Episode 156 - xXx: Return of Xander Cage: LIVE!

[JammerLea 2070]

Have not watched the movie, but the episode was indeed a joy to listen to. Wow, what a mess! I think the theater-going stories were my favorite tbh. Totally amused at Jason getting hushed; I'd probably be laughing at that movie too.

 

That interview clip was so damn creepy, like I was scared for the lady interviewing him. Tone it down, Diesel! Not appropriate!

 

June getting angry at those bizarre song video clips made my day too. I was trying to work on a drawing and some of my lines turned out shaky because I was laughing too much omg

 

Great episode overall!!

[Cheeksotron X 1]

In the Vin Diesel interview you guys played, I definitely like to imagine the "you guys" he was talking to were his Wife and three kids, likely with less than enthusiastic expressions on their faces.

[mikemac 49]

June really has a thing for inflexible men (Earnest clearly being the exception, though since he's deceased I guess he is also stiff).

[Smigg 1488]

I haven't finished listening to the episode yet, but whenever someone brings up these movies, I always think of this anecdote. I apologize in advance for some of the language used.

 

About three or four years ago I went to a "gentlemen's club" with a couple friends. It was a Thursday night, so I already knew their "A-Team" wouldn't be working. So, we get there, grab a drink, and kinda chill at the bar watching the show. About 15 minutes after we get there one of the dancers comes up to us. And she was like the epitome of a washed out stripper. Dyed blonde hair that was showing her dark roots, probably in her early 40s but her face looked like she "lived a lot" when she was young (if you get my meaning), and fake boobs. She also reeked of cigarettes and had that old-lady smoker voice. The one you get for smoking like two packs a day for your entire life.

 

She introduces herself as, no joke, "Triple X." I had to hold back the biggest snicker, because this was ridiculous. One of my friends immediately peaced out of this conversation and walked around the place. That left me and my other friend with her, and we talked with her for a couple minutes, because we're polite guys. Normal stuff like our names, what we do, how often we come (almost never), etc.

 

Then, I make the joke "Oh, your name is 'Triple X'? Like the movie?" This was the worst mistake I've ever made.

 

She replies, "Yeah, but only the good one."

 

In my head I thought, "Yes, the Vin Diesel one. Not the shitty Ice Cube one." Now, I've never seen the Ice Cube one. I just remember hearing it was crap.

 

She then says "You know, the one with Ice Cube." And then there was a pause. To which she followed up with, "You know Vin Diesel's a faggot, right?"

 

I pride myself on being a clever, quick person. I usually have some sort of quip or joke to make at any occasion. I was completely stunned. I looked at my friend who was also at a loss for words.

 

I think she got pissed we didn't laugh or agree with her, because after that she just said "Ugh, whatever," and walked away from us in a huff. It was honestly one of the most bizarre experiences of my life. She also came back up to me later, when I was alone waiting for my friends who were in the "VIP Room," and completely forgot that we had spoken before.

 

I don't know why I laughed so hard at this, but I'm glad I read it.

 

But, I know what you mean, I have a couple of friends who do or have done porn, and they told me that they knew so many girls who, say their name was "Sarah Fox", they'd spell it "Sarah FoXXX", and every time I see the XXX, two things always pop into my head. The movie, or the Austrailian beer called 'Castlemine XXXX".

[Smigg 1488]

June really has a thing for inflexible men (Earnest clearly being the exception, though since he's deceased I guess he is also stiff).

 

Holy shit! I just had to check google, I didn't know he died 17 years ago.

[babyoilbandit 81]

I'm most of the way through the episode and just wanted to make a minor correction that may have been corrected late on but anyway the xXx death scene isn't his whole face it's just his scalp - in which case he could've faked it, also I think this was a deleted scene and not in the actual film. Here's the clip without audio because that's the only one I could find:

 

[Jack Frost 252]

I know Hollywood can be incredibly ageist and sexist when it comes to casting actresses who are over 25

Maggie Gyllenhaal was told at 37 that she was too old to play the love interest of a 55 year old man. This stuff PISSES me off!!!

Off topic, one of my favorite moments was how hard June laughed at the penguin joke. I was SO excited that the whole crew was there.

[OliverQueen_105387 2]

I remember them asking about the soccer player and how he got signed up for Triple xXx program and all he does is kick, and June wondered if all the agents were athletes. Well, if I remember correctly, part of the reason Xander Cage was chosen initially was because the government had been having trouble sending regular secret agents to infiltrate the terrorist gang because they were so easily sniffed out. Xander Cage was a well-known badass xtreme sports guy that probably could pull off not being some square government secret agent. In the first movie, one of the main bad guy's henchmen even recognizes xtreme sporter Cage and it further helps him get closer with the bad guys.

 

So basically, taking famous athletes and letting them infiltrate gang organizations is easier than taking some random agent and trying to get them into the gangs.

 

 

Side note: in the first movie they actually tested out two other xtreme sports guys besides Xander Cage for the mission. One got injured and the other took off, leaving Xander and injured guy behind. Xander helped the injured guy while fighting off drug dealers, and that's how he made the final cut.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Guess what, I'm still stuck on Ruby Rose (cause I just saw John Wick 2 and girl was killin' it)

 

Why wasn't she the DJ? Like it's super cool they made her be a sniper and then do some super awesome stuff but if they had a DJ character then like... it should have also just been her. Combine the two gdi it's not like a sniper can't also be good with music. I mean SHE IS A WORKING DJ!

 

 

I'm just wanting more things for her to do. She's awesome.

[tomspanks 9039]

Maggie Gyllenhaal was told at 37 that she was too old to play the love interest of a 55 year old man. This stuff PISSES me off!!!

 

Which movie was it?

[Madcheapgriggs 5]

Additional footage and angle of Vin Diesel being a lunatic in that interview. https://youtu.be/LTaZ1NVd9k0

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Guess what, I'm still stuck on Ruby Rose (cause I just saw John Wick 2 and girl was killin' it)

 

Why wasn't she the DJ? Like it's super cool they made her be a sniper and then do some super awesome stuff but if they had a DJ character then like... it should have also just been her. Combine the two gdi it's not like a sniper can't also be good with music. I mean SHE IS A WORKING DJ!

 

 

I'm just wanting more things for her to do. She's awesome.

I thought she was totally wasted in John Wick: Chapter 2. She spends most of the movie just walking around with her gun drawn. Then she gets one fight scene that lasts, like, 45 seconds. I wish they had given her a lot more to do because she's so under-utilized. It's weird that xXx actually uses her much better.

 

 

Which movie was it?

I don't think she's ever revealed what movie it was or who the 55-year-old was, but it was in an interview with The Wrap:

 

http://www.thewrap.com/maggie-gyllenhaal-on-hollywood-ageism-i-was-told-37-is-too-old-for-a-55-year-old-love-interest/

[taylor anne photo 11311]

I thought she was totally wasted in John Wick: Chapter 2. She spends most of the movie just walking around with her gun drawn. Then she gets one fight scene that lasts, like, 45 seconds. I wish they had given her a lot more to do because she's so under-utilized. It's weird that xXx actually uses her much better.

Yeah I agree with you. I do like that she's in most of the movie and speaking sign language which is awesome, but that last fight scene was really disappointing. When she started spinning around with the knife I was like "YAS" and then it was over. Like it was so cool that she popped up so many times being unheard and I wish they had highlighted that and made it more known that her character was hoh (which I'm assuming based on the sign language). I think that she killed what she was given, but I always want more of her. Really more queer non-binary people in general, but Ruby Rose yes puh-lease.

[firsttimecallerlongtimelistenr 3590]

haven't seen it so i didn't listen to the episode but just a quick update ... mini's + movies + episodes runtime has topped the 500 HOUR mark!

 

not that's bonkers

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fNUxhVbJf9FOIHnE1yorJj383JS51T0cjF6XsaE8tA4/edit?usp=sharing

[JeffreyMcDonald_103297 3]

I saw this in the theater opening night with friends. How completely terrible "xXX: TROXC" is adds to level that I defend my adoration for the F&F franchise. I'm excited to listen to the podcast (and see if the bring up that it seemed like Toni Collette was drunk or hiding her drunk the entire film).

[FisterRoboto 7499]

Yeah I agree with you. I do like that she's in most of the movie and speaking sign language which is awesome, but that last fight scene was really disappointing. When she started spinning around with the knife I was like "YAS" and then it was over. Like it was so cool that she popped up so many times being unheard and I wish they had highlighted that and made it more known that her character was hoh (which I'm assuming based on the sign language). I think that she killed what she was given, but I always want more of her. Really more queer non-binary people in general, but Ruby Rose yes puh-lease.

I'm trying not to turn this into a JW2 appreciation thread, but I totally agree about the sign language part. It's a testament to her performance that she was able to convey so much while not being able to use her voice. Her face when she delivers the

"Just one" line after John Wick asks if she's clearing up loose ends

sells everything in that scene. And, of course, my comments aren't a reflection on her at all; I just REALLY want to see her being badass more in that movie. Common gets two REALLY long fight sequences (and don't get me wrong; they're both awesome - especially in the subway terminal), but I want to see Wick fight her like she's a real adversary.

 

All that said, I love that they do present her as a real threat. One of the things that a lot of action movies do is try to sideline women. If you look at Lettie in the F&F franchise, for example, she's usually relegated to "cat fights" with other women. In Fast 6, she really only fights Gina Carano, and in Furious 7, she only get to shine in her (admittedly awesome) fight with Ronda Rousey. One of the things I like in Deadpool is that Carano is presented as a badass that can hold her own against Colossus, and it really takes Colossus + Negasonic to take her down.

 

There's definitely a needle to thread because you don't want a movie where dudes are just beating up women, but I did appreciate that both with Ruby and with the violin busker in JW2, the women got to fight on par with the male characters.

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

I'm most of the way through the episode and just wanted to make a minor correction that may have been corrected late on but anyway the xXx death scene isn't his whole face it's just his scalp - in which case he could've faked it, also I think this was a deleted scene and not in the actual film. Here's the clip without audio because that's the only one I could find:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O48rLcHu2Yc

This actress is BEAUTIFUL but all I can think about when watching this is, "Ew, that coat is all scraggly and matted. Don't touch that."

[FisterRoboto 7499]

This actress is BEAUTIFUL but all I can think about when watching this is, "Ew, that coat is all scraggly and matted. Don't touch that."

Spoken like the True June of Our Group.

[RyanSz 3140]

I'm trying not to turn this into a JW2 appreciation thread, but I totally agree about the sign language part. It's a testament to her performance that she was able to convey so much while not being able to use her voice. Her face when she delivers the

"Just one" line after John Wick asks if she's clearing up loose ends

sells everything in that scene. And, of course, my comments aren't a reflection on her at all; I just REALLY want to see her being badass more in that movie. Common gets two REALLY long fight sequences (and don't get me wrong; they're both awesome - especially in the subway terminal), but I want to see Wick fight her like she's a real adversary.

 

There's definitely a needle to thread because you don't want a movie where dudes are just beating up women, but I did appreciate that both with Ruby and with the violin busker in JW2, the women got to fight on par with the male characters.

I get why they did it in Wick with Ruby in that they go for more realism in the fights and Ruby looks like she weighs 105 pounds soaking wet and so it made sense for a bigger stronger opponent to tear through her, unlike if they had someone like a Ronda Rousey, who has shown how she holds her own against male opponents in sparring and exhibitions. If they had shown her dispatching someone prior to the fight it could have worked a bit better. The violinist fight worked in that she got the drop on Wick and surprised him, even hitting him with a shot, so he faltered at first before using his size. The fight with Adrianne Palicki in John Wick 1 was more back and forth because Palicki has a more athletic build and used that to her advantage.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I get why they did it in Wick with Ruby in that they go for more realism in the fights and Ruby looks like she weighs 105 pounds soaking wet and so it made sense for a bigger stronger opponent to tear through her, unlike if they had someone like a Ronda Rousey, who has shown how she holds her own against male opponents in sparring and exhibitions. If they had shown her dispatching someone prior to the fight it could have worked a bit better. The violinist fight worked in that she got the drop on Wick and surprised him, even hitting him with a shot, so he faltered at first before using his size. The fight with Adrianne Palicki in John Wick 1 was more back and forth because Palicki has a more athletic build and used that to her advantage.

According to the best source I could find, Ruby is 58 kg or 127 lbs/5'7". Reeves is 175 lbs/6'1". There's a size difference there, but by that argument of "he's so much bigger than her," the large Asian man at the park (or the hulking dude in the opening sequence) should have destroyed Reeves. He definitely starts with an upper hand, but both pretty much only exist to show Wick's situational awareness and his ability to adapt to the person he's fighting. If he can take on those dudes, there's not much reason Ruby can't be as formidable.

 

Btw, Palicki is taller than Ruby at 5'1", but she weighs slightly less than Ruby at 57 kg.

[SpencerCampbell 2]

Paul says that xXx ripped of the BBC Sherlock's ability of deduction, but, in actuality, Xander Cage has had the ability of deduction since the first movie, which predates the BBC series Sherlock by eight years. I know that this has already been talked about on this thread, but no one has mentioned the opening of the first movie, which definitively proves that Sherlock COMPLETELY rips off the first xXx movie.

 

https://youtu.be/iLD0iCRDQ_o

[RyanSz 3140]

According to the best source I could find, Ruby is 58 kg or 127 lbs/5'7". Reeves is 175 lbs/6'1". There's a size difference there, but by that argument of "he's so much bigger than her," the large Asian man at the park (or the hulking dude in the opening sequence) should have destroyed Reeves. He definitely starts with an upper hand, but both pretty much only exist to show Wick's situational awareness and his ability to adapt to the person he's fighting. If he can take on those dudes, there's not much reason Ruby can't be as formidable.

 

Btw, Palicki is taller than Ruby at 5'1", but she weighs slightly less than Ruby at 57 kg.

To be fair though those two dudes were getting the better of Reeves, which is why he quickly resorted to shooting the knees of the Russian Batista and moving away from the Asian guy until he could get hold of a weapon to basically empty an entire clip into the guy. And I'm a horrible judge of anything body related (size/weight/age) so I'm actually surprised Ruby weighs anything over 110 and Palicki is lighter. Yet by just eye balling the two from their respective roles it looked like Palicki could handle herself hand to hand.

 

I myself would have actually preferred a gunfight between Ruby and Reeves as body type is then completely taken out of the equation and both are on an even playing field. Plus with the hall of mirrors was a great environment for them to fight in rather than Reeves killing the manbun posse.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

There's a size difference there, but by that argument of "he's so much bigger than her," the large Asian man at the park (or the hulking dude in the opening sequence) should have destroyed Reeves. He definitely starts with an upper hand, but both pretty much only exist to show Wick's situational awareness and his ability to adapt to the person he's fighting. If he can take on those dudes, there's not much reason Ruby can't be as formidable.

Beat me to it! There's absolutely no fucking reason why they couldn't have used her size to her ADVANTAGE and have her be more nimble than Keanu. Plus the fuckin' 20 year difference would give her an upper hand.

 

 

The one part that seemed more realistic is when John used the height difference to his advantage knowing that her reach would be significantly shorter than his. But if she was seriously supposed to be at the rank she was in then they should have made that fight more equal. Especially after watching those badass fights with Common.

 

 

Also all of that said I did genuinely love that movie and loved that Ruby was casted for that part.

[FisterRoboto 7499]

I also feel like "realism" is right out the door with as many times as John Wick is hit by cars and gets right back up. He's a superhero.

[bella_008 188]

Guess what, I'm still stuck on Ruby Rose (cause I just saw John Wick 2 and girl was killin' it)

 

I'm just wanting more things for her to do. She's awesome.

 

Not to spoil your love of her but unless she's changed a lot since she moved to the US she's pretty awful in real life.