Outrage Over 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies  + Movie Review: Outcome (Apple TV) + Trailer Park: Backrooms

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Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome back to Movie Mike's Movie podcast. I am your host Movie Mike. Today I want to share with you what I believe is the most controversial, most anticipated movie list I have ever seen for the summer, which has me a little less excited for my favorite time of the year, summer blockbuster season. But there's actual data to back it up, so we'll get into that. In the movie review. We'll be talked about Outcome on Apple TV, which stars Keanu Reeves directed by Jonah Hill. Is it gonna be funny or is it gonna let us all down? In the trailer park. We'll be talking about a movie called back Rooms that all started because of a single post on the Internet as one of the youngest directors of all time making their debut. And also, before we get into it, I have been revamping things here on the podcast, some of the things that you hear, but for the first time since I started this, I have a brand new logo that I am very proud of. It would mean a lot to me if you shared this week's episode on your Instagram story or on Twitter wherever that you can tell me on I'll repost those I just want more people to see this beautiful art that I am so proud of. So if you wouldn't mind tag me in your Instagram story, I'll repost those just so we can get that logo out there. So thank you for doing that, thank you for being subscribed, and now let's talk Movies Network, Movie Mikes, Movie Podcast. I thought this list was a joke. What I have for you today are the top ten most anticipated movies of the summer for twenty twenty six. This is according to over seven thousand people who were surveyed by Fandango, so a reliable source here. I feel like that's a good sample size. I thought it was a joke. And the reason I thought that is because I feel so little excitement from seeing this slate that I thought they had to leave off so many big movies. And if you look at this list, there is only one non franchise movie, which I'm ultimately okay with, and I know a lot of people complain about that, but I think summer blockbuster season, that's where you play the hits. That's where you want people coming out to the theater who maybe haven't been out in a really long time. So this is when you're gonna see theaters and studios load up on these type of titles because they want these movies that are gonna get the butts in the seat. So I really don't have a problem with that. The problem I have is I only feel excitement for maybe two of these movies. I no, there's three, there's three that I enjoy, But where they are ranked on the list, I would have put all three of these at one, two, and three, and one of them is way down there at nine. What I'm about to get into here that is sitting at number ten. I wouldn't anticipate this movie ever. So I think this list also gives us a landscape of what people actually want to see. And if you interview and talk to seven thousand people and these are the movies they talk about, this also tells you where people are willing to spend their money. So if we start to wonder more and more why it does feel like we're living in a franchise world, we're living in reboots and sequels. This is why I don't entirely hate it, though, because I too like some familiarity, and I think when it comes to what you're anticipating, it is things you already have a connection with because there's one movie left off this list that would have made my top five, but I think some people don't even know it's coming out or what it's about. So first we'll go through these ten movies. I'll talk about what movies I think should have made the list, and also why there is a really good sign that I am excited for the state of cinema and that it's not going to go away forever. But first at number ten is Insidious six. I don't understand how this made this list, and I am a fan of the original Insidious. I think it has one of the most terrifying scenes that I have seen in a horror movie that has scarding me for the rest of my life. But it's also one scene in particular that you only get that one chance with the first time you watch it, you feel it. But I have rewatched this movie since I think it's still on HBO Max, and it doesn't hit the same way. This is one of those movies that you have to experience one time and then you're kind of good. And I feel like throughout the franchise it hasn't really captured that feeling again that I felt in the original. But quite honestly, I am not anticipating this movie whatsoever, as much as I do enjoy that first one. That I cannot believe this movie made the list. It is coming out in theaters on August twenty first, twenty twenty six, so right there when we're starting to close out the summer season kind of sneaks in there. But when you look at horror movie fans, they are the most passionate, and if they have made six of these movies, they continue to be successful in servicing this fan base. So they must have talked to a lot of those fans while doing this survey. But I do not agree with this one at number ten. At number nine is Supergirl, which I would have put so much higher on my list. I am really excited for Supergirl. Seeing more of the trailer, I think it looks fantastic. I'm at that point though, where I don't want to see anything else. I don't want to know anything else about the villains. I've reached my limit of how much information I want to know going into a superhero film, which I think we just get inundated with every character, every cameo, every plot point that it feels like I've already seen the movie before I actually go see the movie, because I buy into the fan theories and all the discourse online where that is just the culture we live in now. Trailer breakdowns and reactions, I do them myself, so I can't be a hater of it. But I don't want to know anything else about this movie. I just want to go experience it. When I measure my excitement life though, I would have probably put this top three. But even with this movie coming out this summer, I think because last year with Superman, I was a little bit more hype for that one, so I would love for it to be better than Superman. But at number nine, everybody is waiting to see Supergirl this summer, coming out in theaters on June twenty sixth day after my birthday, So any movie that comes out around that time, I'm always like, oh, yeah, that's gonna be my birthday movie. So excited for that one. At number eight, it's Mortal Kombat too. I like Mortal Kombat one. I think video game franchises are really popping off in Hollywood right now. It's coming out pretty soon on May eighth, twenty twenty six. We are getting a lot of Johnny Cage in this movie, but I would not have put this one on the list either, and I love a good mindless action movie. I feel like the first one really tried to flesh out the story into something that is more sophisticated than what we are used to when it comes to the Mortal Kombat movies. But at the end of the day, I just want to see some senseless fighting. I want to see a lot of blood. I want to see references to the video games that I grew up with. I think we saw with the Super Mario Galaxy movie that's kind of what the fans want, and you have to incorporate that. As cheesy as it probably feels sometimes to the filmmakers, it is those people who are going to build this buzz, who are gonna spend the money. So if you leave those people like me wanting more of the video game elements, you gotta walk that line. And I think with a Mortal Kombat, especially when you have a street fighter franchise starting to compete with you, which that movie doesn't come out until the Fall, so didn't make this list. I feel like that one is really going to lean into the comedic element of being over the top, hopefully a little bit more self aware. I think Mortal Kombat is trying to be more or sophisticated and give you an actual plot, But we just want to see a great R rated blood bat so hopefully they give us that. But again, I still don't think this movie should have been on this list, especially at number eight. At number seven is Minions and Monsters coming out in theaters on July first. I don't hate it on this list overall, probably would have put it way down there at number ten, and this is because one of my little luxuries in life, Kelsey and I going to see an animated movie, oftentimes being the only two adults in these showings, I think except for Hoppers, yeah, probably Hoppers and maybe Super Mario Galaxy, although that was in a bigger theater so I didn't really scope it out. But I think the overall landscape of that being acceptable has really changed as these franchises have grown with us. And if you were young in the twenty tens when the Menus debuted and you have stuck by their side for so long, you kind of get a pass. And I think ultimately nobody really cares about anybody else in the theater, especially now with the recliner seating that has completely changed the game. I could not go back to traditional stadium seating, where there is a theater we go to here that you have to pay attention because sometimes they'll put you in that stadium seating, which is the classic seats that now feel ancient. I felt like I had gone on a ten hour car ride the last time I got stuck there. I went to go see The Naked Gun, and boy, let me tell you, the plastic on those seats had to have been from I would say the nineties, quite possibly the eighties. They were so uncomfortable that I'm glad that that movie was under ninety minutes before I left there. I wanted the movie to be done earlier, even though it was a shorter movie, because I just could not take it. I felt so uncomfortable and I wasn't used to it anymore. I think the greatest things that movies have done in the last fifteen years were reserve seating and recliners totally changes the game because it also gives you a little bit of separation from everybody else where. When Kelsey and I go watch a movie, I kind of feel like we're on our own little island because there is so much more distance now, even if somebody is in the seat right next to you, it doesn't feel as invasive as that traditional stadium seating. So for that reason, I don't think it matters anymore of what movie you want to go see. Whatever you like, go watch it. Don't feel the judgment. Go to movies alone. I still do it all the time, going to a horror movie by myself. I feel like I'm in my own little world. Nobody's judging you. As long as you're not being weird, it doesn't matter, so go enjoy the movie, buy the ticket. For that reason, one of our pleasures in life is going to watch an animated movie, turning off our brain and we just enjoy it, and the minions always deliver. It is very lowest common denominator when it comes to family friendly films, And I know I've even been one to say that we should be giving kids at times more sophisticated stories and things they can really grasp onto and learn lessons about life by watching. And I think there is a time and place for that, if you are actually trying to give a message to a younger audience, I think you need to treat that with respect and put a lot of thought into it of creating great characters. But I also know that sometimes kids just want to have fun. They want something mindless. They want minions who are going to make fart jokes and do dumb, ridiculous things, speak and gibberish, and by the end of it, you don't really learn anything, but you had a good time. So at number seven on the list is minions and monsters, and I will be in attendance to that. At number six, this is where I have a problem. Mowana Live Action coming out in theaters on July tenth. It is a remake of the first movie live action, even though a lot of the elements are gonna be animated. I cannot believe this is at number six. Wouldn't put it on my list, and I don't really know how many people are excited for it. Again, I am basing this off of reactions to the trailer and things that I've been reading and watching on TikTok. Even some people I know with kids who their kid loves Mowana, which obviously it being the most stream movie on Disney, plus a lot of kids are gonna love it. I know of those people with kids who have told me that even their kids aren't excited for They don't want the version of Majana. They want the animated version. Which something interesting I saw when the cast was out doing interviews for the Super Mario Galaxy movie is they'll talk about how they will meet fans in public, and oftentimes it's the parent coming up to them, maybe recognizing Chris Pratt on your Taylor Joy Charlie Day and they're like, oh, look, kids, this is Luigi. This is Princess Peach. And the kids are like, that's not Luigi, that's Princess Peach. And then you have the actors trying to explain to them, oh, I'm actually the voice of this character, and this is why your parents are It doesn't matter agains, they don't want the human version. Most of the time, it is the animated version of these characters that is going to be on the lunch boxes, on the backpacks, on the shoes, on the T shirts that kids want to own, not the live action version of the rock in the Atrocious Wig. I cannot be anticipating this movie any less. That is where it is on my list that I'm at the point where I'm questioning whether or not I will go see it for this podcast. That is the only reason I will go watch this movie is because I need to see it and report back. But if I was just paying my money and doing it to review on a podcast, I don't think I would do it. So at number six, I can't stand for that. That is why I thought this entire list was a joke. But we haven't even got to the only original movie on this list yet, still going at number five, another franchise movie. At least it's one that's making a big comeback, and we haven't heard from this franchise in a long time, and I think maybe it's what we all need right now. But on June fifth, we have Scary Movie six coming out in theaters. It is going to be a lot of over the top humor in a world right now where people are sensitive about making fun of things. I think this is going to be a true testament of are we still able to take a joke? And there hasn't been a really successful comedy movie in theaters in a long time. There have been some that because of nostalgia, which is where this movie might capitalize from. Talking like a Freakier Friday that did pretty well. But for the most part, for an original comedy to come out in theaters and be so good and so funny that it creates an incredible word of mouth and creates a buzz because of that, we don't get that anymore. And it's sad because if you look at what is working in theaters, it is movies that are very polarizing, very cinematic, create a spectacle, give you a reason to pay money to go see it in theaters, and it's sad that comedy doesn't have that poll anymore. And I really don't think it's about, oh, you can't make jokes anymore, you can't poke fun of things that you could twenty years ago. I don't think that is it. I just think, based on the stories I've been reading in the data I've been looking at, it doesn't create that sensitive urgency that is getting people back into the theater. So it's a really big risk. Although they are cheaper to produce, is just you kind of have to set your expectations now when putting out a comedy. So I'm not the most excited about Scary Movie six. I think based on the trailer, it does look like it's gonna have some fun moments. I'm also a huge horror movie fan, obviously, so I love how they're incorporating all these different franchises and we haven't had somebody parody movies like Sinners like Megan. I'm curious to see how that plays out and how it still holds our attention over a full length movie. So at number five is Scary Movie. Six at number four, the only non franchise movie on the list, The Odyssey, coming out in theaters on July seventeenth. If you want to see this movie in Imax, well good luck because a lot of those first early showings have been sold out now for over a year. And that is what I'm talking about. It is movies like this that people crave seeing on a big screen, seeing with a lot of people that are motivating people to spend money on tickets a year round, which is wild because the movie kind of sells itself with the director like Christopher Nolan, and then just people like Matt Damon, Tom Hollands, Endea, Robert Pattinson, John Burnhal, all these people who could lead a movie on their own are all a part of this. And I wasn't super excited about it until we went to go see Project Hill Mary in Imax seventy millimeter, and this was the only trailer that played before that. I felt it because I thought, how are you going to make this story interesting to me? This was something that I would probably watch in like eighth grade learning about The Odyssey, that I'd be like, oh, man, we're watching a boring movie today. But the action in that trailer felt intense. There are some incredible achievements where I saw Tom Holland talking about man that must have been some great cgi and Christopher Nolan was like, no, this is all in camera effects. So those are the things that I I get excited about the technical aspect of this movie. I wasn't as excited for the plot, but I think it's gonna suck me in. I'm good with this one being at number four. I also would have put it in my top five. The Odyssey coming out in theaters on July seventeenth at number three. The Devilwar's Prada Towo. I'm good with this one being in the top five. Kelsey and I just rewatched The Devilwars Prada over the weekend in anticipation for this. It is coming out in theaters on May first. It also has a fantastic popcorn bucket, which is another big thing that is motivating people to get out to the theater is to get the exclusive popcorn bucket. It is literally a bright red purse where you put the popcorn in. The movie is about Meryl Streep's character navigating the declining magazine industry with the power struggles as traditional media clashes with the digital era, which is a plot point you could do in twenty twenty six You probably also could have done this a little bit in twenty sixteen. But now we're finally getting this sequel. A lot of people really excited about it. What I love about this one being so high up on the list that even though it is a sequel and something that people are already familiar with, the story itself is much different than anything else on the list because it is so character driven. A lot of it is about the sharp dialogue, the overall tension, the dynamics between all these characters, the drama behind it. So not a traditional summer blockbuster that has a lot of action, has a crazy insane budget, has some fun animated characters, or Blood and Violence. It is probably the most straight ahead movie out of anything on this list, so I do feel like that sets it apart. And I think it's those movies that end up just being these hits that will do really well in its opening weekend and then one that people will continue to come back and watch, which I think is a big thing with movies right now, of how much they drop between their release week and their second week. I think this is a movie that may not have the biggest splash when it comes out on May first, but I think it'll sustain pretty well through word of mouth and through people who aren't dying to see it when it first comes out, but they do want to watch it in theaters, and we'll go in that second week or that third week and make it a night that maybe they haven't had at the movies in a really long time. So that is what excites me about movies like The Devil Wears Prada. I'm good with that one being on this list. Probably would have put it further down even after rewatching the original, but at number three. The Devil wor'st Prada two at number two is the movie I would have put at number one. It is Spider Man Brand New Day coming out in theaters on July thirty first. I am more hype on this movie now that I'm so dialed in to the latest season of Daredevil Born Again. We are also getting a one hour special with The Punisher John Bernhal, so this is all connecting. I have to imagine that Daredevil it is going to be a part of Brand New Dance some way, because they are rebuilding the Marvel cinematic universe at ground level, which I think is something that a lot of fans wanted for the better half of the last phase, especially once Endgame got way out there in space and we didn't really know where these stories were going on. We're in the quantum realm, and it felt just so disconnected that it's going to be a test of do we start listening to the fans and give them what they say they want, or do the fans even know what they want? Which I was on that same board, Yeah, give us the street level Spider Man. But I'm hoping the action matches and the story matches because Daredevil the season right now just has that grittier tone, that violence, and I know we're not going to get that same thing in Spider Man Brand New Day. But if we do incorporate some of those characters mixed with those villains, I think it's going to be a really good time. I think we also have to remember that Matt Murdoch was in no way home, so he is already established of having a relationship with Spider Man. So you have all these pieces working together. We've already seen Frank Castle in the trailer, so I have to imagine there has to be a team up between Spider Man, Daredevil the Punisher. Maybe it's them having to take down the Hulk. Maybe somebody some ways starts controlling Bruce Banner and we have to take down Mark Ruffalo, because I can't imagine there's a situation where Bruce Banner, after all that he's been through of not wanting to be the Hulk and being able to control it being Professor Hulk there for a while, I don't think he would just come back no matter the threat. So it has to be somebody manipulating him in a way to get him to Hulk out, and then Spider Man is going to have to get some help from his friends. So if that's what happens, Oh, how do you not put that at number one. Who did they talk to in this survey? But then again and number one is Toy Story five coming out in theaters on June nineteenth, buzz Woodie Jesse all together again. This time, much like in the Devilaware's product too, they are having to face big, bad technology, which I think some parents would probably commend that. I just started to evaluate these movies a lot differently the last time I rewatched them, and I kind of realized how the toys are really delusional and what they want is kids to never grow up. They want to be played with forever. I kind of feel like in every Toy Story movie we have some unreliable narrators because what he wanted to go to college with Andy, and he wanted Andy to bring on their friends with him to college. That is an absurd thought. It's not rational. The toys are not rational, and they want to be played with so bad they have gone to crazy links to do so. They have hijacked an army in Toy Story four to get away with this plan. And the more you think about it, and now you have Elite Frog Tablet essentially being the villain in this movie. I just can't imagine a world where I feel on the side of Woody anymore. I do enjoy that Buzz and Woody are feuding again, which is something that I didn't realize how much I missed from the original of them to not seeing eye to eye that entire dynamic and seeing a more salty Woody, I think is something that really benefits the story. More, gives us a little bit more tension, allows us to root for Woody a little bit allows us to root for Buzz, depending on who you want to root for. I like a salty Woody and we are seeing that in the trailer. I'm not getting along. That is fun, and I think if it wasn't for the fact that this movie looks a lot better than Toy Story four, I think the animation has really improved with the light and how these characters are being treated. Of showing a little bit of age, showing a little bit of wear and tear, you also hear it more in all of the voice actors. I am hoping and from the looks of it does look like this story is going to be better than four, But I'm still holding on to they shouldn't have made four. They should have done some more spin off movies still animated, and I know they did Light Year, but a lot of people hated that cut it down a prequel in the toys Or universe with the actual toys, not the people that they are based on. And as much as I love this franchise, I still would not have put it above Spider Man Brand New Day. But the people have spoken. In this survey, they also found that gen Z is emerging as the most active sendem a going demographic. The Fandango study found that gen z Ers take in more movies than anybody else, and they also spend more per visit on premium format screens like Imax as well as concessions, so they want to see movies on the big screen. They don't want to sneak in their on snacks, which I think is interesting. Maybe us, as millennials, we just like saving money and we don't mind stopping by the gas station and sneaking it in, But I guess that's an older thing. Apparently. I do see some gen z Ers on TikTok who will door dash movie theater popcorn, which is wild. I never got fully into using any kind of food app because I just think that is so expensive. I'd rather go drive and pick it up myself. I also don't eat out a whole lot, but I think gen Z has grown up with that convenience, that it's second nature. So maybe that's why they are more willing to spend money on concessions. The study found that gen Z is the generation who likes going to the movies because they see it as a social activity, which I love that that gives me hope for the future, especially now when so much attention has gone to TikTok and watching things instantly and being able to stream things at home. That gen Z still gets it. They want that community the same way that when we were teenagers and in our twenties we like going to the mall as a form of social connection. Gen Z also attributes a better selection of movies and the appeal of leaving the home as a key driver in attendance. The breakdown of seeing one movie per year is eighty seven percent of gen z Ers eighty two percent of millennials, so we are right there behind them. Seventy percent of Gen xers and fifty eight percent of Baby boomers see one movie per year in theaters. And finally, the movies I thought should have made the Top ten most Anticipated movies of the Summer list. Disclosure Day from Steven Spielberg, a movie about Aliens. I am so surprised that it was not in there, and maybe people just don't know that it's coming out on June twelfth. You just see the name Disclosure Day, and it doesn't have a franchise attached to it. It doesn't have anything in the title that says I'm familiar with that. Even though the greatest living director is attached to this movie and it's about Aliens, the man responsible for so many classics is putting on a new movie this summer and it does not make the top ten list. Crazy the Mandalorian and Grogu coming out in theaters on May twenty second. Really surprised by that. Just because Star Wars fans, you talk to seven thousand people, you're gonna find a lot of Star Wars fans, even the ones who are gonna go watch the movie simply so they can rip it to shreds online and hate anybody else who likes it. Those people are still excited for this movie, whether they will admit it or not, and they're gonna spend their money on it. They're gonna get the popcorn bucket. They're actually probably going to love it, but they will never admit it. Those people are anticipating that movie and it doesn't make the top ten list. One that would have made my top ten list. I'm not surprised it's not in there. But Masters of the Universe coming out in theaters on June fifth, the live action adaptation of the he Man franchise. I anticipate it because not that I think it's gonna be good, but I just don't know how going to pull it off, and there are some pretty good people attached to it. The fact that Jared Leto is a part of it though Eskeletor that has me the most hesitant. But it's the one I'm the most curious about. So I anticipated, but I'm a little bit hesitant. You also have The Breadwinner with Nate Borghates. I think that could be a quiet hit of the summer's family friendly. He is insanely popular, but also I feel a little bit oversaturated where I see his face everywhere, and I think some people maybe start to get annoyed that he's a part of everything. But he also just has an incredibly passionate fan base and then you have the people who hate him so much for seeing his face all the time, and the people who will rip his style of comedy to shreds. But I think we could just need a family friendly comedy movie like that really hard to have success in theaters. But I think if that movie is successful, it's going to have a very quiet success, and then we'll probably get the bread Winner too, and he could become the new Adam Sandler. You also have Jackass five coming out in theaters on June twenty sixth. I'm gonna love it no matter what. Probably gonna be the last ever Jackass movie I go see in theaters. Johnny Knoxville has basically said, I cannot take another blow to the end or I'm not gonna be around anymore. Guys, So got to go see that movie in theaters while I can. My lifelong dream has been to go to a movie opening weekend and have somebody from the cast appear at my theater. I thought, in the back of my head maybe it would have happened for Project Till Mary, just because there were so few seventy millimeters showings in the country that I thought maybe maybe Rhine Castling will show up but maybe somebody from the Jackass crowd just happens to be in Nashville, because Steve O does live in town around here. Maybe he pops into a theater make my dream come true. But that is the list. If you want to let me know the movie you are most excited to see this summer, let me know movie Mike de at gmail dot com or at Mike destro on all socials. I'll come back and give my spoiler free review of Outcome on Apple TV starring Keanu Reeves. Let's get into It now. A spoiler free movie review of Outcome on Apple TV Plus starring Jonah Hill starring Keanu Reeves, also directed by Jonah Hill, and quite frankly, it starred a little bit too much of Jonah Hill. What this movie is about? You have Keanu Reeves playing a fictionalized version of himself. He is an actor known as Reeve Hawk, who in this movie is the most likable actor in all of Hollywood. He's won two Oscars, but he has gone away for about five years because he's had a serious drug problem and now is re emerging as an actor. But out of nowhere, he gets basically blackmailed somebody says, I have a video of you doing something really incriminating that could ruin your career unless you pay me a lot of money. So what does he do. He starts going on an apology tour of all these people he thinks he has done wrong in his life. Even though he is so likable by the public, there are a lot of people around him that during his heyday of doing all these drugs, that he was very awful to them. So he is trying to find who is extorting him by putting out this video and going around and telling everybody I'm sorry for all the awful things I've done. That is essentially the plot. Jonah Hill plays his really crazy lawyer who is so over the top and quite frankly, the thing that ruined this movie. Jonah Hill, I feel inserted himself in this script way too much, too much, Jonah Hill, and he was really trying to be this over the top character that maybe would have been funny fifteen years ago, but right now it just doesn't work. I can't believe this. The same guy who did Super Bad twenty one Jump Street, somebody who was known for doing comedic movies, was so terribly unfunny in this movie and so insufferable that it made well, not that this movie had a lot of favors of supporting casts or even visually, which I'll get into, but it made this movie unbearable and uncomfortable to watch. Where As soon as I clicked it on Apple TV Plus and saw that it was so short, only a little bit over an hour and twenty minutes, to me, that was just kind of a red flag. I thought, why would you get Keanu Reeves in a movie Cameron Diaz who was basically retired but only coming out for small roles, and the movie is only an hour and twenty minutes, which I think a lot of people right now are like, Oh, I would kill for a movie under ninety minutes. But to me, that is a warning sign that there wasn't that much of a story here to tell. And that is exactly what this movie felt like. It didn't really feel like a movie at all. It felt like remnants of some things we've already seen recently, like Ja Kelly over on Netflix. George Clooney essentially in that movie, played a fictionalized version of himself, an actor in his fifties, looking back on his life and saying you know what, Maybe I should have lived life a little bit more, Maybe I should have been a little bit closer with my kids, So let me try to make up for all this lost time. It also felt like a fellow Apple TV project, The Studio, which does this really well of blending the lines between reality and fictionalized characters and real life people and trying to give us an inside look of Hollywood and how it really works. But in outcome, nothing about it works. It doesn't feel authentic whatsoever. And now I'll get into the visual aspect of this movie, which made it really hard to watch, and I kind of get what Jonahill was going for, this really overstylized, technic color on acid type look that feels so fabricated and so unreal, And maybe that what he was trying to portray with Reefhawk's character, who his entire life has been a movie. Everything he has done has been to boost his career and be famous and be successful. That his entire life has felt like a production, So why not make the movie feel like a movie set. But there are scenes at his house where they're sitting on his patio overlooking what should be a real life beautiful ocean. It is just a green screen. So this entire time you're watching this movie, it feels like you're watching all of it take place within a movie set, which is maybe a little bit too meta. So nothing about it looked visually appealing, and quite frankly, that made it hard to watch, even the scenes where they are driving around and you have these big camera sweeps that feel so digital. It just never allowed me to feel like this was a true authentic story. And I know he can do something that feels authentic because his directorial debut mid nineties. I loved it. That movie felt raw. It felt like a skate that I used to watch back in the day, and it had pretty good characters in that nothing about this movie work like that. That if you would have given this film the same treatment as that and made it look a little bit more raw, made us connect more with Reef Hawk as a person and not tried to outperform him in every single scene. His character was just too over the top that it just overshadowed anything Keanu Reeves tried to do, which his style of acting is so subtle that if you have this crazy, over the top character who looks really wacky is talking to him in this really annoying fashion, trying out all these jokes that aren't really landing. I think that was the hardest part for me is this movie is sold to us as a comedy, but it was so unfunny. So there was nothing about the acting, the direction, the technical aspects that felt good. Probably the most honest performance in this was Martin Scorsese. I think his character probably had the most connection with Keanu Reeves. But outside of that, this movie just didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me. It felt like the story itself was trying to be a commentary on cancel culture, which I don't really think we need that type of movie now in twenty twenty six. Again, maybe ten years ago, fifteen years ago. To make it a little bit relevant, I will say it does start to reach a point if you really allow yourself to sink into it, where you start to feel a little bit of something towards Keanu Reeves' character. It becomes very unlikable, but then shows a little bit of glimmer of humanity. You start to get to know exactly how he is feeling, how he is so consumed with how people on the internet feel about him. More so than the people in his life, and you start to see how damaging that is to the people around him. As soon as you start to feel just a little bit something for him, the movie's over. This movie just failed on so many aspects, aside from the fact that it looked unlike anything else I've seen in Apple TV history, I don't think in that case it is a compliment, and I'm not really sure what Keanu Reeves is going for right now. Just before this, he did a movie called Good Fortune, which was directed by Azi's I'm Sorry also starred as He's I'm Sorry. These two projects feel very similar of guys who in the twenty tens I would have gone to see their movies and had a great time in theaters. And it feels weird to me that these people I grew up watching on TV and in movies, who I found really funny now just don't really know what we want in a comedy. It felt very self serving, and I do like watching movies where directors are allowed to really flex their creativity put themselves in their work, and I think Jonah Hill was just trying to put way too much of himself into Keanu Reeves's character and his story arc, and then also just physically putting himself way too much in this movie. And why have Keanu Reeves star in a film if you, as the director, are gonna try and steal the show. So I don't really know what Keanu Reeves is doing in terms of picking his projects where he can do a John Wick movie and impress us all and have us all really loving his work, but then he kind of does these comedies that don't really make sense. I don't really feel like it takes away from his aura or my perception of his movies. It's not going to stop me from wanting to see more of his work. It just kind of feels like a derailment and him doing these little side quests. Maybe just as favorite to his friends, or maybe he's just sick of doing the same thing over and over again. But for me, I personally would like for him to get out of the comedy space. Even though I think he does have comedic chops, We've seen it in the past, his last two movies in this genre just have not worked, So when it comes to outcome, it is a hard pass for me. I think I would really have a hard time finding somebody who this movie is for because if you go into it wanting to laugh, I don't think you are. You're gonna be so off put by the way this movie looks and the way all these characters just feel a little bit repulsive to you in the way that they talk to each other where it really makes no sense, feels not human whatsoever. So for outcome, I give it two out of five Wacky Lawyers. Time to head down to movie.

00:40:27
Speaker 2: Mike Traylor Parr from Internet legend to real life movie. This is the story of back Rooms, directed by Cain Parsons, who has now become a twenty four's youngest director ever.

00:40:41
Speaker 1: Started working on this movie when he was nineteen years old. He is now twenty years old. And this all goes back to a post on four Chan. And if you are not a deep Internet nerd like me, let me explain to you what four chan is. I would describe it as an unhinged reddit. Where Reddit is a website you go to. There are a lot of subreddits that are these very niche categories. You post things on there, and you upvote or downvote them based upon if you like the post or not. I would say, in the early twenty tens, where I was heavy into Reddit, wasn't as well known to people. I think probably since twenty twenty has become more of the norm. People know what you were talking about when you talk about Reddit. So four Chan, i would say, is a more unhinged version of Reddit, where you have nerdier nerves than me, discussing things very intensely. Some of it good, some of it bad. Kind of borders on the line more of a dark web without having really vile stuff. But it's not necessarily the most easily digestible website. The entire format of it is pretty chaotic. But you have things on there that are referred to as creepypastas, which you could also find those on Reddit. But a creepy pot is essentially a modern day campfire story or urban legend. If you think creepypasta, think copy and paste. It's people copy and pasting these stories that somebody writes, other people build upon, and they are supposed to be really freaky and creepy. One of the most popular creepy pastas a slender Man, which was also turned into a movie. So it's things like that, very dark tales that if you read them in your room at night with all the lights off could give you a little bit of a fright. But that is what this movie all stems back to. A picture was posted on a paranormal board on four Chan that featured this image of an empty yellow office space that had a damp carpet and fluorescent lights. And Caane Parsons saw this and thought, I should turn this into a short film on YouTube, and he created Backrooms, which he made it all with a program called Blender, which is some animation software that he combined with a little bit of footage that he filmed with his friends. But what that short film was is just a person walking through all these back rooms and it keeps going on forever, and you stumble upon these really weird, i would say, kind of monster looking creatures. It looks like they are made out of metal, and you have the first person perspective, kind of looks like you're playing a video game walking through all these halls, and it sounds a little chaotic and a little crazy. But you can go watch this thing on YouTube and it has millions and millions of views, and now that is being turned into a real life movie that all came from just a random Internet post created by such a young director, and I keep telling you guys that if you want originality, you got to go to horror, because it's a genre where you can find things like this. People taking risks. A twenty four is taking a major risk with this movie, and I really hope it pays off. But what this movie specifically is about. You have an employee who stumbles upon this mysterious doorway that leads into an endless nightmare space and it just keeps going and going and going. He starts investigating and can't even scratch the surface on this space. He tells a psychologist about it, and she doesn't believe him, but he is going to prove her wrong. But before I get into more, here is just a little bit of the back Room's trailer coming down in theaters on May twenty ninth. I found something in the store. Okay, what did you find? The place? I found a place? Push on deep good pay let me one there. Look, I know how this sounds, but you gotta understand it's massive in there. I'll say, I don't believe you. Okay, I'm gonna come back here with proof, all right, you feel me? Yes? My lead? What is this? That's what I'm trying to figure out. I've been there every night since I found the place, and I still barely scratch the surface. I just take a song. If this movie is successful, it is going to change the way that Hollywood looks at YouTubers. And we've already seen examples of YouTubers turned directors, and we've had some pretty big horror movies come from these types of directors, movies like Talk to Me, Bring Her Back, created by YouTube Brothers just earlier this year, Iron Long was also created by a YouTuber. Last year, Shelby Oakes created by a fellow movie reviewer YouTube all having success now? Is this the industry saying we need to look in other spaces to find new talent? Is it an old industry trying to catch up, maybe fifteen years too late, because YouTubers have been crushing it for so long. I'm all here for it because I think this is fires an entire generation, especially people now making short horror films on TikTok. It now brings legitimacy to every platform because talent is talent. And what I love about this trailer is it blends normal cinematography at times looks like a normal movie. The scenes where chewitel Edgi four is talking to his psychologist trying to explain her. All feels like a normal horror movie. He goes back to the furniture store and you see him walking through all of these back rooms. That feels normal, but then at times it flops and references the source material where it goes into that found footage, that shaky cam VHS style cinematography, which this movie does take place in the nineties. There's one scene where he walks into a room there's an old school security camera that looks like it's probably on VHS, somebody watching him. At one point he gets apprehended. But I love this mix of different visual elements because this entire thing was create through an animation software, so it still has even that original shot that I was talking about earlier from Fourtune, that one single frame is featured in this trailer. So this shows you that this wasn't just a case of Okay, let's find this kid who had some success on YouTube that got millions and millions of views on this project. Let's just take that name and try to package it up and sell it. But we're not really going to cater to the fans of this really weird thing because it's not going to come across to a larger audience. Let's just take the name and rip off those fans who want to see this actually made the way that it should be, and we're just gonna use the name even though it isn't a major ip. I feel like this has happened in other cases, the slender Man movie in particular, but here you have the same sounds, of the same visuals. This shows you that they are committed to making this an original feeling movie and taking a risk by not dumbing it down, by sticking to the source material, and I want this movie to go as weird as possible. There are moments that to me, it feels like the Blair Witch Project, because there's one scene where you see chow Hotel Edgy of four kind of looking away at the camera as this psychologist tries to find him, which is what she is trying to do. She at one point walks through a wall, and that is wild. But it doesn't feel like just a horror movie where there's just a demon lurking that is eventually going to kill somebody. I think a lot of the storytelling and elements of horror are going to be the things you build in your mind and the scary imagery that is gonna give us all something we have never seen before on the big screen. And that is why I'm so excited about this, because, like I was saying about the Blair Witch Project that had a very controversial ending, I remember watching The Blair Witch Project for the first time and thinking that was It made me immediately go back and rewatch that movie, and that is a sign of a great ending though, so I have to imagine this is going to kind of have that similar feeling of it's gonna feel a little abstract. I'm getting some glimpses of that in back rooms. They are also being really creative in the marketing. They are actually putting out these secret ads on YouTube featuring the furniture store. So this also shows you how much they are leaning in to building up anticipation. I feel like if this movie is successful, it is going to put creators in a really good negotiating spot. We're gonna see younger filmmakers fresh takes on things, which I think, who is to tell you that you were too young to go after your dream? In any other situation, you would say, ah, this kid is too young. You would say, twenty years old is way too young to have your directorial debut. Go work on some other movies as an assistant, and eventually you'll get there. But if you look at sports, yeah, the youngest planners going into the majors now and getting millions and millions of dollars. Why can't we do that with directors. If we see talent, we need to harvest that talent and not wait until their creativity is tainted and run down by Hollywood. Get them while they are still super excited about life. They still feel that joy when they wake up in the morning because they haven't been burdened by the real world and they are so excited to create this art. I think that is where we are gonna get some great stories, and I think the horror genre is the perfect place to start that. If this movie is successful, I think it's going to shake up Hollywood a bit. So maybe some people are afraid of that. I am not. I am all in on back Rooms, which is coming out again in theaters on May twenty ninth.

00:50:47
Speaker 2: And that goes this week's edition of Movie Mike Trailer Bars.

00:50:54
Speaker 1: And that is going to do it for another episode here of the podcast. But before I go, I gotta give my list in their shout out of the week. This week, I'm going over to TikTok posted a lot of stuff from my Super Mario Galaxy review, and this week's shout out goes to Gracie, who commented on my clip talking about how Glenn Powell deserves his own Starfux movie. Gracie says, I agree. I was left wanting more of that Fox lo well, which I did see. A lot of people say that Nintendo was being kind of sneaky putting in Starfox in the Super Mario movie because there is a Starfox video game coming out later this year. Some people are saying they're just teasing us with the idea of a Smash Bros. Movie and really they're going to use the Mario movie franchise to sell their games, which I have no problem with. Some people are saying that we're not going to get the Star Fox movie, which I really think we will. I think there is potential that we're not even going to get anything else from a video game that we already know. This could all be moving towards something we haven't seen before, of a movie coming out around the release of a new Super Mario game. That would be a wild thing. If they make a Super Mario Brothers movie and then put out a game around the same time and try to really capitalize on it, I think that could be a disaster. But these movies continue to make so much money, crushing it at the box office. So who was to say that if they also came out with the video game and a movie at the same time, that they wouldn't both dominate. I just think when it comes to Mario movies, we love the classics, especially when you were trying to market them to not only families and kids, but also thirty year olds and forty year olds who grew up playing the video game, and you want to get them excited and still get their money to go see them in theaters. I think there are a lot more Super Mario stories to follow on video games we have already seen. I'm still holding on to hope that we get some kind of Super Mario World movie, even though I feel like that would be reverting. Or what if they just full of sault and come out with like a Super Mario sports game. We end up getting Super Marios Sluggers, but appreciate that comment. Gracie. Thank you for watching clips over on TikTok. Maybe you've checked out the YouTube channel YouTube dot com slash Mike Dstro where you can see individual movie reviews. You can also see segments from the show like when Kelsey hops on and we do the monthly recaps. You can see those videos over there. So if you wouldn't mind subscribing, it is my goal to get to one thousand followers. I'm climbing up there. I'm so close. So if you are on YouTube and you haven't subscribed yet, just hit the link over there, YouTube dot com slash Mike dstro, hit the bell get new videos every single week or whenever you get a chance to listen. Making me a part of your week makes my day, It makes my week, it makes my life. And until next time, go out and watch good movies and I will talk to you later