don't know that I'd enjoy it any better . I do think it's a little bit of a slog to get through . I'm glad that I watched it for the sake that this is one of those all-time classic films that people bring up and I can say I have watched it , but I'm dreading that I then have to follow up . I've watched it with .

Speaker 1 34:36

I didn't make it if you were going to recommend a Scorsese film , like if you were a big time Scorsese fan and you were to recommend this before some of the others . That would seem questionable , like there's . There's so many more on this list that I feel like I would enjoy more aside from the ones I've already seen . So you know , that would be an interesting security tip For sure .

Speaker 2 35:06

And maybe a little telling about you .

Speaker 1 35:09

We don't normally judge , but we will . That's what we think . But , yeah , hey , everyone . Thanks for joining us for this episode of Late to the Party .

Speaker 1 35:16

If you'd like to find any of the rest of this series , make sure you check the link in the show notes of this and each and every episode . You can keep up with us a few different ways . You can head on over to all of our primary social media pages , which include Instagram , TikTok , our growing Discord page . We do upload videos over on YouTube and we are streaming a lot over on Twitch , which has been a whole lot of fun , and we're planning on doing even more over there . If you want to support the show , you can tag us on social media , let us know that you're listening , let other people know that you're listening and head over to Apple Podcasts and Spotify . They'll give us those five-star reviews . All of that is so beneficial to the life of the podcast and gets more eyes on the show as well . But if you're finding yourself wanting to maybe have a few more perks when it comes to the show and become one of our infamous Weight Watchers here , we'll let you know about that before closing us out .

Speaker 2 36:07

Yeah so maybe you didn't like our take on Taxi Driver , but there might be another film out there that you really like and you want to support . Support the show because I don't know you like our personalities or something . You can go do that on a platform like Patreon , where patrons of the show are supporting us every single month with their subscriptions . Shout out to Breyer , stefan T3Kato , vintage Macaroni , corey from the World is my Burrito , and Nick Casbarro , the author of the Vidalarium series , who is the previous episode to this podcast . Make sure to check that out . All of them .

Speaker 2 36:41

Your support is much appreciated and if you want to join them for behind the scenes or early access to episodes like this one plus much more , make sure to check out our Patreon and support us there . But all the free stuff works too . To check out our Patreon and support us there . But all the free stuff works too Joining our Discord , visiting us on a stream , liking our comments , commenting , listens , engagement , etc . Etc . All of that much appreciated . With that all being said , 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 and all you have to do is wait for it .

Speaker 1 37:18

So I heard you're looking for a go-to source for entertainment . Wait for it Gaming . Wait for it Anime Plus , ultra . Mr Eric Almighty and Phil the Filipino yeah , they've got you covered and all you got to do is wait for it . This is the Wait For it Podcast .