Natey & Katy: At the Movies
Natey & Katy are two friends who love movies and love talking about them. Join them on their cinematic journey!
Natey & Katy: At the Movies
Unmasking "Parasite": A Masterclass in Deception and Drama
Can you juggle multiple Thanksgiving feasts without a hitch? Join us as we recount our own strategy-packed day of holiday indulgence, setting the scene for an episode brimming with cinematic charm. Nathan (aka Natey) and Katy break the ice with their hilarious holiday tales before diving into the genius that is Bong Joon Ho’s "Parasite." Initially wary of its creepy poster and unsettling title, we found ourselves captivated by the film's dark comedic edge, Hitchcockian flair, and brilliant performances from stars like Song Kang-ho. The film’s exploration of class, deception, and the complexities of life left us marveling at South Korea's rising impact on global cinema.
As the episode unfolds, we offer our candid analysis and personal critiques of "Parasite," from its unpredictable plot to the challenges of subtitled storytelling. Experience our humorous take on unforgettable scenes, such as a love-making sequence that adds an unexpected layer of awkwardness and the father's stealthy antics under a coffee table. Our conversation touches on the film's high standing on IMDb, setting the stage for an upcoming exploration of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar." With memorable quotes and engaging storytelling, our journey through cinema promises to keep you entertained and eager for more insights into top-rated films.
Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new episode of Nady and Katie at the Movies. I'm your host, nathan, aka Nady, of course, and with me on today's episode is Katie. Hi Katie, how are you?
Speaker 2:I'm so well, I'm rested. I'm not cleaning a kitchen or cooking as we record, because I'm on vacation at my parents' house. There's nothing like being home, getting to relax, kick up your feet, have grandparents take care of your kid it's pretty nice. Are you doing anything fun for the holidays? I think we're releasing this episode. It'll be Thanksgiving week.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it'll be two days before Thanksgiving, so I will not have eaten a lot of food yet, because we do two Thanksgivings one with my family, like around lunchtime, and then a big Thanksgiving dinner with my wife's family. So that's going to be fun and I'm going to be stuffed and I can't wait to eat all the deviled eggs oh my, that's your thing.
Speaker 2:That's too much. I feel stuffed after one Thanksgiving meal To do two in the same day, that's a lot. You got to pace yourself.
Speaker 1:You got to pace yourself so you don't overeat. During lunch, like I might eat one, maybe two plates, and then Thanksgiving dinner is like, get out of my way, I'm eating all the food.
Speaker 2:Go all out. I'm going to eat this and pass out, speaking of things that eat. You know, a parasite actually will eat, eat things and, you know, basically lives off of and benefits from another being. You know, like I used to call my son when he was growing inside my womb, I was, yeah, he's kind of like a parasite, a cute little bear, oh that's, that's morbid, it is morbid anyway, what else?
Speaker 1:is morbid, the movie we're going to review today, which is parasite. But before we can go into our likes and dislikes we have to go over the synopsis. Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy park family and the destitute kim clan parasite stars. This is going to be very tricky because this is a porn film.
Speaker 1:The names are, so let's see Parasite stars Song Kang-ho, lee Sun-kyun, cho Yeo-jong and Cho Woo-sik. I think I said their names right. And before we talk about this movie, some actually sad part of this film is that the actor I believe plays mr park actually committed suicide.
Speaker 2:It was really sad because I remember hearing about that it is sad and also a fun fact all every single actor in this movie is south korean. So you know, yes, it's a foreign film, but specifically this is based I'm assuming based, therefore, therefore based in Korea. Everyone's South Korean and I feel like South Korea has just been really hitting it with music and culture and TV and, I guess, movies as well. So shout out to you, south Korea. But yes, I love this movie. I think my favorite actor was Kang Ho Song, the guy that plays Kim, like the father, the father of the more poor family. I think he was probably my favorite actor in this movie.
Speaker 2:I need to tell you an honest truth, which is that I avoided this movie when it came out and even though it won awards it won Oscar for best picture I avoided it. Not just foreign film, right, like actual, all around. I avoided it because the picture, like the movie poster, looks creepy and scary and the movie's called Parasite. So no part of me had ever had any interest. I was like I'm absolutely not going to see this. I watched the movie the Grudge when I was young and that terrified me. So I'm like Asian scary movies, too scary, and I could not have been farther, I think from what this movie actually was about, I was anticipating some parasitic, scary animal to come out at some point. Yeah.
Speaker 1:This movie surprised me too because, like you, I avoided it just because I don't usually watch best picture movies, because I don't trust awards. Now I will say the year that the movie Coda won, about the girl who is raised by her parents who are both deaf, and that movie was great. I thought that was a fantastic film. So there are some moments that the movies are good and then there are other moments, like when the shape of water won best picture, and I saw that and I thought it was the weirdest, dumbest movie I'd ever seen. So when movies win I'm very hesitant and when I watched it I kind of thought the same thing. I was like what is this gonna have to do with parasites? And I started watching it and it was. It was very not crazy heavy, but it it was very humorous in the beginning.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would call this actually a dark. I would call this a dark comedy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but like this when it gets to the second half of the film. That's where it really lays on the darkness of it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, not scary.
Speaker 1:not scary necessarily, Just maybe not scary at all but like, very like demented, necessarily, just maybe. No, not scary at all, but like, very like demented and like there's twists and turns and people aren't who they say they are, and it's just. I actually really enjoyed it and it kind of harkened back to kind of hitchcocky kind of filmmaking. And I was doing some research on imdb about it and it actually said the director really took a lot of nods to Alfred Hitchcock and I didn't notice this. I don't know if you noticed it, but there's actually in the background of the Park family there's a collection of Alfred Hitchcock movies, like they have a collection of his films, and so that's how much this director respected Alfred Hitchcock, that he would put that in there. But it did a really good job at a job at like close ups of people walking up the steps, really like intense shots and in your face and just it.
Speaker 1:I thought it was really really, really well done film. The acting was very good. I kind of liked that it was in Korean korean, because I could. I didn't have to listen to the cuss words, but I did read the subtitles, so I knew that they were cussing, but it was cool that I didn't have to listen to it oh my gosh, it's just, it's. It kind of reminds me of when we watched um.
Speaker 1:I think it was my neighbor totoro totoro, yeah, that we watched and I liked it with the language and I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much if I watched it dubbed, just because the natural sound of the tone of their voice. They were very good at like showing, letting you hear the expressions in their voices. It was just really good.
Speaker 2:You're right. I mean, it's not going to be the same if the acting is so great. Acting is visual, sure, but also what they're saying. Like it's hard to appreciate how good an actor is. If you're listening to someone else's voice, you know reenacting what they're saying. I was so on board with you too, nathan.
Speaker 2:I really like this movie a lot. I would suggest people to go watch it. So hopefully we can do a spoiler free episode today. It does have twists and turns and it's so entertaining. It reminded me I can't recall what movie we we said this about, but it gave.
Speaker 2:It was a movie that gave me everything, and I think that's what makes it so dynamic. I laughed and I was crying. Like you know, it makes you think it's dramatic. There's a little, you know, like I said, it's not majorly. Like you know, it makes you think it's dramatic. There's a little, you know, like I said, it's not majorly scary, but you know there's some parts where you're worried. You know you're like what's going to happen. So the fact that it was able to elicit so many emotions from me from one film and it didn't feel like it was clashing, was very impressive, and I don't use this word a lot because I'm not the professional here, but I'm gonna use the word cinematography. I liked the cinematography. I felt like maybe that's what makes it such an Oscar. I feel like Oscar movies are always just so artistic looking. They all have a similar look to me and I think this fit the bill. It was very artistic.
Speaker 1:I think the shots were, like you you said, super intentional and told the story so well, in addition to, like you said, the actual script well, not only did it win best picture which parasite was actually the very first foreign language film to win best picture, which is actually pretty impressive it it also won Best Directing, it won Best Original Screenplay and then it also won Best International Feature Film. So it won a lot of awards. It was nominated for Achievement in Production Design and in Film Editing. It did not win those two, but I thought the pacing of the movie was good. I thought, just when you think everything was going hunky-dory, something would happen and then it would get really intense. And I can't say too much because you just said we're doing a spoiler-free episode, but I have to ask, though, without giving anything away.
Speaker 1:What did you think of the end? Like there's, there's, there's different ways you can interpret it without giving it away. What did you? What did you think?
Speaker 2:The ending was one of those that I've seen before where you're not quite sure, like did it happen or did it not happen, and do I want it to have? You know, I saw, if it didn't happen, it was just maybe like a dream or a fantasy. What do I want to have happened? And I like that there was ambiguity at the end. I really, really did, and I think it was a great ending and, like you said, pacing was great. I it kept me on my toes, nathan. There was not any part that I thought, oh, I've got this figured out. You know the movie's figured out, I know what's, you know where, where this is going yeah, I.
Speaker 1:I just thought it was a great film and um, so we liked it a lot. There's a lot, a lot of good to say about it. Was there anything that you did not like about parasite?
Speaker 2:I know there's one part in particular I didn't like I'll let you tell me what you didn't I mean it's, it's the pro and the con, like, I guess, nitpicky wise I I always it's tougher for me to watch things that have subtitles because I can't be multitasking, you know, I can't be cooking while I'm doing it. Um, that's not really a good negative, so I can't think of anything. Honestly, I did like all the acting. Yeah, I don't know. I even liked the music as well. There was some violence. I don't love that.
Speaker 2:And you know what else would have been fun. If you're going to name it Parasite, like the word Parasite comes from. You know the relationship, as you said in the synopsis, like it's the parasitic and maybe symbiotic relationship between these two families, the rich family and the poor family, you know, and they both do benefit. It's not totally just one mooching off the other, but I think it would have been fun artistically to like, allude to like maybe have a reoccurring parasitic insect. You know, like they could have a moment where a parasitic, like an animal just kind of like, or a bug just like, crawls across the coffee table Almost just like a little nod to it. I would have enjoyed that.
Speaker 1:But it's metaphorical.
Speaker 2:Right, that's why it would have been a nod, Anyway. Alright, what are you like?
Speaker 1:What did I not like? Well, I didn't. Okay, I understand in the context of the film why they would have the scene where the husband and wife Make it their love, make it their love on the couch. And you see the start of it and you hear, and it's kind of like juxtaposed Is that the word I'm looking for? Mm-hmm, juxtaposed is that is that the word I'm looking for?
Speaker 2:it's juxtaposed to the poor family laying under their coffee table having to listen to that. Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think you're right, that could have been a short I mean it could have, it could have been short or it didn't need to be in it, like. But here's the thing, nathan, I think it if it was shorter.
Speaker 2:It's almost like the office where you have to. The longer the pause is the think. If it was shorter, it's almost like the Office where you have to. The longer the pause is, the more awkward it almost feels like because they made the scene so long. It really sold how it made you feel even more awkward inside, like, oh my gosh, like cringing, like this family's having to listen to this sexual encounter. So maybe that could be an argument for why it was longer. But yeah, I don't. I don't ever really like watching that in the film. You're right.
Speaker 1:And and there was another part that it's like close to that part, where I guess it's the next morning and they're trying to crawl out from under the coffee table. It's like a somewhat humorous moment that the dad is like trying to crawl under, but then they wake up and so he just has to lay on the floor.
Speaker 1:The dad was the funniest part, for sure, like it's supposed, obviously supposed to be like a mixture of intense, an intense moment. Will he get caught? But then, at the same time, you can't help but see the humor in it that he's literally just laying on the floor and all they have to do is just turn their head just a little bit to see him. But they don't, and he's, and he gets away.
Speaker 2:I just thought that was very funny yeah, I think this is a great movie. So where would you rank it, though we? It's not just a movie alone. Stand by. We're comparing it on a list of, you know, 250 best movies of all time. Um, do you, first of all, do you believe that it ranks as high as it does? You know, we're comparing it on a list of 250 best movies of all time. First of all, do you believe that it ranks as high as it does? We're getting into the top. What was this one ranked? I don't recall. We're getting into the top of our IMDb list. Do you feel like it is good enough to deserve to be up there? And then, what would be your ranking, your rating of it out of six stars?
Speaker 1:You see, we talked about this last episode with Gladiator and how Gladiator I gave a six just because it holds up and the action and just the performances. I gave Casablanca a six because it's just Casablanca and the acting in it is very good, even though it doesn't really hold up as well as movies like Gladiator and things like that. This movie right here, parasite, is another one of those just completely random, out of left field, would have never. Probably, like we said before, this is a film that I originally probably would have never have watched, just because I didn't know really what it was about. I never really saw a trailer for it, so I didn't really know what it was about. And so, again, this is why I really like this journey that we're doing this season is because we've watched movies that I would never have watched before and they almost always end up surprising me, and that's what this movie did.
Speaker 1:I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the performances. There was nothing really wrong with it except that little scene of whatever make and move, but other than that, I thought it was great. I thought it was a great film. It's number 33 on the list of 250 movies of all time. I don't know if I would rank it higher. I mean put it on the list higher than Casablanca, because it's Casablanca.
Speaker 2:But at the same time the story was very intriguing.
Speaker 1:It held my attention the entire time.
Speaker 2:And I think I would watch it again. I would watch it again I would watch it again.
Speaker 1:I thought it was great. I thought it was great, so what?
Speaker 2:would you rank it? I'm going to give it a five and a half, which is, I think, what I gave Gladiator as well, because I would watch it again and I would suggest people to watch it, but I will not say, wow, that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 1:See, if I give a movie a six, I'm not necessarily saying that it's one of my favorite films of all time. I just think it's a really well done movie. I think the directing was great. I thought the acting was great. I thought the story was great. I love the twists. I love what happens at the end. I love that it's open-ended, even though I read what the director thinks about the ending. I just think it's a really well-rounded film. So that's why I'm going to give this movie another six out of six. I think it was great there. You go.
Speaker 2:I'm just a harsh critic, I guess I mean. But you're, you're right. We're going to be getting closer to where it's okay that we might be ranking fives and sixes all the rest of the time. We're nearing closer to the top 20 movies of all time, as ranked on IMDb, which reminds me what's next.
Speaker 1:Here's a little ear-peak of what we're going to be talking about next week.
Speaker 2:How far have you?
Speaker 1:got Almost there. You're asking me to hang everything On an almost. I'm asking you to trust me Find us a new home. By the time you return, I will have solved the problem of gravity. I give you my word. The first episode of december with the matthew mcconaughey all right, all right, all right.
Speaker 1:sci-fi drama, interstellar, which is a movie I've never seen before, so I don't know if I've seen it that I've never seen, and when we get to the top three movies, I'm going to admit that I've never seen them before and people are going to probably really give me a hard time. But that's a little teaser of what the top three are, so I don't have. How do we do a quote?
Speaker 2:for Parasite? I have one. I have one. You know what kind of plan never fails, no plan.
