WEBVTT - Top 5 Films of 2026 (So Far) | #1073 0:00:21.244 --> 0:00:24.604 Film Spotting is presented by Regal Unlimited, the all you 0:00:24.645 --> 0:00:27.565 can watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in 0:00:27.685 --> 0:00:31.365 just two visits. See any standard two D movie anytime 0:00:31.725 --> 0:00:34.805 with no blackoutdates or restrictions. Sign up now on the 0:00:34.885 --> 0:00:37.245 Regal app or at the link in our description and 0:00:37.405 --> 0:00:41.685 use code film spot twenty six to receive fifteen percent off. 0:00:42.045 --> 0:00:44.525 What kind of a show you guys putting on here today? 0:00:44.644 --> 0:00:46.004 You're not interested in art? Now? 0:00:46.284 --> 0:00:47.565 No, Look, we're going to do this thing. 0:00:47.605 --> 0:00:49.245 We're going to have a conversation. 0:00:51.284 --> 0:00:53.245 From Chicago. This is film Spotting. 0:00:53.325 --> 0:00:55.524 I'm Josh Larson and I'm Adam Kempinar. 0:00:55.804 --> 0:00:56.485 Please state to. 0:00:56.485 --> 0:00:57.965 Your name, roll mean Grace. 0:00:58.685 --> 0:01:00.845 Please spoke up from a coma. 0:01:01.084 --> 0:01:03.085 There's several light years from my apartment. 0:01:03.804 --> 0:01:05.964 And I'm not an astronaut. 0:01:07.084 --> 0:01:08.365 I'm not an astronaut. 0:01:09.845 --> 0:01:11.084 I'm not an astronaut. 0:01:11.725 --> 0:01:15.205 If you don't go, you die with the rest of us. 0:01:15.645 --> 0:01:17.845 The best movies of the year so far have come 0:01:17.925 --> 0:01:22.405 in all shapes and sizes, from into family dramas to 0:01:22.804 --> 0:01:27.684 epic sci fi and everything including alien, zombies and talking 0:01:27.765 --> 0:01:28.845 cheap in between. 0:01:29.045 --> 0:01:34.725 Our shepherd was murdered, and we shall solve the crime. 0:01:36.005 --> 0:01:39.365 We'll share our favorites of the movie year with our 0:01:39.485 --> 0:01:42.884 top five films of twenty twenty six so far. That 0:01:42.964 --> 0:01:52.725 and more ahead on film Spotting. Welcome to film Spotting. 0:01:53.325 --> 0:01:55.805 Did we wait to do our top five films of 0:01:55.845 --> 0:01:59.205 twenty twenty six so far? So we could include Christopher 0:01:59.245 --> 0:02:02.325 Nolans The Odyssey. Well, it turns out one of us 0:02:02.845 --> 0:02:06.565 was able to go see it before we sat down 0:02:07.005 --> 0:02:09.885 to tape this show as we are doing right this moment. 0:02:09.965 --> 0:02:13.245 That was you, Josh, and we talked about what our 0:02:13.365 --> 0:02:16.165 policy was going to be, whether or not it would 0:02:16.205 --> 0:02:18.005 be eligible. Now, of course, at the time we talked 0:02:18.005 --> 0:02:20.685 about it, we didn't know whether or not you wanted 0:02:20.725 --> 0:02:23.605 it to be eligible. Where did we come out. 0:02:23.925 --> 0:02:26.045 I'm going to say this as neutrallly as possible because 0:02:26.045 --> 0:02:30.045 I want to hold the suspense until our actual review, Adam, 0:02:30.405 --> 0:02:34.204 which will be next week. I'm setting it aside out 0:02:34.245 --> 0:02:37.565 of this list, not considering it not eligible, and it 0:02:37.644 --> 0:02:40.165 is not eligible, So got it. Let's just put it 0:02:40.165 --> 0:02:43.924 that way. I one of my own odyssey to see it. 0:02:43.924 --> 0:02:46.805 It was in the nineties, you know here as it 0:02:46.885 --> 0:02:50.725 is everywhere in Chicago. I braved riding my bike along 0:02:50.805 --> 0:02:54.044 the wild waves of Lake Michigan made it a good 0:02:54.204 --> 0:02:56.485 that it was like two and a half miles to 0:02:56.525 --> 0:03:00.645 see it at the theater, and cannot wait, of course 0:03:01.204 --> 0:03:03.764 to talk about it. But we'll say no more, not 0:03:03.845 --> 0:03:06.684 even giving a hint, not even going to suggest whether 0:03:06.764 --> 0:03:09.125 or not it would be on this list. To me, 0:03:09.525 --> 0:03:12.005 it doesn't exist for the purposes of this show. 0:03:12.484 --> 0:03:14.565 Okay, you got it. It could be his number one 0:03:14.605 --> 0:03:17.645 film of the year, it could be his number five, 0:03:17.885 --> 0:03:21.765 or it could be his least favorite movie of the year. Exactly. 0:03:22.165 --> 0:03:25.885 We won't know until next week when you hear our 0:03:25.965 --> 0:03:29.685 conversation about Christopher Nolans The Odyssey. Later on this show, 0:03:29.924 --> 0:03:32.845 we will play Masacre Theater and we will have poll results. 0:03:32.885 --> 0:03:36.205 We'll hear what you think the best film of the 0:03:36.285 --> 0:03:39.645 year so far. Is a reminder, Film Spotting is now 0:03:39.685 --> 0:03:42.725 available as a video podcast. You can watch us talk 0:03:43.005 --> 0:03:46.405 over at YouTube dot com slash film Spotting. We are 0:03:46.485 --> 0:03:50.325 at or a little past Josh the halfway point of 0:03:50.365 --> 0:03:54.485 the year. But this is roughly when we usually take 0:03:54.565 --> 0:03:57.645 stock of the movie year so far and we share 0:03:57.805 --> 0:04:02.205 our top five movies of the year so far. Let's 0:04:02.565 --> 0:04:06.925 jump in. I don't know if it was as difficult 0:04:06.965 --> 0:04:09.365 a process. It never is for me anyway as difficult 0:04:09.365 --> 0:04:11.565 a process as when we actually have to think about 0:04:11.605 --> 0:04:14.285 the top ten, which is something that has a lot 0:04:14.325 --> 0:04:19.445 more meaning, and we do, really we just we work 0:04:19.565 --> 0:04:24.165 so hard on that list. We worry about seeing enough films, 0:04:24.205 --> 0:04:27.445 and certainly we're going to have blind spots. You already 0:04:27.485 --> 0:04:30.325 heard I didn't see The Odyssey. There's one other film 0:04:31.045 --> 0:04:34.525 that was a major one for me that I wanted 0:04:34.685 --> 0:04:37.885 so badly to fit in before forming this list, and 0:04:37.925 --> 0:04:40.485 I wasn't able to. And I'm only going to omit 0:04:40.685 --> 0:04:43.205 mentioning it here because I think it has a chance 0:04:43.245 --> 0:04:46.164 of making your list. If it didn't, then I'll save 0:04:46.205 --> 0:04:50.565 it for honorable mentions. I'll include that regret there. So 0:04:50.765 --> 0:04:51.885 how do you want to get us started? 0:04:52.565 --> 0:04:55.885 Yeah, definitely less pressure this time of year. Definitely still 0:04:55.885 --> 0:05:00.005 blind spots. But I will say it made me realize 0:05:00.045 --> 0:05:03.724 what I felt, you know, under the surface, is that 0:05:03.765 --> 0:05:07.164 this has been a great movie year so far. When 0:05:07.165 --> 0:05:10.325 I sat down and looked, I have a top ten 0:05:10.685 --> 0:05:14.245 that I would feel quite good about basically if we 0:05:14.325 --> 0:05:16.605 had to do it right now, and knowing that there 0:05:16.605 --> 0:05:18.364 are films I need to catch up with and so 0:05:18.404 --> 0:05:20.405 many good ones ahead. I think this is going to 0:05:20.404 --> 0:05:22.724 be a banner you for movies by the time we 0:05:22.805 --> 0:05:25.445 get to the end of it. So very excited to 0:05:26.085 --> 0:05:28.205 look at my top five so far. It's also a 0:05:28.284 --> 0:05:30.285 chance for me to play catch up a bit. It 0:05:30.404 --> 0:05:33.325 turns out two of the movies on my list I 0:05:33.485 --> 0:05:37.684 wasn't able to review on the show, Adam, because I 0:05:37.765 --> 0:05:41.325 was traveling in both cases. So I think in both 0:05:41.365 --> 0:05:45.445 cases Vultures Roxannahatti was kind enough to sit in and 0:05:45.645 --> 0:05:49.925 do that review with you. We'll see some I don't 0:05:49.925 --> 0:05:53.805 think I know quite exactly where you landed because I 0:05:53.885 --> 0:05:56.765 haven't had a chance to go back and listen to 0:05:56.885 --> 0:06:01.725 those reviews. Yeah, I'm looking at my list now, so 0:06:01.765 --> 0:06:05.164 maybe you can tell me what you thought with my 0:06:05.284 --> 0:06:08.645 number five. Here I know where you Goell me what 0:06:08.725 --> 0:06:14.765 you thought of I Love Boosters because love love am 0:06:14.765 --> 0:06:17.965 I strong do I love I Love Boosters. It's number 0:06:18.005 --> 0:06:21.125 five on my list, But that means, you know, at 0:06:21.165 --> 0:06:23.044 the end of the year it could still be in 0:06:23.085 --> 0:06:26.125 the top ten. It could have been bumped bumped off, 0:06:26.284 --> 0:06:28.724 but I don't know. I had a bit of a 0:06:28.765 --> 0:06:31.964 journey with this one, Adam, because perhaps naively I thought 0:06:32.045 --> 0:06:35.285 that Boots Riley's follow up to Sorry to Bother You, 0:06:35.605 --> 0:06:37.684 which did make my Top ten list the year, came out. 0:06:37.885 --> 0:06:40.044 I thought, you know, I'm sure his follow up is 0:06:40.045 --> 0:06:42.565 going to be a bit more focused, a bit more disciplined, 0:06:43.725 --> 0:06:45.565 you know, because I don't think you described Sorry to 0:06:45.605 --> 0:06:49.005 Bother You that way. Well, that's not how I would 0:06:49.005 --> 0:06:53.404 describe I love blisters either. I mean, in comparison, I 0:06:53.445 --> 0:06:56.604 think the story here is looser. I think the satire 0:06:57.205 --> 0:07:00.965 is more sporadic, and the ending this was interesting to me, 0:07:01.765 --> 0:07:04.325 especially for the year we're living in. The ending I 0:07:04.404 --> 0:07:06.445 found unconvincingly optimistic. 0:07:06.645 --> 0:07:09.045 I'll say, Okay, yes, yet I agree. 0:07:09.605 --> 0:07:14.165 Yet I was recognizing, okay, I was recognizing all that 0:07:14.245 --> 0:07:17.125 during the movie, and then I was having this parallel 0:07:17.125 --> 0:07:24.085 awareness that I would never find another movie like this 0:07:24.925 --> 0:07:31.325 from another filmmaker. The voice, the energy, the visual inventiveness, 0:07:31.965 --> 0:07:36.125 and I just thought, what do I care if it's 0:07:36.205 --> 0:07:39.365 not the most disciplined thing. We need to treasure an 0:07:39.405 --> 0:07:43.325 idiosyncratic vision like this when we get it on the 0:07:43.325 --> 0:07:47.165 big screen. Plan together we empty out every single metro 0:07:47.205 --> 0:07:48.885 designer in the Bay Area. 0:07:48.805 --> 0:07:51.645 Without to take what's allid We should coordinate? 0:07:52.845 --> 0:07:57.645 What don't we waiting for taking everything. 0:07:56.285 --> 0:08:00.685 It's not even that yellow. 0:08:00.325 --> 0:08:01.205 In air anymore. 0:08:02.325 --> 0:08:05.925 So that's where I landed. I thinking right now that 0:08:05.965 --> 0:08:08.605 I Love Boosters might be the messiest great movie of 0:08:08.645 --> 0:08:12.845 twenty twenty six, and I'm probably okay with that. For 0:08:12.845 --> 0:08:14.525 those who need a reminder, it has been out for 0:08:14.525 --> 0:08:17.365 a while now. This stars Kiki Palmer as the leader 0:08:17.405 --> 0:08:20.285 of a crew of bandits who are lifting high fashion 0:08:20.325 --> 0:08:24.725 and then resell it via underground markets, and you know, 0:08:24.765 --> 0:08:28.565 appropriate to that subject matter. The color popping costume and 0:08:28.605 --> 0:08:33.805 production design was incredible. I think every performance hits its mark. 0:08:33.845 --> 0:08:37.765 Of course Palmer, she's dynamite whenever she's on screen. Taylor Page, 0:08:37.805 --> 0:08:41.405 who I loved in Zola, is so funny. Naomi Aki's 0:08:41.445 --> 0:08:44.885 been doing great recent work. Mickey seventeen is one of 0:08:44.925 --> 0:08:49.005 the films she's been in. Really liked Isaa Gonzalez, who 0:08:49.245 --> 0:08:52.565 I don't think I've seen maybe since Baby Driver and 0:08:52.805 --> 0:08:57.045 Poppy Lou shows up to me. Moore really surprised me 0:08:57.125 --> 0:09:00.605 with the vicious comic chops she shows as this vindictive 0:09:01.245 --> 0:09:05.245 fashion mogul. So oh oh, Lakeith Stanfield, I don't think anyone, 0:09:05.605 --> 0:09:08.405 I don't think anyone knows how to use Lakeith Stanfield's 0:09:08.405 --> 0:09:11.125 particular energy as well as Boots Riley. I think of 0:09:11.165 --> 0:09:15.645 it as like this mixture of sorrow and serenity, but 0:09:15.725 --> 0:09:18.525 also I find it quite hilarious. He's got a small 0:09:18.564 --> 0:09:23.285 part in this, so yeah, crucial, but I enjoyed him. Yeah. 0:09:23.325 --> 0:09:25.645 I was basically able to cutch this just before it 0:09:25.725 --> 0:09:27.685 left theaters. If you need to catch up with it, 0:09:27.684 --> 0:09:30.604 it is now available to rent via various services. I 0:09:30.645 --> 0:09:33.605 think it's at that higher twenty dollars price point right now. 0:09:33.645 --> 0:09:38.365 Hopefully that will drop soon. I'm guessing I'm sensing you 0:09:38.405 --> 0:09:41.005 might have not had quite the same experience with this one. 0:09:41.045 --> 0:09:44.324 Adam, No too messy for me, and the ending I 0:09:44.405 --> 0:09:44.765 get it. 0:09:44.845 --> 0:09:46.085 I get the ending was. 0:09:46.005 --> 0:09:51.245 Definitely too unconvincingly optimistic, and that's something I did talk 0:09:51.245 --> 0:09:55.885 about during the review. The conversation I had with Roxanna, 0:09:56.005 --> 0:09:59.965 she was more definitely way more on your side of 0:10:00.005 --> 0:10:03.485 the ledger. In fact, she I think was more enthusiastic 0:10:03.605 --> 0:10:06.845 than you, Josh I Wow, okay, maybe say, of course, 0:10:06.885 --> 0:10:08.684 I don't know all the films she's seen this year, 0:10:08.725 --> 0:10:11.085 but I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher on 0:10:11.165 --> 0:10:12.964 her list of the best films of the year based 0:10:13.005 --> 0:10:16.645 on how she talks about it, because I didn't hear 0:10:17.085 --> 0:10:23.605 as many reservations in her review. Yes, idiosyncratic voice. I 0:10:23.684 --> 0:10:26.444 really enjoyed that, and I enjoyed many things about the movie, 0:10:26.485 --> 0:10:29.125 including some of those performances that you singled out. I'm 0:10:29.165 --> 0:10:32.285 still not entirely sure what Lakeith Stanfield is doing in 0:10:32.285 --> 0:10:33.245 that movie, and. 0:10:33.245 --> 0:10:36.324 It felt like being Lakeith Stanfield. 0:10:36.445 --> 0:10:39.085 Yeah, it felt like it felt like Boots Riley just 0:10:39.245 --> 0:10:42.165 needed to put him in there. And and sometimes that 0:10:42.205 --> 0:10:44.445 may be okay because I like watching him so much 0:10:44.445 --> 0:10:48.804 on screen, But that last thirty minutes or so is 0:10:48.804 --> 0:10:52.445 where everything just goes off the rails too far for me. 0:10:52.965 --> 0:10:56.444 I'm glad that. I'm glad that you were able to 0:10:56.445 --> 0:11:00.965 to find enough in it to redeem the review. So 0:11:02.165 --> 0:11:04.685 I love Boosters your number five. I've got a film 0:11:04.725 --> 0:11:09.045 at number five that you probably won't have on your list. 0:11:09.125 --> 0:11:14.525 It is the the big box office surprise of twenty 0:11:14.605 --> 0:11:17.845 twenty six. A horror movie. Is this you're going with? 0:11:17.925 --> 0:11:21.885 OBSESSI horror movie. It can't be the first horror movie 0:11:21.885 --> 0:11:24.925 to ever make a top ten for me, but maybe 0:11:25.005 --> 0:11:28.285 I should go back and look. Obsession is my number 0:11:28.564 --> 0:11:34.485 five movie, Yeah, of the year. And it's because I realized, 0:11:34.885 --> 0:11:37.645 especially as I looked back over my notes, I have 0:11:37.725 --> 0:11:42.725 as many notes about that movie, positive reflections, responses, but 0:11:42.804 --> 0:11:47.085 also just ideas, more than any movie, as many or 0:11:47.125 --> 0:11:50.405 more in response to that as I did any movie 0:11:50.645 --> 0:11:56.444 we've discussed this year, so good song, and they're about performance, 0:11:56.804 --> 0:12:02.125 and one performance in particular, but performance generally about lighting, 0:12:02.405 --> 0:12:05.525 about composition, about editing, and a lot of this we 0:12:05.605 --> 0:12:08.885 did get into during our long conversation about this film. 0:12:08.925 --> 0:12:10.845 You can find it in the film spotting feed if 0:12:10.845 --> 0:12:14.685 you didn't hear our review of Obsession. But also I 0:12:14.765 --> 0:12:20.045 mentioned ideas. It's provocations, unlike for me back Rooms, which 0:12:20.245 --> 0:12:23.205 gets a little too messy here I'll use that word again, 0:12:23.245 --> 0:12:27.205 MESSI in its world building, the details, and a movie 0:12:27.365 --> 0:12:31.205 like one we talked about in Bonus Content recently, a 0:12:31.205 --> 0:12:34.005 movie like it follows that maybe needed a few more 0:12:34.045 --> 0:12:37.445 details for me to really get engaged with. I thought 0:12:37.485 --> 0:12:42.205 Obsession threaded the needle just as it needed to. The 0:12:42.245 --> 0:12:45.805 other provocations, like the main character bear his ability to 0:12:45.885 --> 0:12:50.485 deny what he fundamentally knows to be true, that this 0:12:50.645 --> 0:12:54.325 isn't really her, this isn't really the girl that he 0:12:54.445 --> 0:12:56.964 fell in love with and something seems to be off 0:12:57.365 --> 0:13:00.885 how much his love for her is grounded in the 0:13:00.925 --> 0:13:06.005 physical pleasure he derives from her as that physical object, 0:13:06.485 --> 0:13:09.445 And how to want to make someone love you is 0:13:09.485 --> 0:13:13.645 effectively to want to dehumanize them, to strip away from 0:13:13.684 --> 0:13:17.845 them everything that makes them who they are as an individual. 0:13:18.285 --> 0:13:22.445 All of those things we did discover us and were 0:13:22.485 --> 0:13:25.285 things that I was thinking about for a good week 0:13:25.564 --> 0:13:29.405 after I saw the movie Obsession. So you have craft, 0:13:29.725 --> 0:13:34.325 but you also have those those themes that were provocative, 0:13:34.645 --> 0:13:38.565 and I mentioned performance in one in particular. Apparently not official, 0:13:40.285 --> 0:13:44.125 but it seems that the breakout star of that film, 0:13:44.125 --> 0:13:48.725 and deservedly so, Indie never Ready, has met with Michael 0:13:48.804 --> 0:13:52.804 Mann about being in Heat two. Like I needed any 0:13:52.845 --> 0:13:56.645 more reason to be excited about Heat two, but yeah, 0:13:57.165 --> 0:13:59.725 put her in everything. I want to see more of 0:13:59.765 --> 0:14:02.165 Indie never Ready. So Obsessions my number five. 0:14:02.485 --> 0:14:18.685 Wow, no no what no no no, no, no, no, no, no. Nice. 0:14:20.245 --> 0:14:23.605 I liked Obsession and she's my favorite thing in the movie. 0:14:23.645 --> 0:14:25.605 I would say, absolutely, We're going to do for our 0:14:25.605 --> 0:14:28.205 film spotting family members a bonus show on our favorite 0:14:28.205 --> 0:14:31.525 performances of the year. So safe to say we'll both 0:14:31.565 --> 0:14:34.805 have more to say about Robba Blades on that episode. 0:14:34.525 --> 0:14:38.165 But yeah, I do like the film. I love seeing 0:14:38.165 --> 0:14:41.085 horror on your list. So this We're off to a 0:14:41.125 --> 0:14:43.685 great start here as far as I'm concerned. All Right, 0:14:43.685 --> 0:14:48.605 My number four is the Invite, which I just talked 0:14:48.605 --> 0:14:51.885 about on last week's show. I gave it a huge recommendation. 0:14:52.525 --> 0:14:57.965 It's only grown in my estimation since then, partly because 0:14:58.525 --> 0:15:02.485 I've only heard more good things about it from pretty 0:15:02.565 --> 0:15:04.525 much everyone in my life who goes to the movies. 0:15:04.605 --> 0:15:07.805 And these are you know, these aren't like cinephiles either. 0:15:07.885 --> 0:15:11.445 These are just like civilians who catch a film every 0:15:11.445 --> 0:15:15.445 once in a while, and they're coming out of this 0:15:15.525 --> 0:15:19.485 thing just delighted. And every time they tell me that, 0:15:19.605 --> 0:15:24.325 it's like, yeah, was really fun. That was just incredibly fun. 0:15:24.445 --> 0:15:26.605 So we have Olivia Wild and Seth Rogan here as 0:15:26.645 --> 0:15:29.965 this troubled married couple. They invite their upstairs neighbors for 0:15:30.005 --> 0:15:33.205 a visit that goes goes sideways, goes upside down, and 0:15:33.205 --> 0:15:36.125 it goes all all over the place all sorts of directions. 0:15:36.565 --> 0:15:40.045 Penelope Cruz and Edward Norton are that other couple. It 0:15:41.325 --> 0:15:44.445 took you a while to come to the door, and 0:15:44.765 --> 0:15:46.725 it sounded like you were arguing. 0:15:47.125 --> 0:15:48.805 No. I just want to be honest. 0:15:48.845 --> 0:15:51.405 We were We were at the door before we rang, 0:15:51.445 --> 0:15:52.605 and we could hear you were fighting. 0:15:53.605 --> 0:15:54.645 Oh we were talking. 0:15:54.685 --> 0:15:56.765 We were we were fighting. 0:15:56.845 --> 0:15:59.285 We were fighting a bit of a contentious environment. And 0:15:59.365 --> 0:16:02.085 here's what I understand. If that's repellent to you, no 0:16:02.125 --> 0:16:04.605 hard feelings, you know what I mean, completely understand. 0:16:04.685 --> 0:16:08.965 You know, we love a contentious environment. I never doubted 0:16:09.005 --> 0:16:12.205 Olivia Wilde. I knew she had comic directing chops, and 0:16:12.245 --> 0:16:15.165 that is on display here from behind the camera. I 0:16:15.205 --> 0:16:18.365 did not know. I was probably like if you had 0:16:18.365 --> 0:16:21.565 asked me how Olivia Wilde is on screen as an actor, 0:16:22.605 --> 0:16:26.165 even in you know, BookSmart and Don't Worry Diarlinge her 0:16:26.165 --> 0:16:29.805 other directorial efforts, I would have probably said, she's fine. Yeah, 0:16:29.845 --> 0:16:31.205 you know, she's fine. I think she was in a 0:16:31.205 --> 0:16:34.725 Tron remake at some point. I remember her in Man, 0:16:35.485 --> 0:16:40.485 the way she just elevates this as one of the four. 0:16:40.645 --> 0:16:45.525 Here her hilarious quick twitch expressions in response to all 0:16:45.525 --> 0:16:48.965 this stuff going around her. Again that performances of the 0:16:49.045 --> 0:16:52.085 year Bonus Show is coming up for film spotting family members, 0:16:52.165 --> 0:16:56.525 I will say more about her as well on that show. 0:16:56.605 --> 0:16:58.285 But for now, this is number four on my list, 0:16:58.365 --> 0:17:01.365 easily the twenty twenty six movie I've been recommending the 0:17:01.365 --> 0:17:05.005 most of people. Just incredibly funny, knowing a great time 0:17:05.005 --> 0:17:07.885 of the theater, which is where you can still find it. 0:17:08.085 --> 0:17:12.405 So if you've not made it there yet, get to 0:17:12.925 --> 0:17:14.805 a theater, have you had a chance. 0:17:15.365 --> 0:17:17.565 Yeah, that's the one, Josh, that's the one, the one, 0:17:17.885 --> 0:17:21.165 that's the one I needed to get to the one 0:17:21.285 --> 0:17:24.805 theater near me that's playing it, and they're just I 0:17:24.845 --> 0:17:26.405 may get to this when I get to my number 0:17:26.445 --> 0:17:29.005 three pick into more detail about why I couldn't see it, 0:17:29.405 --> 0:17:31.805 but there just weren't enough showtimes for me to make it. 0:17:32.165 --> 0:17:34.845 Desperate to see it. Knowing how much you liked it, 0:17:35.365 --> 0:17:39.645 how many critics were raving about it, you had to 0:17:39.645 --> 0:17:42.005 think it had a decent shot of making my list, 0:17:42.085 --> 0:17:43.765 And so the fact that it's a blind spot for 0:17:43.805 --> 0:17:47.125 me at this point really is is crushing me. But 0:17:47.205 --> 0:17:50.725 that was my biggest regret in terms of movies I 0:17:50.725 --> 0:17:52.645 didn't get to see. But I mean, it's fresh, it's 0:17:52.645 --> 0:17:54.885 just forming it. It just came out like ten days ago. 0:17:55.005 --> 0:18:01.125 So Adam were always praising the theatrical experience. We talk 0:18:01.165 --> 0:18:04.325 about how a big comedy, something like The Invite, you 0:18:04.405 --> 0:18:06.165 got to see in a theater with a crowd to 0:18:06.205 --> 0:18:09.845 get those laughs. Horror movies, of course you want to see. 0:18:09.685 --> 0:18:12.245 It with a crowd just for safety. But you know 0:18:12.285 --> 0:18:15.645 the screams too, the screams. You got to share the screams. 0:18:16.205 --> 0:18:20.125 You also want to be in a theater for the images, 0:18:20.285 --> 0:18:23.405 the giant images, and Christopher Nolan is one of those 0:18:23.445 --> 0:18:27.045 filmmakers who is going to deliver on that front. That's 0:18:27.045 --> 0:18:31.405 why everyone is why everyone is so excited about the Odyssey. 0:18:31.965 --> 0:18:34.965 If you're excited about the Odyssey, you'd be more excited 0:18:35.685 --> 0:18:38.485 about seeing the Odyssey for free, which you can do 0:18:39.005 --> 0:18:42.045 with Regal Unlimited. Regal Unlimited is the all you can 0:18:42.085 --> 0:18:45.685 watch movie subscription pass that pays for itself in just 0:18:45.725 --> 0:18:49.605 two visits, and right now Regal is offering film spotting 0:18:49.645 --> 0:18:52.845 listeners endless movies for less. If you sign up for 0:18:52.925 --> 0:18:56.365 Regal Unlimited using code film spot twenty six, you're going 0:18:56.405 --> 0:18:59.645 to get fifteen percent off. Regal Unlimited is the only 0:18:59.685 --> 0:19:03.565 truly limitless movie subscription pass. You can see any standard 0:19:03.605 --> 0:19:06.845 two D movie at any time with no blackout dates 0:19:06.925 --> 0:19:10.885 or restrictions. Also, with Regal Unlimited, you'll save money not 0:19:10.925 --> 0:19:14.005 only on tickets, but also on snacks. Members get ten 0:19:14.045 --> 0:19:18.365 percent off all non alcoholic concessions. So sign up now 0:19:18.445 --> 0:19:20.885 in the Regal app or at the link in our 0:19:21.005 --> 0:19:24.605 description and use code film spot twenty six to receive 0:19:24.965 --> 0:19:36.885 our disco. 0:19:38.005 --> 0:19:40.365 Jason, if you wanted to let us know that our 0:19:40.445 --> 0:19:42.685 son is dead on the front step, I told him 0:19:42.725 --> 0:19:43.365 not to worry. 0:19:43.565 --> 0:19:44.765 He will come back to life soon. 0:19:44.805 --> 0:19:50.845 Here my number four, and I'm going to resort here 0:19:50.965 --> 0:19:55.165 to a tactic we occasionally employ when we're forming lists 0:19:55.205 --> 0:19:57.484 like this. I'm going to quote from one of our 0:19:57.485 --> 0:19:59.765 great critics, someone we feature on our show, someone who 0:19:59.845 --> 0:20:03.965 is part of the Film Spotting family of podcasts, Alison 0:20:04.045 --> 0:20:06.965 wilmore Over at Vulture. And it's because it's so brilliant, 0:20:07.005 --> 0:20:09.165 and it's also because, I mean, she says it better 0:20:09.205 --> 0:20:11.885 than I could about this film, but also because we 0:20:11.965 --> 0:20:14.725 talked about this movie so in depth, Josh, that I realized, 0:20:14.845 --> 0:20:17.805 I just I can't repackage my thoughts about this movie. 0:20:17.845 --> 0:20:19.245 And if it makes my top ten at the end 0:20:19.285 --> 0:20:21.325 of the year, I don't know. I'm I'd have to 0:20:21.365 --> 0:20:23.725 watch it again and see if I can find some 0:20:23.805 --> 0:20:27.125 new nugget, some new insight to pull from the movie. 0:20:27.325 --> 0:20:32.645 At number four, I've got Sophie Ramvari's debut, Blue Heron, 0:20:33.685 --> 0:20:37.725 this autobiographical film. So I'm going to read from the 0:20:37.725 --> 0:20:43.085 first paragraph of Alison Wilmore's rave for Blue Heron. She says, 0:20:43.205 --> 0:20:46.445 Blue Heron is an autobiographical film pulled directly out of 0:20:46.445 --> 0:20:50.085 writer director Sophie Rombari's childhood, from the period when her parents, 0:20:50.165 --> 0:20:53.205 both Hungarian immigrants, moved their family of six into a 0:20:53.245 --> 0:20:56.125 new house on Vancouver Island. But what it really feels 0:20:56.165 --> 0:20:59.045 like is a seance, a way of using cinema not 0:20:59.165 --> 0:21:01.445 just to put the past on screen, but to commune 0:21:01.485 --> 0:21:04.685 with it, to interrogate it for information that her younger 0:21:04.725 --> 0:21:07.405 self was unable to grasp at the time. It's a 0:21:07.445 --> 0:21:10.125 tender but devastating work that exists in the nether world 0:21:10.165 --> 0:21:14.285 between documentary and fiction, where the innate artificiality of recreating 0:21:14.325 --> 0:21:17.085 something that actually happened allows a filmmaker to get to 0:21:17.165 --> 0:21:21.245 a greater truth. For asme L Mudir in The Mother 0:21:21.285 --> 0:21:23.765 of All Lies, that meant using miniatures to coax out 0:21:23.805 --> 0:21:27.165 details of her family's experiences during Morocco's brutal Years of 0:21:27.245 --> 0:21:30.685 lead for Joshua Oppenheimer in the Act of Killing, having 0:21:30.765 --> 0:21:33.525 two unabashed death Squad leaders re enact some of the 0:21:33.605 --> 0:21:36.485 murders they committed under Suharto seems to force the men 0:21:36.525 --> 0:21:41.085 to reconsider their participation in politically sanctioned mass slaughter. So, 0:21:41.765 --> 0:21:47.405 using those two films as a touchstone for how artificiality 0:21:47.445 --> 0:21:52.005 can lead to truth, Blue Heron in Allison's estimation doing 0:21:52.045 --> 0:21:55.725 something similar. The movies I referenced during our review were 0:21:55.725 --> 0:21:59.805 some of my favorites of recent vintage josh like Aftersun 0:22:00.045 --> 0:22:03.405 and All of Us Strangers, and going back a little 0:22:03.445 --> 0:22:08.245 further Iranian cinema like Kirostami's Close Up and Jafar Panahi's 0:22:08.285 --> 0:22:10.205 The Mirror. And I said it then and I will 0:22:10.205 --> 0:22:14.165 say it again because it is still something I think 0:22:14.205 --> 0:22:17.325 about in relation to this film. If it could have 0:22:17.645 --> 0:22:26.605 somehow hit the truth for me through that meta exploration 0:22:27.325 --> 0:22:30.805 that those four films did, with the power that those 0:22:30.845 --> 0:22:35.365 four films did, obviously it would be my number one 0:22:35.365 --> 0:22:37.645 film of the year so far, and it would probably 0:22:37.685 --> 0:22:41.925 be entrenched there all year. It doesn't quite get there 0:22:41.965 --> 0:22:48.205 for me. The technique that romvari employs and how she 0:22:48.365 --> 0:22:54.925 employs it the documentary style. I tried to I tried 0:22:54.925 --> 0:22:57.085 to articulate as best I could why it didn't work. 0:22:57.125 --> 0:23:00.285 Maybe that is the impetus for me to rewatch it 0:23:00.365 --> 0:23:02.885 before the end of the year, to try to get 0:23:03.165 --> 0:23:07.165 even further at why I didn't fully connect with it 0:23:07.725 --> 0:23:10.645 the way I do tend to connect with movies that 0:23:10.765 --> 0:23:13.965 employed this type of technique. That's something I will have 0:23:14.005 --> 0:23:16.165 to deal with. As I said, maybe a little bit 0:23:16.245 --> 0:23:19.605 later in the year. That said, we did have such 0:23:19.645 --> 0:23:23.605 a rich discussion about this film because of the things 0:23:23.645 --> 0:23:27.325 Allison is describing so eloquently, the fact that it is 0:23:27.885 --> 0:23:31.925 it does feel like a seance using cinema to commune 0:23:32.365 --> 0:23:38.685 and interrogate the past and the technique, setting aside the 0:23:39.405 --> 0:23:44.484 meta aspects, setting aside the fracture between past and present 0:23:44.525 --> 0:23:48.445 that happens in this film. Just some of the performances, 0:23:49.445 --> 0:23:56.125 some of the cinematography is so satisfying to watch, especially 0:23:56.125 --> 0:23:59.365 for a debut filmmaker. There's a reason why it's a 0:23:59.405 --> 0:24:01.765