Episode 23 — Dumb Movies That Will Be Studied by History

[JulyDiaz 2797]

The most important movies in history don’t always walk away with Academy Awards. In this podcast, you'll hear Jack O'Brien explain what Teen Wolf can tell us about the history of race relations in America, Dan O'Brien point out that Last Action Hero was basically the 1990’s answer to Inception, and Jason Pargin (aka David Wong) argue that The Matrix deserved to win Best Picture.

 

Don’t start arguing in the comments section before you throw on your headphones and click play.

[Tradermings 0]

scottie pippen* actually produced numbers on the board.

 

*don cannon

[NortonCox 16]

I really liked that episode. I've been peeking in on this show but this is certainly an ep that caused me to move from curious to looking up past and future works. Yet, I might be remembering it wrong, but I'm sure there was plenty of Forth Wall Breaking, self-referential, sarcastic comedy in the early 90's. That's where Last Action Hero bombed in my heart, the comedy was lame. The commentary was good. I still remember the line "Take his shoes?"

[Joshie 125]

the matrix sequels were really good

 

deal w/it

[katexmachina 23]

Last Action Hero came out when I was 6, and was my faaavorite movie. For years. Most little girls wanted to watch the Aladdin VHS over and over, but LAS was always the movie I picked. Thank you so much for this episode because I am now about to watch it on hulu for the first rewatch in like, 15 years.

[Joe Lerini 7329]

I loved the Last Action Hero soundtrack. I listened to it all the time when I was 10-11. I didn't see the movie until a few years later. I kinda like it. Might rewatch it soon.

[PlanBFromOuterSpace 3138]

So there's a pregnancy storyline in the "Teen Wolf" TV show? Does EVERY fucking show on MTV nowadays have to be about teen pregnancy? What the hell...

[HotSaucerman 2051]

[sigh] It was Michael Jordan, NOT Scottie Pippen.

 

(Also, discussing the issue of race/lack of black people in John Hughes movies is pointless and has nothing to do with John Hughes. You're just touching on the overall lack of black people in movies in general.)

[ocean_machine 56]

Actually, Jason, Men's Rights activists DO NOT use the "red pill" metaphore. You're thinking of The Red Pill (so subtle!) which is an entirely different group, unaffiliated group. The two groups don't even like each other. If you're going to talk shit about someone, at least do a little research.

[sharklasers 1]

I recently rewatched The Matrix, and for me it didn't hold up at all due to the issues mentioned. The Wachowskis just don't seem to ever have had a firm grasp of their own mythology or its possibilities, even less than e.g. George Lucas had on his.

 

About a decade ago, I rewrote Matrix in my head. In my version, Neo and Trinity (although I'd rename all the characters (and replace all the actors)) were linked through an "origin accident", possibly a simple wiring error in the Matrix. So "Neo" would wake up outside as "Trinity", and then meet himself (i.e. the person who is "Trinity" inside the Matrix).

 

It would give a wonderful spin to lines that are actually in the movie, e.g. when they meet for the first time in the club and he says "I thought you were a guy". Or at the end of the film, instead of Morpheus saying "He's the one", he might say "They are one".

 

Plus, years after I did this re-imagining of the film, I read that one of the Wachowskis had actually undergone sex change, which made it almost weird that they didn't think of that twist, if only in some draft.