‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’, and ‘Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond’ make a moreishly mind-bending meal of mysterious delights in this episode with Susie Youssef and Alexei Toliopoulos.
‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’, ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’, and ‘Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond’ make a moreishly mind-bending meal of mysterious delights. Expect your mouth watering and brain teased.
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Alexei Toliopoulos:
I had this dream once, that I went to McDonald's and ordered McNuggets and when they asked me what sauce I wanted, I said, "hotcakes syrup."
Susie Youssef:
Oh God.
Susie Youssef:
Hello. My name is Susie Youssef.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And my name is Alexei Toliopoulos.
Susie Youssef:
And this is the Big Film Buffet.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Where we serve up a three course meal of movies designed to honour the Netflix premiere of the week.
Susie Youssef:
This week, though, we're doing things a little differently.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We're casting our mind back to a movie that truthfully, we have not been able to stop thinking about.
Susie Youssef:
It has really been haunting us both, and it is, I'm Thinking of Ending Things featuring Aussie icon, Toni Colette in one of her most bizarre roles.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I couldn't believe this movie came out just before this podcast started. We had to talk about it because I am still thinking of, I'm Thinking of Ending Things.
Susie Youssef:
We're still going to serve up a starter with a genre defining classic.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And a dessert field of weirder recommendations.
Susie Youssef:
First of all, we are humbling around the studio today or whatever it is, because a little injury.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes. I've got this severe injury on my very aptly named, Achilles tendon. I don't know what it is. My foot hurts like heck, I can't walk. I'm hobbling around.
Susie Youssef:
But this happened in the most unlikely of scenario.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes. I'm a tremendous sportsman, I was running around the entire world and who should know, I went too fast and I hurt myself.
Susie Youssef:
Oh, the truth being, when he got a massage and it got rubbed a little too good.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
My friends treated me through a foot massage so I could fricking unwind, before watching a movie, and they robbed a little too much baby, and now I can't walk anymore.
Susie Youssef:
Thank goodness it does not affect your voice box and the thing that's been running around in both of our minds ever since we watched it, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, and we cannot go another week without talking about this film. Now, instead of rolling your ankle, let's roll the trailer.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
How dare you.
Video:
Jake, my boyfriend.
Video:
It's snowing.
Video:
Winter is coming on.
Video:
Connection. A rare and intense attachment. I've never experienced anything like it. I'm thinking of ending things.
Video:
What? Did you say?
Video:
I don't think so.
Video:
Weird.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
They're getting creeped out.
Video:
He hadn't been my boyfriend for very long.
Video:
They really are looking forward to meeting you.
Video:
I'm thinking of ending things.
Video:
Hello? We're here.
Video:
Oh, hi.
Video:
Here they come.
Video:
Jeff has told us so much about you.
Video:
He told me so much about both of you too.
Video:
And he came anyway. Jake tells me you're studying quantum psychics.
Video:
Physics.
Video:
There's just something profoundly wrong here.
Video:
Are you okay?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Susie, you're on edge.
Susie Youssef:
I'm so edgy and I've seen it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I got to say once a year, there is a trailer that becomes the best short film of the year. And I think that is this year's version of that.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, it is gripping.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You have a teariness in your eyes.
Susie Youssef:
Look, I'm not crying. I know I cry. Most episodes. I'm not crying right now, but I am definitely a bit breathy. It's just one of those films that even though I know what happens, I'm a little bit on edge.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I think that the kind of magic of this movie is that it compels you to fall down this rabbit hole of weirdo ideas and escape yourself and escape reality.
Susie Youssef:
I've seen this film described as a psychological comic thriller. Not a genre that you stumble across every day and also as a cerebral horror, but it's a Charlie Kaufman film. So he's the writer and director of this film. And honestly he kind of defies traditional classification. What would you call it?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, I think we have to invent genres to talk about Charlie Kaufman, but I would declare this a kind of falling under this umbrella category of modern American intellectual surrealism.
Susie Youssef:
I like this, maybe we call it MAIS.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, it's MAIS. Yes. That's what we're going to call it. MAIS. Modern.
Susie Youssef:
American.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Intellectual.
Susie Youssef:
Surrealism.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
So it's absolutely wackadoo. He's basically a unique cinematic genre all to himself. Surrealism has always really been a part of film as a way to visually communicate abstract and complex ideas, like feelings or emotions in a way that an audience can understand.
Susie Youssef:
So if you were to describe it to a five-year-old or to me how could you help us understand it a bit better?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, funny you should say that, because the example that I was thinking of is how the Pixar movie Inside Out really effectively assigned characters to feelings in a way that probably helped children and parents talk more frankly about emotions.
Susie Youssef:
I love that movie.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
These are the kind of movies that stick in your head because they give to an image to an idea. They visualise something that doesn't exist in a visual realm. They create the image for you. This is kind of not very good. Robin Williams movie called What Dreams May Come.
Susie Youssef:
I was about to say, how dare you, but no, I totally agree.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's this movie where he goes to heaven and how, and they're painted like these oil paintings. And I tell you not a God dang day has gone by where I haven't thought about that movie because that's how I think of the afterlife now is how they interpret in those oil painting way in that movie.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, totally. We watched this movie around 20 years and it's the sort of thing that has actually shaped us as human beings.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Absolutely.
Susie Youssef:
It's that image of the afterlife. It's crazy.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's not even that good, but it's just stuck around. And Kaufman is pretty tied with American cinema dipping into more complex narratives through that indie film movement of the 1990s that saw mainstream audiences branching out and making minor hits out of weirdo stuff, like being John Malcovich and bonafide Oscar nominated. Best of all time lists, like the starter we're going to talk about today.
Susie Youssef:
Yes. And that starter is the messed up romance relationship, drama, comedy. What genre is this? We don't know. We're just affected by it. The film is ... Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Video:
Right?
Video:
I assure you no.
Video:
Is there any risk of brain damage?
Video:
It's on a par with a night of heavy drinking, nothing you'll miss.
Susie Youssef:
After a bad breakup, Clementine, played by Kate Winslet has a procedure to erase the memory of her ex boyfriend Joel, who's played by Jim Carey. Now when Joel discovers this, he has the same procedure, but will he regret it? Will love find a way or is lost love, just too painful to remember? And are some relationships harder to understand than science fiction?
Susie Youssef:
Alexei, I was totally shocked when you told me that you had not seen this film before. I want to know, when you watched it, what was your immediate reaction?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
My immediate reaction was kind of like, "Oh, this is not what I thought it was going to be." I think going back to this era, because this was around the time that I was really getting into film and this came out, and then seeing people latch onto it, there's this idea of going back to those things that makes me feel uncomfortable. Like "What if they don't live up to my expectations?" or "What if I came to it at the wrong time in my life?" and I think my preconceived notion of this movie was that Kate Windsor role she's playing, with that Manic Pixie Dream Girl, that-
Susie Youssef:
Kind of the original Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, exactly. And I think that's what I was nervous about. That it was that typical thing of this quirky girl, who's here to wake up some sad fella out of he's a routine boring life, but watching this, I was shocked by how it's a total decimation of that idea before it even became this long running trope. It's subverting it all before it even exists. And it calls it out straight away. She was like, "I'm not going to be the one to fix you."
Susie Youssef:
I think the whole movie is kind of all about dismantling any expectation you have of the genre and characters.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
If you could eternal sunshine, someone delete someone from your memory, from your mind, who would it be?
Susie Youssef:
That is the easiest question in the world.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Really?
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, it actually. There's not many people that I would say have affected me in the way that my year eight maths teacher has, so [crosstalk 00:08:38] said to me, in year eight maths, I do not remember the context, I just remember the pain of being called cynical. And I did not know what cynical meant. So I just assumed the worst. Turns out I am quite cynical, but-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
She nailed it. She nailed it.
Susie Youssef:
She hit me right in the heart. And I wish I could get rid of that memory. Because I feel it's plagued me for some reason.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
That's the idea, you get rid of something that plagues you.
Susie Youssef:
Exactly. Something that's really hurts you in some way.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, if I could get rid of anything, it would be a thing, not a one, but a thing.
Susie Youssef:
Of course not. Because you do love people and they love you.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes. The movie, the Grinch, has stuck with me for so long. I just want to get out of my head.
Susie Youssef:
You're turning green.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It upsets me. That movie gets under my skin. I hate that face makeup that Carrey wears. I hate his green fur in it. It's made out of real human hair, knowing that disgusts me.
Susie Youssef:
I feel like you're levitating off your chair.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh yeah, exactly. I'm not an angry guy, but this is my one source of anger and I need it to be moved from my mind. Delete it.
Susie Youssef:
I actually feel the same way about the movie Ghost Ship.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, starring Alex Dimitriades, he's in a small role.
Susie Youssef:
Oh. Well I didn't know about that because I think I've tried to erase this from my mind.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I've never seen the movie, but I'm familiar with his filmography. That's how I know about its existence.
Susie Youssef:
I completely understand that. I think the reason that I want to get rid of this one is because my best friend, Kate and I were supposed to meet our mate, Joe at the cinema, and he never turned up and it was his choice of film. Not, not film that we would have chosen. And so we suffered through this horror film where, I think something like, one-hundred people die in the first three seconds. We were traumatised by it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I pray not to meet Dimitriades, who made it till the end?
Susie Youssef:
So you have eternal sunshine to The Grinch.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
The what? I never heard of it before. And you, Ms. Evanson?
Susie Youssef:
Who?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It worked. It worked!
Susie Youssef:
It's kind of a crazy concept that it's not an easy film to watch, but I still kind of loved it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I think it's because it's so clever with how it introduces these far out ideas for one, the cinematography is gorgeous. It's kind of like these muted colours, yet it's shot in this very documentary esque way, that handheld camera, which allows the film to feel very grounded and very real and very visceral so that when we introduce these surreal ideas, they are in a way that we are accustomed to because we are set in this version of reality. And because of that, it's this really tasteful introduction for audiences to the surreal mind of Charlie Kaufman. A mind that is full of comedy, full of big grandiose ideas and very interesting storytelling techniques. And without a crossover art house hit like this, I don't think he would have ever had the pull to actually become a director. Not just a writer, but a writer director.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. This was kind of like the breakout hit for him then could have gone a couple of ways. So he could have gone down a more mainstream path, but he did not do that.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Not at all.
Susie Youssef:
And he's working with huge actors in his film. It's not just Jim Carrey and Kate Windsor. There's Kirsten Dunst, Mike Ruffalo, there's Elijah Wood. David Cross. There's so many big actors in his film, but it's so left of centre. It's an art house. And yet it broke through, I think because it hit on a nerve that a lot of people would feel in relationships that they want to forget.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's a common idea. A common feeling translated into a very visual and interesting idea. And that at the core is what Charlie Kaufman is about.
Susie Youssef:
Yes. This is an example of him at his best as the ultimate over-thinker. Just that insight into this anxious brain that is brilliant, but terrifying,
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Which of course now brings us to our main, our film de jour, the film of the day, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, written and directed by Charlie Kaufman.
Susie Youssef:
Nothing is as it seems, when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend, joins him on a road trip to meet his parents on a remote farm.
Susie Youssef:
Now, look, if I said it with that tone, you would have an idea about the feelings I have towards this film. But look, it could be the description of romantic comedy. Listen to this.
Susie Youssef:
Nothing is as it seems, as a woman experiencing misgivings about her boyfriend, joins him on a road trip to meet his parents on their remote farm.
Susie Youssef:
Wha wha wha. It could be anything. And the thing is this film starts out as what could be a romantic comedy.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. It's a very uncomplicated way to describe a film, but this film is anything but uncomplicated. I mean, I think that's what this movie is about, Susie. It's tapping into those feelings. It's bringing a visual sensation and an oral nightmare to the idea of what it's like, that feeling of awkwardness that uncomfortableness of when you go out of your comfort zone and go to that high pressure, high stakes scenario of meeting your new partner's parents for the first time, where you unlock the baggage of their life.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. And it starts off with the feelings of nervousness, but I think this film takes it to another level. So it kind of goes from the nerves of what could be a quirky little film to the surreal nightmare that it becomes.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, I think so. I think that this really taps into that idea, that nightmare logic, where things don't quite make sense. There's surreal tangents. There's way little things that stick out to you the way it does in a night and where we get fixated on these ideas of things that don't feel real. But in the moment they feel completely real.
Susie Youssef:
As a kid, I used to hallucinate a lot. I used to have these horrible dreams when I'd get sick and I would have those tiny wooden blocks that are a centimetre cubed.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, the centimetre cubes.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. I got MAB blocks when I was growing up, and I would have these horrible nightmares that I would have to fill the room with them at the time. It was very real. I think the root of that is from Tetris. My sister and I were really competitive with Tetris and that whole idea of having to fit things together. And as soon as I get sick, that's what I would have these nightmares about
Alexei Toliopoulos:
When I was a kid. My nightmare that would recur to me would be because I'm this only child, that my parents had another kid, I had this little brother or sister, and I was the only one that could tell there was something wrong with it. It was this little demon spawn.
Susie Youssef:
Well, that's the reverse of my actual dream because I'm one of six girls, I would dream constantly that I was an only child and all the attention was mine.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh gosh, if only we could flip the script.
Susie Youssef:
We're so messed up.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
If you don't mind me asking, what are the ones you have now?
Susie Youssef:
I actually still have quite vivid dreams, but I have a recurring dream from childhood about a toilet door being too short. I think it's just when you need to go to the toilet when you're asleep. Do you have the same thing?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Mine now, are all about fast food, weirdly enough. I had this dream once, that I went to McDonald's and ordered McNuggets and when they asked me what sauce I wanted, I said, "Hotcakes syrup." Oh God. And then the next day I was like, you know what? I got to go out and try this.
Susie Youssef:
I think I would try that.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And when I ordered it, the person was like, "Oh wow, man, I haven't heard that hack before. Where did you hear it?" And I was like, "Oh yeah. Some friend told me." because I was too ashamed to go, "It came to me in a dream."
Alexei Toliopoulos:
But what are those signifies in the movie? What are those elements that feel like that nightmare logic stuff?
Susie Youssef:
Look, I don't want to spoil the film in any way, but I have a theory on this movie. First of all, I watched it twice. And the second time I watched it, I enjoyed it more. So I don't feel like there are actual spoilers here. I feel like-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's hard to spoil something this weird.
Susie Youssef:
No, I think they're enhanced. So the things that come up for me in this movie that I will never forget and may dream of until I'm dead, are a talking pig, there's a disappearing dog. There are so many kind of creepy animals and motives in this film. There's a mysterious janitor, there's a creepy ice cream shop. There's a swing set in the middle of nowhere. There's a dance sequence, which I love and I'm absolutely into, but the list just goes on and on of these really surreal nightmarish moments.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I kind of feel like, what are they? Do they mean anything? But by the end they kind of do create this kind of cohesive, meaning this understanding of what really is going on behind I'm Thinking of Ending Things.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, totally.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
What I loved most about this movie is the acting. I think everyone's perfectly in tune, but they're all doing something really different. What really stands out to me though is the iconic, the wickedly talented one and only Toni Collette. She's one of the greats, and she's doing some truly m-effing, mother Jeffin, bonkers acting in this movie.
Susie Youssef:
This is the weirdest I've ever seen her, and that is saying something.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah, is saying a hell of a lot. I am going to put this too, this is my hot take out there, that Toni Collette is the new Nicolas Cage.
Susie Youssef:
Break that down for me please,
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Allow me to, it's going to be my absolute pleasure to do it. I think that the way audiences kind of embraced Toni Collette as this new cultural icon is that they, like Nicholas Cage, have created all these memes around her because she does these really big and bold and exciting performances that can just be used and utilised for fun. But she does this thing that's very Nicholas Cagey in her performance that I like where she goes between raw, honest emotions and expressionistic, external interpretation of deep emotions. That way that only Nicholas cage does. I think they're two peas in a pod and I would love to see them switch faces in some move, if that were fricking possible.
Susie Youssef:
There is some light shining out of you right now. You're completely excited by this idea.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think that's what this movie does so well is that she fits so well into it because she does do that expressionistic type of acting where it's what emotions feel like, but don't necessarily look like. She's able to extrapolate that and do it in this really bold and exciting way. And it's all about this dinner table setting.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah, this Meet the Parents moment.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. And like Meet the Parents, if I've got nipples, Greg, can you milk me? Well, that's my favourite Meet the Parents moment. But in this film, the Meet the Parents moment is at that dinner table, you've got Toni Collette as the mother-
Susie Youssef:
And she's completely unhinged. And opposite her, you've got that really clueless David Thewlis character, he plays the father-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yes, and he's doing something so weird and interesting in this movie playing with status and different comedy nodes. And he's just a master actor.
Susie Youssef:
And it looks like they exist in this strange world in this kind of like farmhouse setting. When they enter that world, it just feels wrong. Feels really high stakes and really dangerous.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think this is a real master class of different styles of acting coming together to make this really cohesive tapestry. This complete idea of what a film can be.
Video:
Oh.
Video:
The drive okay?
Video:
Yeah. Fine.
Video:
So glad to meet you. Jeff has told us so much about you.
Video:
She's told me so much about both of you too ...
Video:
And you came anyway!
Video:
Well lets eat, or the food will be as cold as a witch's tit, in a brass brassiere.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And then it comes with this idea of time where we slowly start to see David Thewlis and Toni Collette at completely different ages throughout their lifetime. And it kind of becomes this big encapsulation of the entirety of a relationship and how you feel stuck on how you can feel bogged down and it extrapolate into this really crazy visceral feeling.
Susie Youssef:
Yeah. It's kind of that Kauffman dream-like state where it's like, time is irrelevant or time is super relevant. He just moves back and forward between different moments and you can't really tell what's going on. I feel a little bit breathy just thinking about it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Yeah. I mean, this is why it's stuck with us. Look at this, weeks later we're still trapped in this conversation about, I am Thinking of Ending Things.
Susie Youssef:
It's probably the most film-buffy film that we've spoken about-
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh, big time.
Susie Youssef:
So far, and it's definitely not for the faint hearted. It's not something that you just jump into casually. This is not a date movie. If it is a date movie, make sure you're dating an ultra film buff when you're watching this.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I think that this is a good one to dip your toes into. If you want to get outside your comfort zone a little bit more, or just have something really weird wash over you and allow you to critically think about something for a while.
Susie Youssef:
I totally agree. And as I said before, it's something that I think you should watch twice. I often say that the more I learnt about this film, the more I enjoyed it.
Susie Youssef:
If you've had a little insight into the minds of Alexei Toliopoulos and Susie Youssef, and now you're thinking "I could live here." Or maybe "I could visit from time to time." Then why not follow the Big Film Buffet on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts to make sure that you get new episodes of us talking about films, movies, all the good stuff on the reels. As soon as it drops every single Tuesday. And don't forget to comment, rate review, tell your friends, call up your old high school teachers and tell them how they've affected your life, but also recommend the podcast. And don't forget to send us all the love you can muster.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We have come to that time in our buffet where we need our pallet cleanser, we're going to play our favourite game film or movie.
Susie Youssef:
The lemon sorbet of this podcast.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
You have got our producer, Michael in here today to give us the title that we're going to classify, whether it is a film or if it is a movie.
Michael Sun:
Listen, I feel like the motion picture that I've chosen has to have come from the new Nicholas Cage, starring Toni Collette, herself. The feature is, Muriel's Wedding.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Muriel's Wedding 1994, directed by P. J. Hogan, starring Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths. Michael, you have stumped me for one second, but guess what? I've come back around with a complete answer and a complete dissection of Muriel's Wedding as a movie, baby. Yes, this is a movie. It doesn't get any more Hollywood than a rags to slightly better rags story. This is pure movie magic and cinema. The story of a young girl from Porpoise Spit coming from a sad life into a much, much less sad life. I think that this is a movie baby. It's a romantic comedy. It's got ABBA. Any movie that has songs by ABBA will be classified as popcorn by me. This is a movie.
Susie Youssef:
And I could not disagree more. I have to say that this motion picture is in fact, a film. It's a story of a kleptomaniac in search of love that she will never get. I think it is a story of a young woman who deceives everyone in her life. I think this is an art house film. Yes. ABBA is included, but not in the way that makes you happy. In the kind of way that creeps you out.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This is one of our most beloved comedies of all time.
Susie Youssef:
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And it's a knee slapper.
Susie Youssef:
It really is.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And it's one of the saddest movies I've ever seen in my entire life.
Susie Youssef:
It is both a knee slapper, and a tragedy.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
As a tear jerker, Michael, are you satisfied? Who wins film or movie? Is this a movie or is this a film?
Michael Sun:
Listen, I feel like Susie wins. It's a film and purely any motion picture with ABBA is a film.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Oh my word. Okay. I'll accept that. Muriel's Wedding has been inducted into the film hall of fame.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Well, Susie, I'm thinking of ending things, and by things, I mean the episode of the podcast this week. And as always, we end things on a sweet note. We're going to give you some recommendations of some further viewing. I'm going to recommend this movie, Suzy.
Susie Youssef:
Oh yes, I've not seen this.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This is one that I really, really like, that has stuck with me for quite some time. It's called Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond.
Video:
And no one really knew what was real and not real half the time. I didn't know. It was really real and not real.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's on Netflix. It's a film from the mind of another Kauffman that bends reality. And that is Andy Kaufman, the comedian from Taxi, and stuff. He's one of the great comedy or tours of all time, the biggest prankster in the world. It's actually about the making of the biopic about his life, the man on the moon, where Jim Carey plays him. And it is the weirdest performance from Jim Carey. He really lost himself playing Andy Kaufman. He threw himself into the role and he refused to break character. And this is a document. You all about him losing himself to this character, becoming Andy Kaufman. And it's one of the best movies I've ever seen about acting, one of the best movies I've ever seen about making movies, and honest to gosh, it's one of the scariest movies I've ever seen in my entire life.
Susie Youssef:
I have heard so much about this, but I have not seen it yet, and I definitely will. Another recommendation that I want to make is the film Adaptation. So this is another Charlie Kaufman and it is Nicholas cage and Meryl Streep. How can you possibly go wrong here?
Alexei Toliopoulos:
Can I say it's Nicholas Cage, Meryl Streep and Nicholas Cage?
Susie Youssef:
You can say that. That is completely true. It's also an insight into the mind of Charlie Kaufman and it's a bizarrely awesome film. I watch this every year. I have a moment where I'm like, "I need to touch base with Adaptation." It has everything it is a cerebral, psychological situation going on, but it's also a thriller and romance. There's so much to what I absolutely love it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
It's a brilliant movie and the way that it plays with reality is second to none.
Susie Youssef:
And if you need a little bit more of a Meta-Moment with Charlie Kaufman, then there is a podcast that BAFTA do where Charlie Kaufman talks about screenwriting. I mean, yes, he does talk about screenwriting in it. For me, it's just like a life lecture and it's kind of incredible stuff. So I can't recommend that more. I kind of feel like I'm breaking the rules by recommending a podcast on another podcast, but I'm standing by it.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And if there's any episode to break the rules on, to bend reality with, with talking about the Charlie Kaufman episode that we're allowed to do for goodness cake. Well, speaking of cake, of course our dessert was Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond and Adaptation.
Susie Youssef:
And our main was, I'm Thinking of Ending Things.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And we started things with a lovely little treat of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Susie Youssef:
That was a weird and wonderful menu. And I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I am brain fried.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
I'm actually the smartest man in the world so I could handle it completely. Susie is always a pleasure to hang out with you.
Susie Youssef:
Alexei Toliopoulos, thank you so much for your brain.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And you're got to hear a bit more from me, you can head on over to another podcast I host, Total Reboots, where we talk about reboots, remakes and rip offs in cinema. And guess what? While we do it, we're actually pretty funny and weird.
Susie Youssef:
Speaking of funny, and weird, we will be back next week with another podcast. And that week, which is next week is a bonus episode with a few surprises.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
We're doing a little bit of a bonus treat episode with our good friends, Aunty Donna.
Susie Youssef:
So it's three times as much fun, but if you count us, it's five times as much fun.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
And I am counting us.
Alexei Toliopoulos:
This episode was written and hosted by Alexei Toliopoulos and Susie Youssef. Produced by Michael Sun and Anu Hasbold. Edited by Geoffrey O'Connor. Executive produced by Tony Broderick and Melanie Mahony.