Wave goodbye to 2023 with us as we tackle the turbulent waters of "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," alongside our insightful guest, Judson. We're pulling no punches on this one - brace yourself for an unfiltered breakdown of the DCEU's latest offering, touching on everything from the shaky narrative to the CGI that didn't quite hit the mark. Amber Heard's contentious casting decision and the film's on-the-nose environmental messaging are also on the dissection table. While Katy's absence is felt, Judson steps up to the plate, joining me in a candid conversation that might just have you reconsidering your stance on the future of this watery franchise.
Transitioning from the depths of Atlantis to the raw emotion of the wrestling ring, "The Iron Claw" gets a thorough run-through. Judson and I explore the bittersweet dichotomy of a film that pulls at the heartstrings yet challenges our desire to revisit such intensity. We rave about how Lily James and co. flawlessly encapsulate the essence of the '80s, and how the film's themes, while tough, deliver a narrative punch that lingers. As we sign off on this episode, we leave you with a snapshot of our highest praises for "The Iron Claw" and a hint of eagerness for the cinematic wonders that 2024 has in store. Join us for this journey of critique and reflection, marking the end of another year in film.
Wave goodbye to 2023 with us as we tackle the turbulent waters of "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," alongside our insightful guest, Judson. We're pulling no punches on this one - brace yourself for an unfiltered breakdown of the DCEU's latest offering, touching on everything from the shaky narrative to the CGI that didn't quite hit the mark. Amber Heard's contentious casting decision and the film's on-the-nose environmental messaging are also on the dissection table. While Katy's absence is felt, Judson steps up to the plate, joining me in a candid conversation that might just have you reconsidering your stance on the future of this watery franchise.
Transitioning from the depths of Atlantis to the raw emotion of the wrestling ring, "The Iron Claw" gets a thorough run-through. Judson and I explore the bittersweet dichotomy of a film that pulls at the heartstrings yet challenges our desire to revisit such intensity. We rave about how Lily James and co. flawlessly encapsulate the essence of the '80s, and how the film's themes, while tough, deliver a narrative punch that lingers. As we sign off on this episode, we leave you with a snapshot of our highest praises for "The Iron Claw" and a hint of eagerness for the cinematic wonders that 2024 has in store. Join us for this journey of critique and reflection, marking the end of another year in film.
One's a movie buff, one watches movies, just enough Together. Fun will be had by all. This is Nadie and Katie at the Movies.
Speaker 2:Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new and the last episode of 2023. I can't believe this year is almost over. It's like literally counting down until 2024. And Katie and I have a really exciting season four coming up of the show. But before we can get to that, we got to talk about my last movie of 2023. Unfortunately, and another unfortunate thing is that Katie was not able to join us on this episode, the last episode of 2023. But that's okay. She did see the last movie of 2023 as well. So, but I do have a special guest. He's no stranger to the show. He's been on the show a bunch of times when Katie couldn't be here, and he's back again because Katie couldn't be here. No, also because we have a special second movie we're going to be talking about that. Judson and I went to go see. That's right, my good friend Juddy is here. What's up, buddy?
Speaker 3:What's happening. I was just thinking, and I think this time last year you and I were doing the year in review, so that's just good to be back around the same time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like you know, history repeating itself. But this year, well, this year I say this year, this time we're going to be doing our year in review as our first episode of 2024.
Speaker 2:So I'm excited about that we're going to do a brief summary of everything we saw, everything we liked, everything we hated, and then we're going to get a little bit of a sneak peek of what we're going to be doing in season four. I can't wait Hopefully Katie can join me for that one, because yeah. Anyway, without any further ado, let's talk about the first of the two movies that Judson and I will be talking about. The first one Judson did not go see because he refused to, because I understand why, after actually watching it, we're going to be talking about Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. This is the final movie of the abysmal DCEU. It had its highlights. You know there are some movies from it that I enjoyed, but majority of them were just buckets of stuff, and this one is included in that. I'm just going to go ahead and tell you I thoroughly dislike this movie. But before I dive into my very brief reasons, I got to go over the synopsis.
Speaker 1:Black Manta seeks revenge on Aquaman for his father's death, wielding the black trident's power.
Speaker 2:He becomes a formidable foe to defend Atlantis. Aquaman forges an alliance with his imprisoned brother they must protect the kingdom. Aquaman, the Lost Kingdom stars Jason Lamont, patrick Wilson, yahya Abdul, matin II. And, yes, amber Heard is in this movie. She's in this movie a lot more than they were saying she was going to be, because, if you don't know the controversy with Amber Heard Johnny Depp, her were married, they got divorced, big fight, all this fun stuff, trial. She was found guilty of some stuff. He was only found guilty of like one thing.
Speaker 2:And a lot of people thought that Warner Brothers, who dumped Johnny Depp when he was just accused of these things, they thought that they were going to drop Amber Heard from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. Well, come to find out. They didn't. They said they were going to cut a lot of her scenes and I'm sure they did, but she was still in this movie quite a bit, a lot more than I think a lot of people thought she was going to be. But that's not even half the reason why I didn't like this movie. So let me just dive right into my likes. There were none, there were no likes in this movie.
Speaker 2:The script was terrible. Katie and I briefly discussed what she thought of this movie. She agreed that this movie was pretty bad. She said she didn't think it was as bad as I thought it was, but she did agree. Like the CGI just being under the water and their hair and their faces look dumb, it just was a hot CGI mess. And it's unfortunate because I do like James Wan. I think he's a good director, I think he's much better at horror movies than he is this type of movie, and it was just unfortunate because it's the last one of the DCU not saying I thought it was gonna go out with a awesome bang.
Speaker 2:But my biggest complaint, you know, katie and I talked about Checking the box moments and that can mean a plethora of things, but this movie checked a big old box and that big old box was global warming. That was basically the main villain of this movie and they talked about it a Lot, in my opinion, and my wife went to go see it with me too and that's like the main thing that she and I both were like. Really that's the direction they went with, which I can kind of understand, because it's Aquaman. He lives in the ocean. You know they're gonna talk about it, but they talked about it a whole bunch, so that was one of my biggest dislikes, and my biggest dislike besides that was everything. Jetson, did you see the first Aquaman movie?
Speaker 3:Absolutely not. And in a similar vein for the second one coming out, I just the DC EU as a whole. It just it feels so half-azard, like it clearly doesn't have the Kevin Feige of DC EU and you said there they had some highs and I agree wholeheartedly and like there are parts of it that I wanted to like, but it just for what they're trying to go for. It just it did. They tried to rush things and it seemed like it just seemed disingenuous In terms of building a universe, and so it just feels like People like this, so let's do this. And so when Aquaman came around, I didn't care for Aquaman in the first place and I really didn't care about it, and I do not feel like I'm missing out on anything whatsoever. So I mean, I know there's a fan base there, but take that for what you will, and now it's dead and gone. It doesn't matter.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think the fan base is mostly for Jason Momoa, this movie. If you like Jason Momoa, I'm sure you'll like it, because it's just, you know Jason Momoa Not really acting. He kind of reminds me of the rock, even though Jason Momoa has had, I think, some roles that have been pretty good. But Jason Momoa basically plays himself like his personality is Aquaman, like it's not. It's not Aquaman to me from what I, from what I know in the comics. I'm not a big comic book reader, so I know a lot of people are already tuning me out by by me saying that. But from what I know of Aquaman, jason Momoa is just not Aquaman to me and that's why I was like Patrick Wilson Should have been Aquaman, just the way he presents himself, just the way he he kicks butt and just the way he portrayed his character. So if I had a like, I would say Patrick Wilson, his performance was pretty good. But everyone else, like the script was just Lazy. So I said this was gonna be brief and it is.
Speaker 2:So I'm ending my thoughts of Aquaman, lost Kingdom. If you want to go see it, go see it, as I always say, but hey did give me her rating for this. She's gonna give Aquaman the Lost Kingdom two out of six stars, which is very nice, because I'm giving it a big old one out of six stars. I thought it was terrible. I thought it was. It was kind of it kind of made me sad that this is the way they wanted to end the DCU, which I'm not saying they probably planned this for this to be the end, but it was. It was pretty bad. So that is Aquaman the Lost Kingdom. It's a bucket of suck. So let's move on to a movie that I wish was my last movie of 2023, because I think it's probably, if not number one on my list of movies from 2023, and that movie is the iron claw. And so, before we get into our thoughts on that, I will give the synopsis the true story of the inseparable Vaughn Eric brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. The iron claw star Zach Efron, jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson, as well as a plethora of other very good actors in this film.
Speaker 2:Before I went to go see this movie, I I'm not a wrestling fan. I don't follow wrestling that much. I Didn't really know much about this story, which I think was a benefit for me because I didn't go in with any preconceived notions. But after I went to go see it and actually I did read some articles before Because I I learned that they did omit one of the actual brothers in the movie and we'll talk about that briefly.
Speaker 2:But other than that, I think this movie Just it took me and Jetson by surprise. When we went to go see it we didn't know what to expect, because you you watch the trailer, you see Zach Efron's haircut, you think it's gonna be kind of borderline, silly a little bit because it's about wrestling. But this movie was not that whatsoever. It just man. There aren't even words to describe what this movie was Like. I said, it just takes you by surprise. It does things that you didn't think it was gonna do. It tells a heartbreaking story of this family who went through so many tragedies. And I think the biggest thing that you get out of this film is how do you get through tragedy after tragedy and still find a way to emerge not victorious, but like? I can't even think of a word. Justin, I'm gonna let you take it away.
Speaker 3:So same boat, where I don't follow wrestling and I had nothing. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Besides, it was just a good true story with Zach Efron and Jeremy Allen White, oh, and Lily James, the kind of lover too, and I will get more into this later with the likes and dislikes. I don't know if this is a perfect movie with having more time to sit with it, but what I will say is that this is one of those movies that it hits differently with the place that I'm in in my life right now, and so the timing of watching this and being exposed to this story at this time it made it a very, very special moment. So I have the biggest hard eyes and the biggest flowers to give to this movie and it ruined the rest of my night and I just wanted to cry and go to sleep. But it really is a special story in the way that they handcrafted and had so much heart telling the story because, first and foremost and I'm not gonna spoil anything about what actually happens because the more blind you are to the story and the family, the better the experience is gonna be by far, and I know that can be said with anything, but this is truly something.
Speaker 3:But the dynamic and the chemistry that the brothers have right off the gate, right off the rib, is already like all right, I'm in. And there's just something about an actor's chemistry and I don't know if this is just an artist thing, an actor thing, but I felt a similar way when watching past lives earlier Like just the chemistry of actors just being in a room together is really special and these guys have it. This is probably Zach Airfrog's best performance yet, and then the story just unfolds throughout time. So I'll pass it back to Nadie, but this was just, it was the perfect time to watch it for me and it was very heartbreaking but very special.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they just did a phenomenal job. Like you said, and I know that was the biggest note that the real life Kevin Von Erich wanted in this film. He wanted them to focus on the relationship of the brothers and I think they did a phenomenal job with that. Every single person in this movie did a fantastic job with their performance. There wasn't a weak link in this movie. I know you said that you wouldn't call this a perfect movie. I think I would because I just it really took me and, like you said, it really related to certain things going on in my life too because of some of the subject matter in the film and, like you said, I don't wanna spoil it either.
Speaker 2:Obviously, if you want to look up the true story of the Von Erich family, you can do that on Google and the internet and stuff. I will say some of the videos I watched after watching the film. I don't know if they got the relationship with the father like 100%, because the father comes off as very like hard and very like strict and very you know, and I don't know if that's exactly how he was. Again, I don't know the inner workings of their family, but just by video interviews and stuff. He comes off as kind of softer than they portrayed him in the film. And they did omit a brother in the movie. Chris Von Eric was another brother who tragically met an end. And the director felt that because of everything else going on in the film, having that happen in the movie would kind of just weigh it down even more. And so, from what I read and researched, they kind of combined Chris's personality and, I believe, mike's personality. He kind of melded them together because they had a similar story. And when he told Kevin the real life Kevin, he was kind. He basically said oh, that makes sense to do that. The director really wanted to have the blessing of the real life Kevin Von Eric, because this is his story and this is his brother's story.
Speaker 2:And I just there's not many movies that I've cried in a movie theater and this is one of those movies. And again, I would never have thought if you had told me, hey, natty, this wrestling movie is going to make you sob like a baby, I probably wouldn't believe you because again, I don't follow wrestling but I also didn't know this story going in, and so to see it with that blindness to it, like you said, judson, it just hit me different, especially with the few things that have happened recently in my life, like just some of, again, some of the subject matter. But I will say trigger warning, because there is subject matter that some people will find hard to watch and again I don't want to say what that is because I feel like that'll spoil some of the film. But there there is some. There is some subject matter that I think would be rough for people to watch if they're not prepared for it.
Speaker 2:So, again, if I do think some people should look at this film before they go see it, just so they know what kind of what they're getting into, if again, that subject matter might be a little too much for some people because I can understand why it would be I think we kind of went over the likes and dislikes. I don't think there really was anything I disliked about this movie. I mean, I don't know, I don't know about you, justin. I know you said you wouldn't consider this a perfect film. So was there anything in it that you were like you might change a little bit, I know, maybe from a filmmaking standpoint, direction, that kind of thing.
Speaker 3:Off the top of my head. No, it's. It's going to be interesting, because I don't. I guess you could consider this a dislike, but this is one of the ones that I do not want to watch again. I, with the subject material and for what it is, as as much as I enjoyed the story, the cinematography, performances, dynamics, I don't know if I can sit through that again. You know I had co workers saying the next day oh, I want to go see, I've been wanting to go see that, let's go see it. I'm like, no, I'll sit it out, I'll go like watch Wonka or something. But uh, yeah, I. So I guess that that could be a dislike.
Speaker 3:There could be some pacing issues in the second, the second act, but I on it's nothing of note. That's like standoffish and tarnishes how I feel, and you know it might come with time. If I do end up watching again, I'll probably be able to find something. It's just here and now. It just. I am aware that where I am right now makes the experience elevated, like I don't expect people to cry as hard as I did in the theaters and sitting through the entire credits and just sobbing the whole time. But that's also from a personal standpoint. So I just it was more of a note like a. You might not cry as hard as I did and it might not be as good for you. Just know that it was very special to me.
Speaker 2:I actually had that conversation with a friend of mine. There are some movies that you watch them at a certain point in your life and you don't want to ruin that experience by watching it again later Because, like you said, if you watch it down the road, I mean I'm not saying you'll forget the experience you had with it, but you'll be able to find nitpicky things about it that you don't like and that might ruin the original experience. Because you know there are some movies that I will never watch again the Passion of the.
Speaker 2:Christ. That's not one of those movies that I'm like, hey, you know what I feel like watching. I feel like watching Passion of the Christ. No, this is not, and this is what this is. I mean, I'm not saying I'm not elevating it to Passion of the Christ. What I'm saying is is this isn't a movie that I'm like. You know what I feel like watching? I feel like watching the iron claw, because it's not a field, it's not a feel good movie. I mean the end result of the real life.
Speaker 2:Kevin Von Erich, you can see, is inspirational, and you know he kept going, despite everything that he had been through. So at that point you can look at it as a positive and inspirational film. But it's not a movie that you're like, hey, let's get a group of friends together and watch this. I mean, it's just not. And so I can agree. I wouldn't necessarily think it's a dislike either. I think it did its job. I think it affected the people that it was going to affect. I'm sure there's a plethora of people that will probably watch it and feel the same thing you did. I felt that way too. I didn't saw it, but I did cry, I did tear up Because, again, we all experience things in life and there's always that one film that reflects that in some way, and I think that that's what this film did and to me, that's why I think it is a perfect film.
Speaker 2:I think it did a great job with the performances. I think the director did a great job with just the way he just everything was shot. I loved the 80s feel of it because it takes place in the 80s. I just loved everything about it. I just really, really did, and I love that. Lily James isn't it? I know we didn't really mention her that much, but I've loved her since she was in the live action Cinderella. I just think she's phenomenal. I just think she's phenomenal. So this movie- is just great.
Speaker 2:So I think we can go ahead and rate this thing. I don't know if you'll be surprised at what I'm going to get it, so I'm going to let you, Judson, give Iron Claw one out of six stars. What you're going to say.
Speaker 3:I'm going to have to give a six. We're just going to have to full send. Yeah, that's exactly what I think too.
Speaker 2:And that's why I was like being myself up at the fact that I saw this with you. And then the very next day, I saw Aquaman. I was like Aquaman, I gave it a one and then I got it in 2023 with talking about this phenomenal movie, the Iron Claw. Again, do your research, if you feel like you have to, before you go see this movie, because, again, it does it does cover some, some tough subject matters, but it is a great film.
Speaker 2:I don't use the word film lightly when I talk about this. To me, this is a. It's not a movie, it is a film, and I know some people will be like what's the difference? I think a film is more sophisticated than a movie, and this movie was a film. So that is the iron claw. I'm going to give it a six out of six. What a way to end 2023 with a one and a six movie in the same episode. Good times. So this is it, jetson. I mean, what? Are there any movies that you're looking forward to in 2024?
Speaker 3:I'm sure I can think of some off the top of my head, but I know when we did this episode last year, a lot of the announced projects were either Marvel or the reboots or this and that, and so I know the movies that have been sticking with me the past few years have kind of sprouted up a month before the release. So I'm just going to stick with that and say no, maybe then last spider-verse movie comes out, maybe the work that the work terms are more livable and prosperous and they're able to work on that and get that done, because I'm very ready for that. But that's probably not coming out until I have kids. So we'll find out.
Speaker 2:Every year I get a new calendar for the year and I put it like when certain movies are coming out and I realized like there are like months where only one movie is coming out and that's crazy, because this past year I think, I was able to see a movie every single weekend and so it's kind of good. My wife will like that, because I won't be away as much. I was like, well, it's a good thing that Katie and I are taking this show in a different direction. Season four so, because we ain't going to the movie theaters that much. But I will say I'm looking forward to the second Joker movie, I'm looking forward to Inside Out 2.
Speaker 2:I know there's a lot of sequels and prequels and remakes and people are kind of poo-pooing that, but if they're done well, I'm totally fine with it. The next Ghostbusters movie is supposed to be coming out in 2024. So there are movies that I'm like, okay, I'm pretty excited about. And we can't forget the Jason Statham obvious classic, the Beekeeper, which is coming out in January. How can we forget that? I'm being sarcastic, but I probably will go see it just to say, hey, why not? But yeah. So, justin, thank you for joining me once again on the last episode of the year. Is there any way you want to end this episode, the last episode of 2023?
Speaker 3:You should tune in to At and At Productions social media, because something you should also look forward to in 2024 is the first episode of Subliminal Songs that we talked about on a special episode of Naty and Katie at the movies, and I will see you guys in 2024. Chetching Really.
Speaker 1:That's how you end 2023 with a shameless plug. How dare you, sir? See you next year. Thanks for listening to Naty and Katie at the movies. Feel free to leave us a review so people can find the show. Follow us on all our social media platforms and if there's a movie that you want us to watch, feel free to contact us at natyandkatyatgmailcom. Thanks for listening and have a great day.