Stinky Pop: Election Day Bonus Episode!

Summary

Tales from the Stinky Dragon: "Stinky Pop: Election Day Bonus Episode!"

Release Date: November 5, 2024
Host: Stinky Dragon
Episode Type: Bonus Episode
Description: In this special Election Day bonus episode of "Stinky Pop," the hosts Barb, Gus, and John take a deep dive into their favorite films and TV shows from the past month. They also share their least favorite watches, providing listeners with a well-rounded perspective on the latest in pop culture. Packed with insightful discussions, humorous banter, and personal anecdotes, this episode is a must-listen for both avid and casual pop culture enthusiasts.

---

1. Introduction to "Stinky Pop"

Gus kicks off the episode by explaining the essence of "Stinky Pop," highlighting its creation as a companion to "Tales from the Stinky Dragon." He humorously attributes the show's existence to their Patreon supporters.

Gus [02:06]: "We make so many pop culture references and tales from Sneaky Dragon, I figured we need a pop culture show to accompany it."

John and Barb join, setting the stage for an engaging discussion about their favorite and least favorite media from October.

---

2. Favorite Films and TV Shows

a. "Sleep" - A Korean Horror Film

John introduces "Sleep," a Korean horror film starring Lee Sun Kyun and Jung Yoo Mi. He praises the film's universal themes and compelling performances, especially highlighting Jung Yoo Mi's dramatic range.

John [04:40]: "A young expectant wife must figure out how to stop her husband's nightmarish sleepwalking habits before he harms himself or his family."

Barb relates a personal anecdote about witnessing sleepwalking, enhancing the conversation's depth.

Barb [05:08]: "I saw a video on TikTok... it's actually really scary that I was doing that."

The group rates the film 3.75 Stinkies, noting its unsettling atmosphere without being overwhelmingly frightening.

John [09:21]: "I'd probably give sleep. That's a. That's tough. Between three and a half and four. 3.75 stinkies."

b. "Only Murders in the Building" Season 4

Barb shares her enthusiasm for the latest season of "Only Murders in the Building," praising its star-studded cast and intricate murder mystery elements.

Barb [10:41]: "This is probably the most stacked show I've ever seen on television... Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep..."

John echoes her sentiments, expressing his admiration for the show's consistent quality and anticipation for future seasons.

c. "Robot Dreams" - An Animated Film

Gus introduces "Robot Dreams," an animated film from Spain and France, lauding its heartfelt storytelling and vivid animation. He recommends it as a palate cleanser from heavier content.

Gus [13:11]: "It's just an enjoyable heartfelt and warming watch. Like if you ever in the mood... it's so delightful."

Barb appreciates the film's emotional depth, comparing it to Pixar shorts.

Barb [15:07]: "I saw like the Pixar shorts that they have play before a movie... I could see how someone would accomplish that through animation."

d. "Daughters" - A Documentary

John discusses "Daughters," a Netflix documentary focusing on a program that organizes dance events for daughters with incarcerated fathers. He underscores its emotional impact and critique of the failing system.

John [16:11]: "It's a heartbreaking movie... the story and their stories are so compelling."

Gus emphasizes the importance of such documentaries in raising awareness about societal issues.

Gus [22:36]: "It's good for us to learn about how our country works and to know about these kind of programs."

e. "Fly Me to the Moon" and "Blink Twice"

Barb reviews "Fly Me to the Moon," praising its marketing-focused storyline and Channing Tatum's performance. She contrasts it with "Blink Twice," a rated R psychological thriller she found engaging yet intense.

Barb [23:18]: "It was about the moon landing and the marketing around the moon... very entertaining."

Barb [24:43]: "Blink Twice... uncomfortable with a big twist and a review."

---

3. Upcoming and Highly Anticipated Shows

a. "Squid Game" Season 2

Barb expresses excitement for the second season of "Squid Game," while Gus and John share their curiosity about its direction and potential plot twists.

Barb [42:30]: "There's going to be a second season of Squid Game."

John [43:02]: "Why would the guy who did the Squid games go back and do it again?"

b. "Severance" Season 2

The hosts discuss the long-awaited second season of "Severance," touching on production delays and budget concerns.

John [44:26]: "200 million dollar budget for severance season two."

Gus [45:11]: "Is that why it took so long?"

c. "Ghost in the Shell" Anime

John shares his excitement for the upcoming "Ghost in the Shell" anime, praising the original series' influence on modern sci-fi.

John [56:32]: "Ghost in the Shell is one of my all-time top favorite movies... it has inspired just about every sci-fi, cyberpunk thing that has come after it."

---

4. Least Favorite Watches

a. "Beetlejuice 2"

Barb critiques "Beetlejuice 2," expressing disappointment due to an overcomplicated plot and unnecessary characters. She feels the sequel fails to capture the charm of the original.

Barb [35:38]: "It could have been much stronger if you took away... three out of the 10 plot points."

b. "Joker: Fully Ado" and "Borderlands"

Gus laments his experience with "Joker: Fully Ado," finding it underwhelming despite Lady Gaga's involvement. He further criticizes "Borderlands" as a poorly executed video game adaptation.

Gus [59:25]: "It's not a good musical and it doesn't like that it's a musical... every time it does, by the end of the movie, you're like, not another song."

Gus [60:32]: "It's probably the worst video game film ever, in my opinion."

---

5. Additional Recommendations and Insights

a. "Mars Express" - A French Sci-Fi Film

Gus introduces "Mars Express," a French sci-fi film available on Apple TV. He praises its world-building, compelling storyline, and visual design, recommending it to fans of thoughtful science fiction.

Gus [52:10]: "It's set in the future where AI has taken over most jobs... the main character's past lives intertwine in fascinating ways."

b. YouTube Channel "Kara and Nate"

Barb recommends the travel vlog YouTube channel "Kara and Nate," highlighting their adventurous spirit and high-quality content as perfect for viewers seeking positive escapism.

Barb [50:53]: "They make great content and it's really good, like living vicariously through other people as they experience different things."

---

6. Concluding Remarks

As the episode nears its end, the hosts encourage listeners to visit their Patreon for exclusive content and to support "Tales from the Stinky Dragon."

John [63:10]: "That's stinkydragonpod.com."

Barb [63:23]: "Thank you for doing your patriotic duty of making your voice heard."

They wrap up with light-hearted banter about voting and gratitude towards their audience, ensuring listeners feel appreciated and informed.

---

Notable Quotes

• Gus [02:06]: "We make so many pop culture references and tales from Sneaky Dragon, I figured we need a pop culture show to accompany it."
• John [09:21]: "I'd probably give sleep. That's a. That's tough. Between three and a half and four. 3.75 stinkies."
• Barb [10:41]: "This is probably the most stacked show I've ever seen on television... Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep..."
• Gus [63:24]: "Thanks, y'all."
• Barb [63:23]: "Thank you for doing your patriotic duty of making your voice heard."

---

Final Thoughts

"Stinky Pop: Election Day Bonus Episode!" offers a comprehensive and entertaining overview of recent films and TV shows, balancing praise with constructive criticism. The hosts' dynamic chemistry, coupled with their diverse tastes, provides listeners with valuable insights and recommendations. Whether you're seeking your next favorite watch or looking to avoid certain pitfalls, this episode serves as a perfect guide to navigating the current pop culture landscape.

For more detailed discussions and exclusive content, visit stinkydragonpod.com and become a Patreon supporter.

Transcript

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[Barb]

Nah, not quite. What's up?

[Gus]

Sell my car in Carvana.

[John]

It's just not quite the right time.

[Barb]

Crazy coincidence. I just sold my car to Carvana.

[John]

What? I told you about it two days ago.

[Barb]

When you know, you know, you know. I'm even dropping it off at one of those sweet car vending machines and getting paid today.

[John]

That's a good deal.

[Barb]

Oh, great deal. Come on, what's your heart saying?

[John]

You're right. When you know, you know. Sold. Whether you're looking to sell your car.

[Barb]

Right now or just whenever feels right.

[John]

Go to Carvana.com and sell your car the convenient way. Terms and conditions apply. Hello, Dr. Gustavo Cirola here. Have you ever finished an episode of Tales from the Stinky Dragon and become saddened that there's just not enough Dungeons and Dragons in your life? Well, I have the cure for you. It's called behind the Screen and it's an exclusive show for our Patreon supporters who suffer from D and D deficiency. In behind the Screen, we take a behind the scenes look at DMing, homebrewing and writing campaigns. Just go to stinkydragonpod.com to support our show and receive your prescription of behind the Screen today. Once again, that's stinkydragonpod.com may cause diarrhea.

[Gus]

Welcome to Stinky Pop. We make so many pop culture references and tales from Sneaky Dragon, I figured we need a pop culture show to accompany it. But it's only here for and because of our direct supporters on Patreon. So from the bottom of my heart, this is all their fault and I hope they're happy with themselves. Today is an extra special episode. This is a bonus episode of Stinky Pop for everyone to enjoy and use as a distraction for Whatever could be going on while you're listening to this on November 5, 2024? Are you in line for a very important responsibility? Are you at home looking for alternatives to doom scrolling? Well, good news. I've invited Barb and Gus to come talk through a little post October wrap up. And we're going to talk through our favorite film or TV from this month. And as a bonus, if you listen to the whole episode at the end, we're going to talk about the very worst single thing we watched this last month as well. Oh, hello Barb and Gus.

[John]

Hello.

[Barb]

Hello.

[John]

I think right now we are all probably recording an episode of Campaign 3 of Stinky Dragon.

[Barb]

Oh yeah, like currently. Like on the day November 5th.

[Gus]

You mean while people are listening. You broke my brain. While people are listening to this. If they listen to this tomorrow.

[John]

No, you said while whatever you're doing on November 5, 2024. And that's what I'm doing.

[Gus]

So you're gonna listen to this episode while we record canon.

[John]

I can distract. I'm not very busy when we do those recordings. I've got time.

[Gus]

Well, since you're our resident senior movie enthusiast. Oh, sir, Gus is kind of our senior everything. Cause we get to make fun of the fact that he's the oldest one of us. What? And why don't you start us off? I asked you guys to come with a few, you know, a small list of what you watched this last month that you can talk about to our viewers. Our listeners. Our audience. And they can catch up on some good things.

[John]

Sure. I'm gonna lead us off with a horror film I saw in October. It's actually a film I almost did with the episode with you, John. This was my alternate that I didn't end up doing because I like A Tale of Two Sisters more. There was a film that came out, or actually it might have. It might have come out earlier in the year, but I think it finally.

[Barb]

You watched it in October, right?

[John]

Watch in October because it's starting to get attention in October because it's a. It's like a scary movie. It's a. I just looked. It actually came out. It's a Korean film. It came out in Korea last year, but it's just coming out in the United States now. It's called Sleep and the.

[Gus]

What's the synopsis of it?

[John]

The synopsis. Let me pull it up. A young expectant wife must figure out how to stop her husband's nightmarish sleepwalking habits before he harms himself or his family. So it's the kind of thing where it's a married couple and then the husband starts sleepwalking and doing scary and. Or dangerous things. So it's like the horror of your partner, like, suddenly becoming evil and antagonistic.

[Barb]

To you and not being aware of it.

[John]

Right. Having no memory of it at all.

[Barb]

I saw a. Not to sway from this movie discussion too hard, but it's in the same vein. I saw a video on TikTok, of course, where this man was filming his wife because he was trying to convince her, like, hey, you've been like, getting out of bed and doing things in your sleep. And she basically was like, no, like, I don't know what you're talking about. You're lying. You're making this up. And so he filmed her one night where she was in the living room ironing all of their baby clothes and, like, being really rude to him. And then he, like, showed her the video the next day and she was like this. I'm so uncomfortable. Like, I. This is actually really scary that I was doing that. Like, operating in iron, first of all. And like, not having any awareness or like, recollection of this happening. That must be really uncomfortable to sleepwalk and not have any memory or awareness of that happening.

[John]

Yeah. Like, you see it and it's like, it's very clearly you, but you weren't like, you weren't mentally there. It wasn't you. So a couple of interesting things about this movie. One of the stars, the husband who's sleepwalking is the actor Lee Sun Kyun, who was the rich father in Parasite. And the female lead is an actress named Jung Yoo Mi. And she's great. I see her in reality TV shows, in Korean reality TV shows all the time. I think she's hilarious. She's really great. So was weird seeing her. I always associate her with, like, being quirky and funny. And this was a very serious role. So it was weird, like, to see an actual, like, her. Her. Her acting performance. Like, that's. Oh, I don't. I only know her from the reality stuff. That's always, like, super lighthearted and fun. The movie was. Was good. I think I maybe hyped it up too much for myself, actually, now that I think about it, it was playing here in Austin at Fantastic Fest, and I saw it on the schedule, which is why I looked it up and I saw that it was available to stream. So I rented it and just watched it at home streaming. And I mean, if it's the kind of thing that sounds interesting to you, you can do that as well.

[Gus]

Barb isn't a scary movie person. I learned this last month. So how. On the spookum's level, how freaky is this movie? Is it going to send Barbara into a flurry?

[Barb]

Yeah, like, on a scale from, like, Barbara to 10, where does it fall?

[John]

I would say there's probably about six spookums in it. Okay, so it's pretty spooky. It's not, like, the scariest thing ever. I think A Tale of Two Sisters was spookier. This one is just unsettling.

[Gus]

Yeah.

[John]

Yeah. And it's.

[Barb]

I don't love that either, though.

[John]

It's like, there's definitely settled and there's. There's. There's. There's stuff that happens and that they show in this film. I'm like, I wish I didn't see that, or I wish. I wish they did not explore this thread because I. I don't like that.

[Barb]

And if you're saying that I feel like you have a higher tolerance than.

[Gus]

I do, that sounds like me describing. I'm not gonna talk about it, but it sounds like me describing Smile 2. Smile 2 was just, how can we gross out the audience as much as possible with gore? Like, just really visceral, wet gore. Wet Smile 2 is rough.

[Barb]

Noted, Noted. Not that I was planning to see that.

[Gus]

No, you didn't even see Smile 1. You listed it as, like, a movie. You will never.

[Barb]

Negative man.

[John]

But like I mentioned in the Stinky Pop, where we did, you know, the. For the scary movies for A Tale of Two Sisters, like, I'm always trying to. I watch a lot of Korean film. I'm always trying to watch, like, international film. Sure. Things that are not necessarily in the English language. And this one, I think. And sometimes when you watch films from other countries, you're like, oh, there's like a cultural difference, or. I don't. I can't quite connect with the message being conveyed here. This one, I think, is very universal, very accessible. Yeah. I think, like, even if you know nothing about South Korea, like, there's nothing, like, specific to that. Well, I mean, there is a little bit. There's like, some specific cultural things, but you'll get the gist of it. There's like, some. No, I don't want to get too much into it, but yeah, there's a little bit, but it's not like it's very. It's very. You'll understand what's going on. There's not like anything roadblocking you.

[Gus]

Out of. I've decided just off the cuff. Out of five stinkies, how good is sleep?

[John]

I'd probably give sleep. That's a. That's tough. Between three and a half and four. 3.75 stinkies.

[Gus]

3.75 stinkies. Okay. So decent. Don't. Don't be expecting to be wowed, but throw it on.

[John]

It's entertaining.

[Barb]

It's kind of like if you. If you have a stinky trash and you take it out and it's like the smell kind of lingers for like a 30 minutes or so. That kind of.

[John]

I hate that.

[Gus]

Barbara, why don't you wipe the palette clean with, I'm sure, a less viscerally disturbing idea.

[Barb]

We're doing stuff we liked, right?

[Gus]

Yeah, Stuff you liked.

[Barb]

So I'm very sad in that I realized I don't think I saw a single new movie.

[Gus]

TV works too.

[Barb]

Okay. In that case, I was gonna ask. Yeah. Only Murders in the Building, season four. Oh, I just finished it with Trevor, my fiance.

[Gus]

Also, season four is already out.

[Barb]

Yeah. And finished.

[Gus]

I didn't even finish watching season three. We fell off and I just haven't gotten back to it. I keep. That's the Meryl Streep season, right?

[Barb]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Gus]

Season four is done.

[Barb]

Yeah.

[Gus]

What the heck.

[Barb]

Yeah, just. I think it finished a few days ago from the time of recording this.

[Gus]

Okay.

[Barb]

Again, like, if you've never heard of Only Murders in the Building, it's a show on Hulu that every season is a different, like, murder mystery, essentially, and.

[Gus]

Starring a bunch of unknowns.

[Barb]

Well, something I was going to say is that show is probably the most stacked show I've ever seen on television. It, like, over the course of these seasons, you have Steve Martin. Martin short, Selena Gomez, Paul Rudd, Meryl Streep, Eugene Levy.

[Gus]

Sting.

[Barb]

Sting.

[John]

Sting and Amy Schumer were both in the same.

[Gus]

Sting and Amy Schumer made like a one episode.

[Barb]

Eva Longoria, Zach Galifianakis, and there's a bunch of other cameos and other characters throughout.

[John]

What's her name? Cara Delevingne. That's her, right?

[Gus]

Cara Delevingne, Season 2.

[Barb]

And it's very well done. And I also love a good murder mystery. That's one of my favorite genres of anything, which is, I think why I liked our second campaign Groteth so much. Because it was like a murder mystery. But yeah, we just finished it. It was great. I had a great time watching it and yeah, it was okay.

[Gus]

Well, this has been very informative because I didn't realize I'm that far behind on a show I genuinely love. Because, I mean, mostly my draw was I adore Steve Martin and Martin Short.

[Barb]

Oh, yeah.

[Gus]

I worship at their comedic feet.

[Barb]

And I like Selena Gomez, too. And I don't know if it's the way that her character is, but she is very, like, a little bit, like, unemotive.

[Gus]

She's subdued.

[John]

She's subdued.

[Barb]

Very subdued in this show. And again, like, I'm not sure if that's her character or if that's her acting style, but I think. I think she plays the character very well.

[Gus]

And she's playing against Steve and Martin. Martin even more than Steve, who are playing silly characters. So she kind of plays a straight man to them a little bit.

[Barb]

Yes.

[John]

I think that show was so well received and knocked it so far out of the park in season one that they were immediately, like. The studio was like, let's get this in the production pipeline. And it's like every year now, it just comes out like clockwork. They're just banging them out. There's none of this. A lot of TV nowadays is like, oh, wait a year and a half. Wait two years for another season. And I think they are on the only murders in a building train, and they are just like, man, knocking those out.

[Barb]

Oh, yeah. And there's. I'm pretty sure gonna be another season because as every season has done it, it's ended with another murder.

[Gus]

Cliffhanger.

[Barb]

Yeah. And so, yeah, I obviously won't give anything away because I want.

[Gus]

Okay. I have to catch up. I'm probably the opposite of you, Barb. I don't watch very much TV anymore, so I'm behind on every show I want to watch every single one. But I watch all movies, and the movie I want to talk about is Robot Dreams.

[John]

I heard of that.

[Gus]

Robot Dreams was an animated film. It's directed by Pablo Burger. Hit Burger.

[Barb]

Pablo.

[Gus]

It's another international film. It is. I don't know what country. It's. Oh, Spain. Spain. It comes from Spain and then also had some animation from France. It is a animated film with no dialogue. The entire movie has no dialogue. And it tells the story in, like, 1984 Manhattan. But it's a world where it's inhabited by anthropomorphized animals. The lead character is just named Dog.

[Barb]

And it's Dog really thinking outside the box there on that one.

[Gus]

Yeah. And Dog is a lonely kind of hermit in their home, and they decide to order a robot. It's like kind of like a 1984, but futuristic. Like, robots are a thing, but they're Very like simplistic robots, but orders a robot to come be its friend. And the whole movie is a story of their first year of relationship and it goes places where they get separated at one point. It kind of has a little bit of a Milo and Otis kind of vibe to it, but it's one of those movies that I would recommend to people because it is just an enjoyable heartfelt and warming watch. Like if you ever in the mood, like where you need that palate cleanse from something heavier that you're watching. Like this one is just. You can throw it on. It's so delightful. The animation is like akin to like maybe like Bob's Burgers kind of like animation. It's very colorful and. But like flat cell animation kind of look. It's got a great soundtrack and like I said, the whole thing, no dialogue whatsoever. They make a few effort sounds and that's about it.

[Barb]

I feel like at first I was like, oh, how do you have a whole movie like that? But then I think back to so many of like the Pixar shorts that they have play before.

[Gus]

Sure.

[Barb]

A movie that often don't have any dialogue and it conveys beautiful emotion and it's like so well done. And I'm like, oh, I could see how someone would accomplish that through animation.

[Gus]

It's, it's. I'm. I'm a huge fan of anybody who's going out there and doing gutsy things with animation. And, and so whenever I find these kinds of pieces that are just like, it's, it's. I think it got, it's gotten nominated for a few things. It's one of those like really like low budget indie kind of animation projects.

[Barb]

How did you find it by the way?

[Gus]

As an. It was, it was all. They had trailers at Alamo and so I was able to catch it because of that.

[John]

So it's not streaming anywhere yet. You saw it in the theater?

[Gus]

Yes, I saw it a little while ago. Maybe this was an October thing. Maybe this was before October, but I still just wanted to bring it up. I wanted people to go check it out once they're able to robot dream. So once it's able to come out for people to watch, I just wanted to. It's kind of like what you were saying, Gus. Tell people about stuff that they should put on their radar and catch while they can.

[Barb]

Oh, this looks so cute. I'm looking at the, at the photo of it.

[Gus]

It's very cute cover art. Yeah. And it's a mixture of retro music and retro vibes. But then like there's a bunch of robots throughout the world as well.

[John]

I love that juxtaposition.

[Barb]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Gus]

But okay, Swansea, take us down to Bummers again, Gus, because you watch all Bummers. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. But what else did you watch this last month that you want to tell people to watch?

[John]

So I, I'm gonna mention one very quickly. I watched Alien Romulus, which was, in my opinion, phenomenal.

[Gus]

Finally, a good second episode of Sneaky Pop.

[Barb]

I was gonna say we did an episode of Stinky Pop. So if you are listening to this and want to check it out, that is on our Patreon.

[Gus]

But we have the Gus stamp of approval.

[John]

That's why I wanted to mention it because I knew we had. You had already talked about it. I'm not going to get into depth about it, but if you are subscribed to our [e-mail] you can go listen to the Alien Romulus episode right now. I'm not on that episode because I didn't watch it by then, but I've subsequently watched it. Phenomenal film. But I'm gonna talk about a different film. I'm gonna talk about a documentary I watched on Netflix. It's another foreign language one. This is a style. Yeah, it's a Colombian documentary. And let me tell you, I grew up speaking both Spanish and English. And some Spanish accents sound very weird to me. Some sound like I speak. My family's from Mexico. I speak Mexican Spanish. I could listen to Colombian Spanish all day.

[Gus]

So give me a good Colombian film, a soothing dialect.

[John]

It's good. It's a dialect I'm all on board with.

[Gus]

It's good Colombian talking. It's good.

[John]

Good. So I watched a Colombian documentary on Netflix called the Accidental Twins, which sounds. The premise is almost like a science experiment. A science experiment you could never ethically do.

[Barb]

Should we. Should me and John try to guess what accidental twins. What the purpose of this is?

[John]

Why not?

[Barb]

So it's, It's. You said sci fi, so it can.

[John]

Even be a documentary.

[Barb]

Documentary, yeah.

[Gus]

So the accidental could either be that these people have accidentally become twins and I don't know how you do that, or they are accident prone twins.

[Barb]

Accidental.

[Gus]

What do you think, Barb?

[Barb]

I'm going to say something about how like maybe they were born twins and separated at birth and then somehow found each other or got reunited.

[Gus]

Yeah, that happens.

[John]

You're on the right track, Barbara, but it's way more complicated than that.

[Barb]

Oh, good.

[Gus]

Break it down.

[John]

There's a set of twins born in Bogota, Colombia. We'll call them twins 1. There's a second set of twins born in the country on the same day in Colombia. We'll call them twins two.

[Barb]

So it's two sets of twins.

[John]

Correct. One of twins two becomes sick and has to go to the hospital in Bogota. So they take him to the hospital in Bogota and they accidentally swap him with one of twins one. So one of twins one goes to the country. One of twins two stays in the city.

[Barb]

Oh, like they were like babies.

[Gus]

They're like fraternal then at that point.

[John]

Correct. They. The twins grow up, assuming they're fraternal. So it's two boys in Bogota who don't look anything alike, and two boys in the country in the middle of nowhere who don't look anything alike. Wow. One day, one of the twins who works in Bogota is told by his co worker, like, hey, I saw you at the butcher shop this past weekend. You didn't say hi to me. You acted like you didn't know me. And the guy's like, I don't know. I wasn't at the butcher. I don't know what you're talking about. Then the coworker goes back to the butcher shop, takes a picture of that guy. Brings in, is like, this isn't you. And the guy's like, no, that's not me. Then the guy who's working, who's being told this, he looks up that butcher on Facebook and it's like, oh, yeah, that guy does look like me. Scrolls through it and sees a picture of that guy with that guy's brother. And it's like, that guy's brother looks like my brother.

[Barb]

Oh, my God, I need to watch this immediately after this recording.

[John]

So then, yeah, it's like, unraveling. By this point, they're in their mid-20s, like 25 or something. So then it's like, what in the world happened? So it's like, unraveling. And like, how do you deal with all of these family dynamics? Because, yeah, you grew up with this person who you consider your twin brother.

[Barb]

But your parents and your family, your.

[John]

Real twin grew up out in the middle somewhere entirely different. Had a totally different life experience.

[Gus]

Both their families just got much bigger.

[Barb]

That's insane. Accidental twin.

[John]

Accidental twins. It's on Netflix. It's really just such a crazy story. Like, it gets much deeper. There's a lot more to explore about it. And since it happened relatively recently, you know, this was in with this Was in the smartphone era. There is like video footage they took of themselves the day they meet each other. Even though, like this documentary hadn't been produced yet, like, they were still learning about it. Like, now that we. Everyone has a smartphone with a high quality camera, like they were filming themselves and they filmed their first interactions and meeting each other and how all of that happened. So there's all of this footage documenting it all. It's really, really something else. Highly recommend.

[Barb]

So cool. I need to go watch that. I love premises like that, but like, just the most wild things happening in real life that are just like, the chances of it happening are so low. But.

[John]

And that's why I said, like, this sounds like a science experiment, but you could never do like, you could never be like. Like, it's like trying to define that whole nature versus nurture things. Like, oh, this is the closest you could get to doing that because they actually do it.

[Barb]

It's not very moral.

[John]

Right.

[Barb]

Right.

[Gus]

Before we jump to Barbara's number two, since you threw out a documentary, I'm gonna quickly throw out a documentary as well that I didn't put on my list, but I watched this last month. It's on Netflix called Daughters. It is a documentary crew following a bunch of families where they are participating in a program where this function, I think that's called Fathers and Daughters. I think that's what it might be. What would be called they throw fathers and daughter dances for daughters whose dads are in prison. And they throw the dance in prison. So it's incarcerated fathers. And the fathers have to go through this whole 10 week program beforehand in order to participate. So it's a whole like therapy group kind of thing and they have to talk through it. But the documentarians are not only in the jail or in the prison, but they're also following the daughters outside. And it's. It's a heartbreaking movie because it's. It is a bit. Is about like a broken system and, and how it continues to fail our families and fail our children. But it is shot so beautifully and the story. And the. Their stories that they follow are so compelling. Barbara, you will cry like crazy if you watch it. I know you.

[Barb]

Yes, sir.

[Gus]

But it is. I want people to watch it because it's. It's one of those kind of important stories that I think is very. It's good for us to learn about how our country works.

[Barb]

Yeah, definitely.

[Gus]

And to know about these kind of programs that are doing very altruistic things.

[Barb]

To get a good cry in once in a While too.

[Gus]

Yeah. What's. What. What else did you watch this last month, Barbara?

[Barb]

I was going to make a joke that I've been watching this documentary called the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, but I watched, I think, the first 30 minutes of that, and I was like, oh, I'm very intrigued. I don't think I'm going to watch this right now.

[Gus]

I'm good.

[Barb]

I saw a couple movies that I enj in the last few months.

[Gus]

Okay, help us out.

[Barb]

One of which was Fly Me to the Moon.

[Gus]

Oh, that was good.

[Barb]

Which was the Channing Tatum. Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson. Also Channing Tatum, also known as Tate Tatingham. Between me and Trevor, because there was one night we completely forgot his name and we just kept going. Is it Tate? Tate Tatingham.

[John]

My wife and I will call him Tanning Chatham or Chatham Tann. Like, we miss him all the time. I have no idea what that guy's name, actually.

[Gus]

Wow, that's so funny.

[Barb]

Yeah, yeah. Just always forget it. But Tate Tatingham, as he's known in our household, it was great. It was about the moon landing and more specifically, the marketing around the moon at that time, which I found fascinating because I have a degree in marketing. And so to see Scarlett Johansson in that kind of role, I was like, ooh, this would have been an alternate universe me. But I thought it was very entertaining. I thought the premise was really interesting. It wasn't obviously the best movie in the world, but I quite enjoyed it.

[Gus]

Fun.

[John]

How did you watch that? Like, what platform is that on?

[Barb]

I watched it in theaters.

[John]

Oh, okay.

[Gus]

Yeah, yeah, that was. That was a few months ago in theaters. But it's. I would imagine it's got to be on streaming at this point.

[John]

I think it's on Apple tv. I was gonna try to find out.

[Barb]

Yeah, I think. I think it should be there. And then another movie I watched, which for the majority of our audience I probably wouldn't recommend because it's going to be a little too mature. Was Blink Twice.

[Gus]

Oh, another Tanning Tatingham.

[Barb]

Another Tatingham movie, Actually, now they think about it, that one is very dark and very not suited for young.

[Gus]

That's a thriller.

[Barb]

It's a rated R. Rated R movie. But one of those movies that it's, like, uncomfortable and there's, like, you. You're trying to figure out what's going on the whole time, and there's a big twist and like a review.

[Gus]

Psychological thriller.

[Barb]

Yeah, yeah. Which I like those because I like trying to figure out what the plot twist is going to be or what the reveal at the end is going to be. And I thought this one did a pretty good job with that.

[Gus]

Did either of you check out on Netflix? It's what's Inside.

[Barb]

No.

[Gus]

Okay. It wasn't on my list. But Barbara, you, you've. You brought a good, like, recent thriller that I haven't gotten to watch yet. I really, I did want to watch Blink Twice. So I'm glad that you watched it and sounds like you enjoyed it.

[Barb]

Yeah. I also have a.

[Gus]

How many, how many Stinkies? How many Stinkies?

[Barb]

That one. I'd probably give a good three stinkies to.

[Gus]

Three stinkies. Yeah.

[Barb]

Yeah, gotcha.

[Gus]

It's. What's Inside is a. I would say it's kind of in the genre of like, Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, where it's like this, these Gen Z horror films involving modern like, problems that youths have. Like Bodies, Bodies, Bodies is a bunch of like, influencers in the house and they're playing a game and that kind of thing. It's. What's Inside is a reunion story of a bunch of childhood friends who are coming together to celebrate one of theirs engagement. And one of their friends who was ostracized from the group but joins back up, brings a device. And the device, they all hook up to the device. And what it does is that it swaps their brain to someone else's body. Whoa. It's like an invention that is able to kind of give people this other experience through someone else's eyes. But then they play a game of who's in whose body is what they do. So it's very like mafia is what it is. Like Werewolves within or not? Yeah, werewolves. Not Werewolves within the movie. Werewolves. That kind of thing. It's shot interestingly though, because they introduce this concept at the beginning of like, you know, when you used to have those, like, those. I can't remember what you call them, but if you put a filter of red over this drawing, you can only see the red drawing that's underneath it. They do this where they switch the camera colors so that you can sometimes see who's actually in the body.

[John]

Oh, that's cool.

[Gus]

And then they swap it back and forth so that you see actually the body itself, but they do it in color.

[Barb]

And do you know what platform it's on? I'm literally.

[Gus]

It's Netflix. It's Netflix.

[Barb]

Everything you guys are saying, I'm literally writing down is like a to watch list because these all.

[Gus]

And this one is. This one is a thriller. There is some like, there's some violence, some like. It's a murder mystery a little bit is what it is.

[Barb]

Kind of like bodies, bodies, bodies.

[Gus]

Kind of like bodies, bodies, bodies. And that's why it felt very much like that. But the other movie I wanted to talk about that I got to see in theaters is Death Becomes Her.

[John]

Oh, that's a blast from the past. Like a 30 year old film.

[Gus]

Oh, it's all Paramount. Yeah, it's a very old 19 shoot. 1994.

[John]

So no, it was in the 90s.

[Gus]

90S. 1990s. 1990s. Robert Zemeckis film. The Paramount here in Austin was doing a bunch of. It was called Panic at the Paramount and they were doing a bunch of old movies for Halloween. So went and saw it in theater. Never seen it in theater. Had only seen when I was a kid when it was on TV and starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. And it's a movie about the obsession that Hollywood has with like youthfulness and longevity and fame. And it's so campy. It's very over the top. It is Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn fighting for an hour and a half and it's fantastic. It's Bruce Willis playing as one of the most funny characters he's ever played, this meek mouse of a husband. And the twist is that these two Hollywood starlets are obsessed with staying beautiful forever. And they happen upon a Hollywood secret. It's this secret potion that only a select few people can take that gives them immortality. But the twist is that their immortal bodies, they, while they never change, they never heal. And so they have to maintain their bodies in order for them to last for forever and that kind of thing. It's very silly. It won an Academy Award for science for visual effects because there's some amazing visual effects for the 1990s.

[John]

Yeah, this is, this is like when computer effects like kind of first started appearing in films. Yeah, yeah, it was very. It was even. I remember I looked. It came out in 92. So I was like 14 when it came out. I remember seeing like the commercials and the trailers for it at the time being like, how did they do that? That looks crazy.

[Barb]

Wow.

[Gus]

It's a. It's a Halloween movie is what I would call because it is a. It is a monster movie, but it is, it is very family. Not family friendly, but it's not gory and it's not like scary.

[Barb]

Would you put it on? Like it's silly, like hocus pocus kind.

[Gus]

Of level of hocus pocus level of silliness. Probably not something that the kids will care about.

[Barb]

Okay.

[Gus]

It's not like fun witches. This is like teens and up will think this is great.

[Barb]

Gotcha.

[Gus]

But divas doing what divas do best throughout the entire movie. It's so good.

[Barb]

You talking about like Hollywood's obsession with like looks and stuff like that and being ageless reminds me of a movie I really still want to see called the Substance.

[John]

Oh, I was gonna bring that up.

[Barb]

Have you seen it?

[Gus]

It's on my to do.

[John]

It's on my list. I'm probably gonna watch it this weekend.

[Barb]

Yeah, it's. That's also another one that I would not recommend for anyone young. I think it's rated R. Apparently it's like very body horror kind of.

[Gus]

It's by. Yeah, a lot of body horror with Jennifer Connelly.

[John]

No, it's got Demi Moore.

[Barb]

Demi Moore.

[Gus]

Demi Moore. Demi Moore, yes. Can't remember what pretty brunette from Hollywood.

[Barb]

I know. Apparently it's very good. And that's something that I'd really like to see you soon.

[Gus]

Give me another one, Gus.

[John]

So I'm going to. I'm going to bring up, I guess a TV show as well. I've been. I've been watching the Penguin on Max, which I think is. Has seven episodes out now. I think it's an eight episode miniseries. Have you, have either of you been watching that by any chance?

[Barb]

No.

[Gus]

Again, on my to do list, no TV for me.

[John]

I didn't start watching it until maybe like just before the weekend, this past weekend. So I've only been watching it for like a week. Like I've waited until like five episodes were out to start watching.

[Gus]

Yeah, I can't do week to week on anything anymore.

[John]

I think next week is the last episode, if I remember right. And I'm probably up to episode seven somewhere around there. Anyway, I wasn't gonna watch it. I don't know. It really didn't seem interesting to me. But there was so much buzz about it online and like the reviews for it seemed so great and I was like, I like, I liked the Batman movie. Okay. You know, it was fine. Yeah, I don't remember. I've watched it once when it came out. I was like, yeah, I'll start watching the Penguin. And it's fine. It's the most fine show. Like, I don't know that it does. I don't know that it does anything like super groundbreaking or new. Like the first couple episodes I was like, Colin Farrell's just doing like a Tony Soprano impression while dressed up in makeup. I don't know that it's necessarily doing anything like super crazy or grumpy. It's not bad. I'll watch it. It's fine. It gets better as it goes on. But it's not like, oh, my God, this is like. I think my expectations were set too high because of all the rave reviews and what people were saying online. It's totally fine. It's not bad.

[Gus]

That happens with me with a lot of stuff.

[John]

Yeah. But it's not amazing. It's like two stinkies. Two and a half stinky. It's. Yeah. If it's all out. If all eight episodes are out and you want to watch it, knock yourself out. Like, it's.

[Gus]

You want to watch something very good on. Because that's a Max show.

[John]

Right?

[Gus]

That is it. That is D.C. related. You want to watch my Adventures with Superman, which is the animated Superman movie where David Quaid does the voice from. Or no, Jack Quaid.

[John]

Jack. Yeah. I was like, trying to resume. It's Jack Quaid.

[Gus]

Yeah, Jack Quaid. He does the voice of Superman. Really good. Superman animated show. Like.

[John]

Now. Right?

[Gus]

Yeah. I recommend everybody go watch it. And it's definitely worth your time.

[Barb]

Also, I seem.

[Gus]

Yeah, that's. Yeah. Max. Max thing.

[Barb]

Sorry, Max.

[John]

You've distracted me and you made me think of something else that I want to bring up real fast. John, if I may, permission to add another one.

[Gus]

Yeah.

[John]

Also on Max. Also animated this, which is why I remembered about it. I watched the Junji Ito horror series Uzumaki.

[Gus]

Oh, I've seen the stuff about that.

[John]

Yeah. It's only four episodes that are half an hour each.

[Gus]

Okay.

[John]

So it's a close. Yeah, yeah.

[Gus]

Like movie length to watch the whole thing.

[Barb]

Yeah, roughly.

[John]

And, you know, it's all now it's like one story. It's done in four episodes. If you're not familiar with that, Like Junji Ito horror. It's bonkers. Like, it's a really weird story. What?

[Gus]

Weird anime? What?

[John]

The visuals are like. I watched the first episode and the visuals were amazing. The second episode I watched, I was like, the visuals are not as good. Something changed and apparently there were production problems behind the scenes. So it's like, it's very uneven in quality. It's still watchable. Like, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just like, oh, something is different happens.

[Gus]

That happens.

[John]

Again, going back to what I said before, like, if you want something totally different, not. Not, you know, originally, because I think it was originally a manga series. In Japan that Junji Ito had written, and it was adapted into this animated series. If you want something like that's totally out of left field, not with, like, this country sensibilities at all, check it out. It's also on Max.

[Gus]

If you're looking for the weird, that's.

[John]

Yeah, it's weird and, like, super disturbing and kind of gross, but it's all, like, black and white. Like, they present it, like, has guy manga stuff.

[Gus]

Gus brought anything that a. That I like, someone under 10 should watch?

[Barb]

Probably not.

[Gus]

I say we haven't. Stinky Pop is not here with those. Like I said, the last episode, we talked about, like, horror movies that kids wouldn't want to watch. And then we. We've done Wolverine and Deadpool, and we've done Alien, Romulus also. It's totally fine.

[Barb]

If you are one of the people who are listening to this while waiting in line to vote, that means you are 18 or older.

[Gus]

So there you go. There you go. If you're doing that. Barbara, what else have you been watching?

[Barb]

Something I wanted to bring up that I was disappointed in.

[Gus]

Oh, no.

[Barb]

This might be controversial or y'all might agree with me wholeheartedly. The second Beetlejuice movie, the new Beetlejuice.

[Gus]

It was fine.

[Barb]

It was. And I. I understand that I might be a little skewed, in my opinion, because I actually never had seen the first Beetlejuice. I did. I. I've seen clips from it. Trevor basically told me the entire story before we were about to see the second one.

[John]

Wow.

[Barb]

We were invited. I mean, I think, John, you were there, too. We were invited to a screening for it. So I was like, well, I, you know, I want to take this opportunity to see the movie, but in my opinion, it could have been much stronger if you took away, like, three out of the 10 plot points that was happening.

[Gus]

There's a lot of plot lines. There's a lot of subplots.

[Barb]

So much going on.

[Gus]

There's a lot going on. Burton had a lot of ideas that he'd been probably thinking about for quite.

[Barb]

A while, and so many characters that I just felt like were maybe not necessary.

[Gus]

Yes.

[Barb]

So it wasn't bad. And I, like, I still had fun in certain moments, but I just felt myself being like. Like, oh, my God, there's so much going on. This is. Some things were weird in a good way, and some things were weird in a bad way. So, yeah, I just. I kind of left being like, oh, that was. Yeah, not as good as I was hoping for.

[John]

That was like a Beetlejuice sound effect. You did.

[Gus]

I will say Catherine O'Hara chews up the scene every time the camera's on her. Perfect her.

[Barb]

And also, why am I blanking on his name? The guy who plays Beetlejuice.

[Gus]

Michael Keaton.

[Barb]

Michael Keaton. Incredible.

[John]

Yeah.

[Barb]

Those two were definitely the shining moments of that.

[Gus]

Did Monica Bellucci say a word the entire movie? I can't remember.

[Barb]

What was the point of her?

[Gus]

She was the. She was part of, like, they did the origin story thing they do with, like, these sequels. Right. Where did Beetlejuice come from? And she was like his wife and that kind of thing. But yeah, she's like built up to be the antagonist in the entire film and then she's gone.

[Barb]

That could have been completely chopped out of the movie. It would have made a single difference.

[Gus]

She murders Danny DeVito and that's about all she does. That's interesting.

[Barb]

Yep, pretty much.

[John]

I still haven't seen it. I'm waiting for it to come to max. It's one of those things where, like, I watched you Could Wait. Beetlejuice and when I was a kid and I loved it and I still think it's a great film.

[Gus]

Yeah.

[John]

But I've been in under. No rush to watch. I'll wait till it's free and then I'll watch it.

[Gus]

A movie you shouldn't wait for.

[Barb]

Wasn't the worst.

[Gus]

Wasn't the worst. Wasn't amazing. How many Stinkies?

[Barb]

Probably like two.

[Gus]

Yeah, I think that's fair. Yeah. I'm going France. I'm going kind of dramatic sci fi, but multiple timelines piece. I want to talk about the Beast or Labette.

[John]

Labette.

[Gus]

I believe it's on Apple tv. You can rent it on Apple tv. It's a Lea Seydoux film. Leah Seyou, who's one of the actresses in, like, the later Bond films like Spectre and no Time to Die, but also impossible films. Was she Ms. Impossible? Yeah.

[John]

Isn't she? She's like the.

[Gus]

I think you're thinking Bond.

[John]

Isn't she in Ghost Protocol? I'm looking up.

[Gus]

She might be. She might be.

[Barb]

Yeah.

[Gus]

Look at it. But. And then also it's got George McKay. Who. He was the guy from 1917. The one shot. The single shot World War II film.

[John]

Yeah.

[Gus]

And it's this movie that takes place in the future, like 2040, where AI has taken over most jobs. So people don't really have a lot of work. But in order to get better jobs, they can go through this whole, like, DNA purging process where they explore their past lives and in doing so purge all their emotions. The humans don't have jobs because they can't be trusted to stuff because their emotions. So Lea Seydoux goes through this process to get a better job, but she's like experiencing her past lives. And she experiences a past life in 1910 France, and she experienced a life in like 2014America. And it's this kind of weird overlapping timelines thing. George McKay plays this guy who also keeps showing up in her other lives. And so it's kind of like this like, are they soulmates Kind of story. And I've talked to Gus about this where I'm like, I'm kind of on a French film kick. This is a really good example of really good French film. It's a little bit of a slow, cerebral burner. It doesn't tell you all the answers from the get go. And it's a little confusing.

[Barb]

Is it sub or dubbed?

[Gus]

It's. I mean, I watch it subbed. I don't know if it could be dubbed, but I watch everything subbed. That sounded snobbish. It's just my preference. But I just. I love Leia Seydoux and. And I love anything that's a good, like French sci fi that comes out of there. So. Find the Beast and watch the Beast.

[John]

She was in Ghost Protocol. She's. She kills Sawyer from Lost at the very beginning. Josh Holloway. And then she meets to do the diamond exchange in the. In the tower, the birth.

[Gus]

Now I remember now.

[John]

She's great. Whenever I hear of like French film or French things or the French language, till the day I die, I'm gonna think of Dexter's Laboratory and Omelette du fromage.

[Barb]

Omelette du fromage.

[John]

It's just like. Yeah, it's just like ingrained in me. It's like at the core of my being is omelette du fromage.

[Gus]

That's pretty fun. Speaking of like accents, George McKay plays a character in the Middle Timeline in 2014. He's this British actor, but he plays a American in the middle timeline. And he is. He plays this like incel vlogger who like talks. He's like. He's shooting these videos about how like women will never date him and that kind of thing. But he captures that character, that American character perfectly. And you hate that character perfectly.

[Barb]

It sounds like a character I would not enjoy.

[Gus]

But that's the thing is that he plays his other two lives are these very charismatic. He's using his normal like British dialect accent and he plays these Very charismatic and enchanting characters. So it's very jarring when they finally cut to this character and he does such a good job. Like, you kind of have to figure out, you know, where each timeline ends and begins.

[Barb]

It's great.

[Gus]

You got something else, Gus?

[Barb]

I was gonna mention. Go for it before Gus jumps in. I don't know if you guys saw and maybe we should save this for the end of things. We're excited for coming out eventually that aren't.

[Gus]

Oh, you got something coming up you want to watch?

[Barb]

Yes. Two things in particular.

[Gus]

Okay.

[Barb]

But I could. I could save for the end if we prefer.

[John]

We make the rules.

[Barb]

Okay. Okay.

[Gus]

This is my show, and I say yes.

[Barb]

Two things. I'm very excited for coming out. I don't know if you guys saw. There's going to be a second season of Squid Game.

[John]

Yes. Very soon.

[Gus]

I don't know how you follow up the first show.

[Barb]

I also don't know, like, I saw a trailer for it, which I kind of regret watching. A trailer. I wanted to go in blind.

[Gus]

I'm going in blind.

[Barb]

But I guess I won't give anything away.

[Gus]

Yeah, don't give anything away.

[John]

But I had questions after that trailer, too. Barbara, maybe if you want, we can sidebar about it.

[Gus]

Okay.

[Barb]

Yeah.

[Gus]

Should I. Here, I'm gonna take my headphones off and you guys can talk.

[Barb]

My question, why would the guy who did the Squid games go back and do it again?

[John]

Right. And he's also going back, and it's like, from what you see in the Truman Sat, the entire thing, they show, like, the same games. Like, the robot girl is there. Like, so I imagine we'll start seeing some of the same stuff, and then it'll go. It'll change. But, yeah, I don't know. It was weird.

[Barb]

Something's got to happen. Yeah.

[John]

Okay. We'll give John the thumbs up.

[Barb]

John's out the whole time.

[Gus]

I'm one of those people. Like, it's so funny. I'm dating someone who's the exact opposite of this. I don't like any spoilers whatsoever. I don't want to know anything about stuff. I like to go in blind. She will, like, lily, we're watching something. She'll look up a spoiler.

[Barb]

Yeah.

[John]

Yeah. I can't do it even. Even when I'm watching a TV show, I can't look it up on IMDb because I don't want to know if an actor is in, like, only a certain number of episodes. Gonna be like, oh, this character doesn't make it.

[Barb]

Yeah. I've spoiled a number of reality shows for myself that way, where I just like, oh, I wanna see this person's Instagram to see, like, you know, I just get to know them better as a person. And then I end up seeing something from an episode. I had to watch it. I'm like, oh, man.

[Gus]

How about one more? Oh, wait, you had one more thing you were looking forward to Severance season two?

[John]

Yes.

[Gus]

God, talk about a show, Gus, that you were saying, like, you have to wait forever for the second season.

[Barb]

Oh, my God, it's been so long.

[Gus]

Severance was a Covid show, wasn't it?

[John]

I want to say it was 2021 or 2022. So it's been three or four. Three or four years since it's come out.

[Barb]

Yeah. But that. That first season of Severance, I think I might rewatch it. Just.

[Gus]

I have to.

[Barb]

I have to. But I don't know that I've enjoyed a season of television more than that. I think Breaking Bad, Adam Scott. Oh, my gosh, it's just so well done. And also, like, the last episode too is just like. And mind blowing.

[John]

It premiered February of 2022.

[Gus]

Wow.

[Barb]

So, yeah, this will be three years later because it's January of 2025 that it comes back.

[John]

And I don't know if you've read this, there's been a lot of talk about the production problems for Severance season two.

[Gus]

Is that why it took so long?

[John]

Yeah, that's one of the reasons it took so long. And the spiraling budget for Severance season two.

[Gus]

Yeah, spiraling as in ballooning?

[John]

Yes. It is the most expensive TV show ever made. Whoa.

[Gus]

What?

[John]

200 million dollar budget for severance season two.

[Gus]

That's not good.

[Barb]

But I mean, it's so.

[Gus]

It's such a saying. But that kind of stuff goes like, well, this might be our last season. Because those kinds of things, like, when expensive, it gets too expensive.

[John]

That's what happened. That's what happened to Westworld. Westworld was like, we have one more season. We'll be done. And Max was like, nah. HBO was like, no, no, just end it. It's over.

[Gus]

I watched Dark Crystal, the Netflix series of like, and I watched and I was like, oh, this looks too good. This looks too good. And it. And no one will watch it because it's. It is a niche Muppets ip. This is all the season I'm ever getting. I like, as I'm watching it, I knew it. I knew it. And it made me sad immediately. Let's go one More each. And then we'll do things for people to avoid. Even though you guys have already done some things for people to avoid.

[Barb]

Oh, yeah, sure.

[John]

I have one more here. It's a streaming series on Netflix. Once again, it's a Korean series. I watch a lot of Korean content. So for me on Netflix, it was like, first page. It kept trying to get me to watch the show and I kept ignoring.

[Gus]

Hey, you like this stuff. Watch it, right?

[John]

And eventually I was like, fine, I'll watch it. It's called the Frog. Oh, yeah? Yeah. Have you seen it?

[Gus]

No, but I is. It's also been recommended to me, but it seems interesting. Is it good?

[John]

Think it was? I think there was a big push for them. I think it was like a series they really wanted everyone to see. It's like one of their prestige shows. It's shot beautifully, it's acted well. The story and editing are a mess.

[Gus]

Oh, no.

[Barb]

That'S too bad.

[John]

It looks great and it's good at times, but then lots of times it's just confusing. I'm gonna tell you something. This will help you if you want, if you decide to watch it. The story takes place over two different timelines, and that's never made clear until, like episode three or four. And the whole time I was like, what's going on? Like, it's like these two different stories that are happening that aren't intersecting. And eventually, eventually I'm like, oh, the calendar behind this person says 2001. This is 20 years in the past. This has no relevance in what's going on now.

[Gus]

So one of those things where they think they're being super clever, but all they're actually doing is confusing their audience.

[John]

Right. And I think that maybe the script need a little more polish and. Or the edit needed to be done a little differently because it's. It's like really intense. You know, the basic premise is like this older kind of semi retired guy runs a. Like an Airbnb out in the country. Right. It's just him and like this other old guy who helps him run it. And then one day this kind of like creepy young woman shows up to rent it. And there's just something unsettling about her. And, like, you realize that she's like, she's a killer and she does bad things. And this like, now she's tied up into this guy's life who just runs like a simple Airbnb in the country.

[Gus]

Sure.

[John]

And he's just trying to get her out of his life without her messing his life up. Or doing anything bad. And it's like eight episodes. And the lead actress in it is an actress named Komincy. And she's great. I've seen her in a few things. And actually there's like an older female detective in it who is the. She plays the original housekeeper in Parasite, the one who gets ousted. She looks very different. I watched it. I was like, oh, yeah, that was her. She looks kind of familiar. Oh, yeah, she was in Parasite too.

[Barb]

So many Parasite actors.

[John]

Pretty different. Yeah. I think all of those actors have their choice of roles now. After the huge success, that Parasite was.

[Barb]

Still your favorite movie, do you think?

[John]

Absolutely. I just rewatched it again the other day. I told John I want to do a stinky pop by myself, just like a watch along a Parasite. Now it's on my list. I would like to do it at some point because I love that film. But. Yeah, and then again, kind of like what I was talking about with Sleep, the lead actress here, Coleman C. I've seen her in some. Actually, I've watched her in a reality show with the lead actress from Sleep. And again, she's, like, young and goofy and just kind of like always laughing and making jokes. And in this show, she's a killer. Wow. Yeah. Watching that acting transformation where it's like, oh, yeah, she's scary in this.

[Gus]

People got chopped.

[John]

Yeah.

[Gus]

What's your final one? Oh, what's your final one, Barb?

[Barb]

My recommendation.

[Gus]

Yeah.

[Barb]

So this probably goes against the rules. It's actually a YouTube channel. If I may.

[Gus]

It's fine that, hey, do what you want to do.

[Barb]

It's. I'm just trying to think of, like, the stuff that I enjoy, what you've been watching, watching. So this is a YouTube channel that Trevor and I really love called Kara and Nate. You've probably heard me talk about it before in some content in the past because it's the only YouTube channel we watch. Really?

[John]

Yeah, I think I've heard you mention it.

[Barb]

They are travel vloggers. And they. We started watching them especially during the pandemic because we were just, like, stuck at home. And it was nice to see people's travel videos. And then during the pandemic, they, like many people, got a van and did, like, traveling around the US Via the van. But they make great, great content, and it's really good, like, living vicariously through other people as they experience different things and, like, getting to see them participate in different challenges. Like the. It's a husband and wife, Kara, and Nate. And Nate just participated in this one Hundred mile run, which was very extreme and very interesting to watch. Like, the buildup to it and the training.

[Gus]

It was called, like, ultra marathons, I think, or something like that.

[Barb]

Yeah. And they've done things where they've, you know, like, climbed the equivalents of Mount Everest in, like, this other challenge. They've done, like, they biked across America in one thing. But they also do, like, it's called wish fulfillment, I guess, content, where they're, like, based on the amount of traveling they've done, they've accrued points, and so they're able to get these, like, crazy upgrades and do all these things. And so. Or the hotels or airlines offer them things to, like, make a video if they, like, stay at a hotel. And so they've done things like, oh, we stayed at, like, a $10,000 a night room in Vegas. And they, like, film the whole experience. And I don't know, I just, like, they're very positive people and very fun to watch. And they make really quality travel videos. And so if you're just looking to, like, completely escape from reality and, you know, but still enjoy kind of, like, the world in a positive way, it's really fun to watch them.

[John]

I love travel stuff like that.

[Barb]

Yeah.

[Gus]

All right. Some comfort watches for people to throw on their timeline. Exactly. Well, one, I looked it up. I was like, robot Dreams is actually all over the place. I'm pretty sure I watched it by renting it from Apple TV or YouTube or something.

[Barb]

Oh, nice.

[Gus]

Okay. That's what it was. I was like, I watched it recently. Did I not watch it recently? It's on my diary, but I'm gonna go. I got two movies that I wanted to talk about. I'll talk about this one. Another French. Another French film. French animated film. Another animated film, but not one for the kids. Robot Dreams for the kids. Watch Robot Dreams with the kids. Mars Express is not for the kids. It's.

[John]

It sounds like it could be.

[Gus]

Mars Express is like. It's like ghost in the shell, like, era of sci fi, noir kind of stuff. You can rent and watch it on, like, a million places. But it is. It's set in, like, the future where, in fact, I wrote down the synopsis because I wanted to, like, read the synopsis in 2200. Main character, Aline Ruby, who's a private detective, and Carlos Rivera, who's her Android replica of her partner who died five years ago. People kind of have, like, backups of themselves. So he's like this Android backup of his, like, body because he died five years Ago, they're sent to Earth to capture this woman who has a warrant for her arrest. But the whole story is about these, like, this world where robots and synthetics and augmented humans exist. It's got a little bit of like iRobot vibes where it's like the robots are obviously, they follow these directives of like not being able to hurt humans and having to follow direct reports from humans, that kind of thing. But people are like jailbreaking the robots so that they can do whatever they want. But then there's also like, it's kind of like there's an underlying plot of like something deeper and sinister going on with the robots and the companies that are making them and that kind of thing. It's very graphic. As far as animated, like there is actual like gore, but it's not like, it's not as bad as I would say, like Akira, which has a little bit more body horror. This is just like, there's a little bit of blood and a little bit of like some violence. But it is captivating, captivating from the get go. Like it immediately draws you in. You're like, I love this world. Like, the world building is really interesting. The design is beautiful. It never gets boring. It keeps moving. The main character is really interesting and it's got like, it's kind of like on the level of what I would think of like Minority Report where someone was like, let's really try to envision like an interesting future with like advanced technology. That seems like it might happen. But I just watched it actually just the other day. I immediately. It's like I texted Blaine. I was like, hey, someone made a movie for you. You didn't realize it. It's very a Blaine movie. Mars Express, directed by Jeremy Perrine. It's fantastic. It sounds cool. It's another one of those animated ones where I'm like, please keep making these kind of anime movies forever. I know animation is like a struggling art. Never stop. Because this is exactly what this is for.

[Barb]

Do you think if you could looking at all the members of Stinky Dragon, point to each person and go, I know your movie. I know your movie. How Blaine's would be like Predator or Alien or something like that.

[Gus]

If I couldn't before we started Stinky Pop, I can now after we've done Stinky Pop. Because I've really got to read. I think on a lot of you that I didn't have quite a good read on.

[John]

That's cool.

[Gus]

But yeah, I could, I could 100% like craft a five movie. List. I'm like, I could tell you would probably like these five movies, that kind of thing. But yeah, Mars Express.

[John]

Check it out real fast. Sidebar. Based on something you said, it still creeps me out to this day. Speaking of Akira, how prescient that movie was and how close some of those things came to happening. Akira, which came out in the 80s, early 80s, I believe, was set in Tokyo in 2020 when a global pandemic was going on and the Olympics were about to be held.

[Barb]

Wow.

[John]

And I was like, when all of that stuff started happening, I was like, oh, no, Tetsuo, watch out.

[Gus]

Did you guys bring something that we can kind of dish on? Something bad you watched? What's something bad you guys watched?

[Barb]

I mean, my answer was mostly Beetlejuice.

[Gus]

Beetlejuice was your bad watch.

[Barb]

Luckily, didn't see very many bad pieces of content this month.

[Gus]

There you go. You stick to the stuff you like.

[John]

Yeah, I try to stick with things I know I'm gonna like. I had a few questionable misses which I mentioned, but I did want to bring something up. You reminded me of something that I am looking forward to quite a bit, which is there's gonna be a new Ghost in the Shell anime coming out in 2026. Oh, wow. And Ghost in the Shell is one of my all time top favorite movies. The original Ghost in the Shell anime from the early 90s, and even the standalone complex from the early 2000s. I think both seasons, seasons one and two are just like phenomenal. Like tour de force, just showing off what can be done. Storytelling. And with visuals at the time. The visuals are a little dated now, but I think at the time they were just absolutely incredible.

[Gus]

And I remember the animated film having pretty good visuals.

[John]

Incredible. You talk about like the original Ghost in the Shell anime.

[Gus]

Yeah, just like.

[John]

Yeah, for hand drawn. Just like some of the stuff was just like breathtaking. The, like the cityscape stuff. Yeah, it's just so phenomenal. And if you've never seen it, I mean, this is a movie or, you know, this anime has inspired just about every sci fi, cyberpunk thing that has come after it. Like, if you watch. If you've seen the Matrix and you've never seen Ghost in the Shell, you should go watch Ghost in the Shell.

[Gus]

He's like, oh, Blade Runner and haven't seen. You should go watch Ghost in the Shell.

[John]

Yeah, it's like all of this came from that, I think. But I would say even the visual language of Ghost in the Shell is a lot more directly represented in the Matrix. As opposed to Blade Runner. I think yeah, they're both cyberpunk stories, but I think if you look at Ghost in the Shell, you're like, oh, this is an animated. Kind of like an animated precursor, an alpha of the Matrix, which they.

[Gus]

The. The Wachowski sisters. They. They talked about how anime was a huge contributor to the Matrix. They're Big Weebs.

[John]

Mm.

[Barb]

I never knew that. But the Matrix is a very nerdy movie, so.

[Gus]

It is so nerdy. Some few people have watched it.

[Barb]

Love the Matrix.

[Gus]

I will tell you, since you guys didn't have. Since Gus, you didn't have anything too terrible. Although you said Penguin wasn't very good. I'll give you two terrible movies I watched this month. Oh, no one's not gonna be a surprise to anybody that I watched. It was terrible because it's been panned by everybody but Joker. Fully ado you watched it. I went to the movie theater and I saw it.

[Barb]

You paid money.

[Gus]

It was one of those movies that it's actually really interesting how it starts off and you're like. Because I knew going in it was bad because people had already like reviewed it. And you're like, it's not that bad. That point to the end of the movie. You're like, how did it get so bad? How did it get so. How. How did you do this? How'd you fumble this? So bad. Oh my God, this movie was terrible.

[Barb]

It's like a full on musical too, right? Which I think a lot of people didn't.

[Gus]

And it's not a good musical, which is amazing because Lady Gaga's in it, right?

[Barb]

And she's great.

[Gus]

It's not a good musical and it doesn't like that it's a musical and it doesn't want to show that it's a musical. But it sings so much. And every time it does, by the end of the movie, you're like, not another song. Not another song.

[John]

I think they tried to really hide that in the marketing, right?

[Gus]

Like it doesn't hide that marketing for all musicals now. There's no musical that is marketed as a musical except for Wicked. And that's because you can't hide that. It's because it's based on a Broadway show. Yeah, but like the Wonka movie, no one advertised that it was a full musical. It's just a thing now because nobody wants musicals.

[John]

Why are they making them if they have to hide it in the marketing? It makes no sense.

[Gus]

I don't know. Another movie that I watched that is, I think another one People would be surprised that I watched, but no one's surprised it was bad. I watched Borderlands. I had to. I had to.

[Barb]

Which I also heard that was poop.

[Gus]

Wow. There are shots in Borderlands that I don't know if I opened up after effects, if I'd be able to do a single visual effect. I think I could do better visual effects than Borderlands.

[Barb]

Wow. That bad. Did they not have a good budget for it or something?

[Gus]

It is such a ballooned budget. It was such a costly movie. I don't know how it costs so much and looks so bad. And then also was not fun or interesting or a good homage to the video game. The performances are mixed. Like, not everyone is phoning it in, but no one has a good script to read the entire movie. So even when they're, like, trying to deliver things well, it's not a good line in the first place. It's. It might be the worst video game film ever, in my opinion.

[John]

Well, until the Minecraft movie comes out.

[Gus]

Until the Minecraft movie comes out, which I don't. I'm sure I'll go see that with my kids. But I've watched, actually, a fair. I watched so many movies that I. And I'm unlike you guys, where I'm like. I try and, like, look out things that have, like, mixed reviews sometimes just to see, like, because you can find some gems in there sometimes of things that people, you know, improperly reviewed. No, Everyone aptly reviewed Borderlands.

[Barb]

Wow. Yeah. I think I heard Case Closed. I heard some friends of ours who also do podcasts talk about that movie in a very similar vein. John.

[Gus]

So it's such a bummer because we even know people that got to do appearances in it.

[John]

Oh, yeah. Yeah.

[Gus]

But it's not good. Which is such a bummer to say, but I'm glad we did come up with a lot of fun things. I hope people can have some suggestions. I love that this is with you and Gus. It was. This was running the gamut of, like, genres. Oh, yeah. And, you know, specificities. So hopefully this distracted you all from your day or just gave you something good to listen to or made you even think, like, I want more of this. And if you do, you can go to patreon.com stinky dragon pod or Sneaky Dragon.

[Barb]

Look at that.

[John]

Look. Sing a dragon. Yeah. Hey, look up, dummy. You're next. It's your turn to vote. Go. You're holding up the line.

[Barb]

Could you imagine?

[Gus]

Why do you have your phone out? You're not supposed to have a phone out near the voting booth. What are you doing?

[John]

Oh, no. They're gonna get mad if you are.

[Barb]

Voting today or have already voted. Thank you for doing your patriotic duty of making your voice heard. Very important, no matter what. Some of us, like myself, who are Canadian but have residency here in the States, can't vote. So I really appreciate everyone taking the time to go do that.

[Gus]

And if you're one of our weird Foreigner audience members and are just looking at this from afar, enjoy the episode and enjoy what happens in our country.

[John]

Yes, again, that's stinkydragonpod.com.

[Gus]

Thanks, y'all.

[Barb]

Bye.