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I use the search tab and can't find this movie in the forum, so I post it, just in case. If someone has already posted it, just tell me; I will take it down immediately The reason: the virtual reality scene; that alone is worthy of a hour of discussion.

JULIE KLAUSNER fills in as co-host after the Boys get into a big fight. Also as this is an official thread, I have decided to make the official announcement. For episode 300 they are flying the hosts of The Official The Orville Podcast out to LA and putting them up in a beautiful star hotel. Be sure to send in some popcorn gallery questions for Miranda and the Crew

I get chronic migraines and I just got the first I've had in a month (and it's been a pretty bad one. I've been mainlineing episodes of podcasts and between Nicole Byer and this I have a reason to not become cryogenicly frozen like Walt Disney. Also I think you guys have something to do with Murder She Wrote being on prime now!

Between this and that fucking awful movie she did with Antonio Banderas I really feel like this podcast is missing out on some Rebecca DeMornay gems.

Doing a quick search, I discovered that this is in reference to Gargoyle sunglasses, which had this as their slogan. A shirt with this phrase is also seen in Say Anything (I hope Paul discusses that on Unspooled). The sunglasses gained popularity when Arnold wore a pair of them in The Terminator.

hey thejjar here keeping my streak of episode posts alive. 2 more eps until 300. im proud of these boys no matter what anyone else says

First, the admission. I too, was fascinated by soap opera kissing as a young boy AND practiced on my mom. So Paul, you are not alone!! Well maybe 4 or 5 times until my mom put the brakes on it. Now the omission! Paul, what research were you going to share with us before Jason and June’s ridiculing made you give up? I’m dying to know!

Popcorn Galerie Questions for Orville: * When you worked in that bicycle shop, what was the most annoying thing that Wilbur did before he invented the airplane? * How did you create popcorn when corn was already a thing? When you tried to call them "Hot Redenbachers" and it didn't take off, did you ever think about throwing in the towel? What's with the bow tie and suspenders? (JULIE KLAUSNER JUST SAID POPCORN GALLERY INTO THE PODCAST!)

TOM SCHARPLING makes his grand return to the show. Meanwhile on the forums, robotam starts a thread...

posting in case sean and hayes do something special for ep 300 and it doesnt seem like your valiant hero just came back last second to reap the rewards

I got a late start on the podcast because of the holiday week here, and I am sort of floored that this film doesn't have ardent defenders on this forum. Therefore, I suppose I'll be the first. First, some things that I am not holding against this movie. By all accounts, it seems like Michael Cimino is a huge asshole who used questionable methods at several points of making this film. I readily admit that, but I am not incorporating that into my judgment of this movie. Also, it seemed like Paul wanted to judge the film for being based on a rather ridiculous-sounding Vegas screenplay. If you want to use that as an argument that the brilliance of what made it onto the screen was by accident rather than by plan, I could see that argument, but again, I'm only judging the film as I see it. Next, to address some of the common criticisms. No, there was no Russian roulette being played in Vietnam. I don't believe the film is trying to make you think there was, but perhaps this ambiguity of intention is what people bristle most at, as if this film was somehow purporting itself to be an historically accurate account of the Vietnam War. For one thing, I don't understand how someone could watch this film and think that, but for another, if people do misunderstand this intention, how much of that is the fault of the film? Many Nazis see Starship Troopers as a celebration of facism and race supremacy rather than a critique of such things, which was Verhoeven's intention. Should the film be faulted for not being more transparent? Did The Deer Hunter need a disclaimer that said "This film is completely fiction, and also don't try to play Russian roulette at home, you idiots"? About accusations of racism: I am not Vietnamese, so I have no ability to say that this film should or shouldn't be offensive to a Vietnamese person (or any other Asian ethnicities, for that matter.) So I want to choose my words carefully, because I'm in no way saying that someone is wrong for finding this offensive. However, the cage scene included victims who were South Vietnamese, so it's not true that all the Asian characters were portrayed in a negative light. And while North Vietnamese troops never forced prisoners to play Russian roulette, there are plenty of accounts of the North Vietnamese subjecting their prisoners to different types of physical and psychological torture. And yes, Americans have been guilty of the exact same thing too, and that isn't depicted in this film, and perhaps that's problematic that we only get to see one side. Again, I'm not trying to refute anyone's feelings, I'm just pointing out those things. About Michael as a "perfect" character: what? This dude's a fucking asshole to every in the town but Nick! I find his views on hunting in the beginning to border on ruthless sociopathy, and it's this ruthless sociopathy that gets him through the war. He was so fucked up that going through the war actually makes him a better person, as he realizes that his previous samurai-esque credo was bullshit. I think the film posits that anyone who could make it through a war like that without losing their minds a bit must be a psychopath. Now, I would say that the film clearly sets up that Michael is the alpha male, Steven is the beta male, and Nick is the gamma male. Perhaps someone drawn to alpha male leadership would have a higher opinion of Michael than I do. And to Paul's criticism that the small town feels imagined: having also grown up in a "suburb" of Pittsburgh (I was probably a bit too far away to be considered a suburb, but it was the closest urban area), most of it felt very real to me. Why does Michael make a big deal about Rolling Rock? Because some other yinzer would probably give her an Iron City! But it's completely believable to me that after working at the plant/mill/factory/pick your favorite Rust Belt small-town industry, everyone would ritualistically go to the bar. And I genuinely feel sorry for Paul if he doesn't have any male friends that he can break out in song with after a few beers when something everyone knows comes on the jukebox. As I mentioned in my Letterboxd review, my only major complaint with the depiction of Clairton is that all three male leads speak in THICK NEW YORK ACCENTS which bummed me out as an aficionado of the heavy Pittsburgh accent. Yes! But that's just one way to look at it. While Paul sees the film as muddled, I see it as having many, many layers. I dove into a couple in my Letterboxd review, but the one I'll talk about now is Russian roulette as a metaphor for war, particularly the Vietnam War. Each soldier goes knowing that there's a chance every day that they'll die, and there's a chance their enemy will die, but neither can leave until one side is downed. The prison Russian roulette scene represents the draft; sadistic powers that be force unwilling participates to kill or be killed. Next, the Frenchman plays the part of a military recruiter, trying to incentivize you to willingly gamble with your own life while he reaps the benefits. And ultimately, Nick's addiction to the game stands in for the soldier who volunteers over and over because civilian life seems to be no longer a viable option, which is part of the PTSD thing. But all the spectators are the governments who use people's lives like chess pieces to achieve goals that are far from the minds of those with their fingers on the triggers. As a case in point, the US fought the Vietnam War not against any Vietnamese factions, but against the ideologies of the Soviet Union. So then to this point: I think this is an apt point, but it again goes with the theme. This film is pointing out that the Vietnam War was a literal war fought against a figurative enemy, and the film depicts this using a figurative war with literal casualties. And to refute something else brought up in the podcast: the characters aren't Russian because of Russian roulette, they're Russian to prove a point about the arbitrariness of boundaries and the stupidity of losing so many lives over something so arbitrary. If Nick Chevotarevich's parents or grandparents hadn't immigrated, he'd be on the other side. Maybe he'd be one of the Soviet troops who invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968, or maybe he'd think about joining the war in Afghanistan in 1979. But the point is, the only difference is that he'd be on the other side of the Russian roulette table. So all in all, I find The Deer Hunter to be one of the richest anti-war films that I've seen, and the final scene of the characters singing "God Bless America" is an all-time cynical ending, turning the cliché 70s downer ending on its head by providing what seems to be an uplifting moment for its characters, but is a gut-punch to the viewer. Look, I could talk about this film as much as anyone wants (I didn't touch on the homoerotic interpretation, which I also think is fascinating), but I've already probably written more than anyone cares to read, and I have another 500 words or so in my Letterboxd review about a couple themes/motifs that I didn't even mention here. And I'm sure that I won't sway anyone's opinion, but I just felt that this movie deserved someone to say that despite the director being an asshole, despite the production issues, despite the controversies, this film is fucking great.

Who are the 3 fans that made scharpling sad? Was it Ben folds three?

congrats on the thread robotam. really digging the vibe in this one

"When your baby feeds, its from my breasts" as delivered by Rebecca DeMornay will always be one of the creepiest lines in cinematic history.

Though it sounds like both were pretty terrible, so they've got that in common.

It's the first of two collaborations between Barry Levinson and Michael Crichton. The other that came after it? Sphere from 1998! These two films could not be any more different.

I could have sworn there was a scene where they have the Japanese visit for a big demonstration of their ridiculous virtual reality FILING CABINET. Maybe I was thinking of another early 90s thriller turd, Rising Sun. Speaking of Ninja Turtles and the discussion how EVERY 80s movie had tits in it, I caught the first Ninja Turtles movie on Netflix for the first time in 25 years, and holy crap. Little kid me never notcied that April O Neal's nipples are bursting through her tank top the whole movie. Halfway through she gets a shoulder massage from Casey Jones and the things are ready to pop out as he practically cops a feel to her orgasmic groaning. This was a PG kids movie!

Well, the writer of Chinatown, many deem as the greatest movie ever, wrote Mission Impossible:2...although, to be fair, he was forced to rewrite the script by the producer and worked under a lot of restrictions... Japan? I thought the only foreign country Disclosure talked about was Malaysia...

Falling Down is sort of in that category too. Michael Douglas was basically the symbolic white man seeing the world change around him.

Barry Levinson is one of those directors who's supposedly great but I can't stand any of his stuff and don't see what the big deal was. Robert Altman is probably my #1 on that list. M*A*S*H is only loved by people of draft age during Vietnam, and his continuous take gimmick was pointless and lazy against something like Touch of Evil or Hard Boiled. Anyway, Dislosure is sooooo early 90s. It was the time where everyone thought 3 things were going to take over everything: Japan, women in the workplace, and virtual reality. Disclosure combines all of them. Not since Vanilla Ice rapped with Ninja Turtles has there been a more early 90s movie.

It's hard to believe this piece of trash was directed by Barry f-ing Levinson, of all people (not to mention written by the same guy who wrote Quiz Show, as well!).

I was actually ashamed that it took me a while to realize that the gynecologist molested Annabella Sciorra. I honestly did not notice that he took off the glove. This really is a movie that I would watch over and over again because of the insanity in it. Just how easily Rebecca DeMornay becomes the nanny for these people is crazy. And don't get me started on Julianne Moore's character.

This was a good movie! But looking back on it there were a lot of crazy moments, the craziest being when the DeMornay(sp?) was breast feeding the other woman's baby. Also, there is a creepy gynecologist in this movie, guys.