The Dark Room
Two legally blind cinephiles discuss movies and the wonders of entertainment while giving listeners a better understanding of how people with low vision experience the world.
The Dark Room
Ep. 5: Most Anticipated Films of 2023
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Lee and Alex discuss their most anticipated films for the rest of 2023 and their brief thoughts on John Wick Chapter 4.
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Lee Pugsley
Hey. Happy Spring everyone. Thank you for joining us again here in the dark room where two blind cinephiles illuminate the sighted. I'm Lea Pugsley.
Alex Howard
I'm Alex Howard.
Lee Pugsley
And we are your legally blind host of this podcast, which is for film lovers of all abilities. How's it going today? Alex?
Alex Howard
It's going really good. How about you, Lee?
Lee Pugsley
It's going pretty good. And I'm really excited for this episode, because as promised, we are doing our most anticipated for the rest of 2023. But before we get to that, I actually had a question I wanted to ask you. So I recently saw John Wick Chapter Four, which I know you did, too. And as I was watching it with audio description, I was thinking about the fight scenes, I don't know how it is for you. But for me, there's definitely a lot that I miss, I can see the general movement and actions. But because of my visual impairment, I think that I'm at a disadvantage to fully enjoy those fight sequences. So I'm just curious to know, on your end, how do you take in the fight scenes, and you find that you're able to fully enjoy them and soak them in.
Alex Howard
So for me, I think John, Chapter Four specifically was a little harder, because it is a little darker lit of a movie be like the other one type climax is like, in a bright room with mirrors. So it was much easier to see. But usually the fight choreography for me, especially John Wick, the cinematography assists a lot, because it's one usually smooth shot, it's not a bunch of cuts, so it's easy for me to follow. But the ad makes it so you know, he says, John Wick punches a guy in the gut, and then I know what to look for, I know to look at the dude stomach and watch his fist go into his stomach. So that makes it a little easier. I think with John Wick four, there were a couple times where it was so quick, that I was like, you know, I have to imagine that happening. But for the most part, when I get the maximum out of audio description is when the audio scription can imagine cinematography so that I can, it tells me what to look for. And then I can like, follow with my eyes, if that makes any sense.
Lee Pugsley
That totally makes sense. And I really resonate a lot with what you were saying about this, John Wick instalment was darker than the other ones. And so there were definitely times where I found it a little harder to see because it wasn't during daylight, or it wasn't in a bright room. And there were definitely parts of it that I just was kind of like imagining what was going on as well. And I was just thinking about that. And I was like, Yeah, I wish that I could like fully take in all of it in the way that other fully sighted people take it in. That being said, I do think that the studio did a really good job with the audio description for this movie, especially because there are a lot of sequences that don't have dialogue. And it's always interesting to during fight sequences, as well as other types of movies. When the audio description decides to describe a movement or an action before it happens, or right after it happens.
Alex Howard
Yeah, I definitely prefer to describe as it's happening, especially in horror and things like that. So that the scares and spoiled. But John wake, it almost helps. I'm not sure I'd be before then after that I know what to look for almost. There's one scene specifically. And it's not a spoiler, but when they're in, I think it's some kind of building. And that camera goes up and you're looking at basically like the layout of the building. They're going through different rooms. And as they fight. And for me, I mean, I had trouble description did a great job of like, tell me what was happening. But I had trouble like finding the characters in that overhead shot of like, where they were. Did that happen to you, too? It did.
Lee Pugsley
And I know exactly what scene you're talking about. Yeah, I was able to follow what was going on because of the audio description, but not because visually, I was fully tracking. And then to another point that you mentioned previously, I prefer in action sequences as well, if the audio describer describes the action before rather than after because it does cue the eye in on what to look at and then at least you're able to get a little bit of it where if they do it after it can happen so fast, especially in the John Wick movies that you can miss a lot if it's waiting to laughter Now that being said, in contrast to that something to touch on that you said wasn't horror movies. If they have to describe something before after I would much rather than describe something after so the scare or the elements of suspense aren't ruined.
Alex Howard
I completely agree. I think the best example of if you're interested and good on your description on horror if you watch the Invisible Man with Elisabeth Moss from 2020 That movie had great ad because there's a part where the miserable man is climbing up the attic and she dumps a paint bucket on it. and it's meant to be a jumpscare. But it describes it right as the paint bucket lands on him.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I remember that. I mean, that movie does have really stellar audio description. And that also reminded me of recent news that's happening in the audio description world that skin marine now has audio description. And for those of you that might not know what that is, that's a very small, like horror film that came out just a few weeks ago. Or maybe it was, I guess, a month ago now maybe a little over a month ago.
Alex Howard
Yeah, it was definitely taking the world by storm, the horror world, at least, almost like a paranormal activity, sort of following behind it, and
Lee Pugsley
me and Alex both wanted to watch it. But we weren't able to because there was no audio description for it in theaters, or even when you could purchase it on like iTunes or Amazon for a while they didn't have audio description. So I think it's really wonderful that they have now put audio description in that movie, and have you watched it yet,
Alex Howard
I have not I need to do I'll probably try and do that this weekend, actually, because, like I need to do my due diligence as a horror fan. And I hear very mixed things. I have one friend who hates it, and one friend who loves it. So it will be very interesting to see where I fall on the spectrum.
Lee Pugsley
I am curious to watch it too. I don't honestly know when I'm going to get around to it. But I will watch it within the next couple of months. I've heard that it's very visual. And I'll be curious to know if the audio description is enough for us to enjoy this film, or if we are going to be missing something more significant because we are not catching all of the visual aspects.
Alex Howard
I completely agree. I know it is a little bit of a slower movie. So I think it will be a little easier to watch. But also, I think the whole thing takes place at night. Yeah, you know, it'll be really interesting to see. And I'm really happy. It's a shutter shutter bought the rights to distribute it, which, if you don't know, shutter is a horror streaming service. So they don't put ad on anything, which is the only reason why I don't have shutter. But I don't know who made the track because it's available on iTunes, if you went through iTunes to get it. And that's it. It's I don't know if Apple did it or what but yeah, I'm very happy that it does have it. So I can weigh in with my opinion on this movie that everyone was talking about at the beginning of the year.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, so stay tuned, everyone for our update, after both me and Alex have watched the movie. And we'll give you our take as visually impaired viewers on what that experience was like for us. All right. So now let's go ahead and get into the meat of this episode, as requested by one of our listeners shout out to Evan, we are going to do our most anticipated films of 2023, or at least what's left for the next nine months, which it's actually really crazy that we're already at the end of March. But Alex, why don't you start us out with your number 10 Unless you have some honorable mentions, then we can go through those first.
Alex Howard
Yeah, so I have about 10 Honorable mentions, one of which I took out of my top 10 I had at the beginning of the year because it is shooting right now. And that is vaccine and soup. It's the third film in the X franchise. I'm super stoked for it. But I don't think it's going to come out this year. So that's why I took it out of my top 10 lists. My other nine are coming out this year, Napoleon directed by Ridley Scott, starring Joaquin Phoenix, which he's always great with period pieces. Love the last tool. So excited for that. You will then rise, which it almost be my top 10 reactions to it are so good and they say it's so gory and so much fun. I'm super excited for that one. Then I have the color purple, which I know almost nothing about. But I know Steven Spielberg is producing I know it's a classic. So I've never seen it. So I'm excited to see the remake Salem's Lot, which I did read the book last year. And the only reasons of my honorable mentions and not in my top 10 is because it's gotten delayed like twice, so it's not looking like the studio has much confidence in it. I'm hoping it's good, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's not. And the same thing with my next one. The Exorcist I am very hesitantly excited, because I did not like what David Gordon Green did with Halloween. And he's doing a new exorcist trilogy. But I'm excited to see where they go with it with Linda Blair coming back all that saw X or saw 10 which the only reason I'm really excited for this is because it's a direct sequel to the first one. So they're doing that kind of thing again, and the first one is one of my favorite movies of all time. So super excited for saw X. The last two is air which comes out I think the day this podcast is coming out and I love Ben Aflac. The town is one of my favorite movies of last decade. I love him as a director. So excited for that. And then the last one is elemental, which is the new Pixar movie. So that will be really, really fun. What about you? Do you have any honorable mentions?
Lee Pugsley
I do have some honorable mentions. And there's a little bit of crossover for both of us. But our lists are also quite different, which is kind of cool. So in no particular order first on my list is Napoleon directed by Ridley Scott. I'm a big fan of his work usually, I wasn't necessarily a huge fan of House of Gucci. But Ridley Scott usually delivers the goods. A second is Bo is afraid, which is a 24 film with Joaquin Phoenix, and Nathan Lane. And I think the trailer for this movie looks really interesting. There's also a lot of theater people in it like Nathan Lane and Patti LuPone. So, a 24 has done a lot of really good stuff lately. So I'm excited for that. Next is asteroid city, the new Wes Anderson movie, and Wes Anderson can be hit or miss for me. But I think this one sounds really interesting. I wasn't a huge fan of French dispatch, there were moments of it that I liked. But maybe this is his comeback, which can be really cool. And then there's this movie that I was reading about called showing up. It's about an artist and it stars Michelle Williams and hyung Chow, which looks really interesting. And I'm excited for it just because I think that both of those actresses are really top notch. And both of them deserve an Oscar at some point in time. And then there's Ferrari about Enzo Ferrari, the racecar driver in the 50s. With Adam Driver, I think that story sounds really interesting. And I'm a big Adam Driver fan. And then there's the Little Mermaid, which I'm very interested in, because this is one of my favorite movies of all time, the Disney animated version. And because it's my favorite Disney animated film, I'm a little nervous. But the more I see of the footage, the more I'm intrigued and I'm rooting for it, I want it to be good. And then Guardians of the Galaxy, the third volume, I didn't love guardians too as much the humor just didn't land for me as much as I was hoping it would. But I really liked the Guardians characters. And I like the Guardians universe as well. And I think that generally, even when they're not in their own movie, they have some really fun humor. And then last movie on my list is challengers. It's a movie directed by Luca Guat Amenia, who did call me by your name and bones and all. And he's earned my trust as a director. And it looks really interesting. It's about a it's a sports movie, I believe. And I'm really curious to see what he's going to do with that. Oh, and then there's one last one that I just remembered, which is the history of sound, which is a world war one movie that Paul Eskelsen and those are my honorable mentions.
Alex Howard
Oh, great. I didn't know about like some of those. The Luca Glennon you know what I didn't do you know who the night movie
Lee Pugsley
Xin Diaz in it, and off the top of my head, I don't remember who the other person is that starring in it, but like they're notable as well. Those are very exciting. I like your list. And it also makes sense that because you're a horror fan, some of the movies on your list are horror movies as well, which I will be watching too. Even though horror isn't my go to genre, I will be watching like Salem's Lot, and the exorcist and the other ones that you had mentioned as well. I only
Alex Howard
have one other horror on my actual top 10. But scream six was on my top 10. Same with Ant Man, but those have already come out. So I've replaced them with other ones.
Lee Pugsley
You know, it's interesting, because when I look back on the last three months, I don't think any movie was necessarily in my top 10 most anticipated for the year, which is okay. But yeah, I was kind of reflecting on that as you were talking about it. Any more thoughts on honorable mentions for either of us,
Alex Howard
one of yours is in my actual list. And one of your
Lee Pugsley
honorable mentions is in my actual list as well, why don't we just like dive into our top 10 most anticipated, we can start from 10 and work our way up to one and we'll just kind of like you know, pass the ball back and forth. So what's in your 10th spot?
Alex Howard
So my 10th spot is Barbie, which comes out July 21, which is the same day as another movie on my list. But I normally if you I just knew there's a Barbie movie coming out this year. I would it would not make my top 10 But considering it's Greta Gerwig directing who does Little Women and Ladybird and her husband know about Mark writing it, who he's an amazing writer, he wrote marriage story. And then Margot Robbie starring as Barbie and my favorite actor. Ryan Gosling is Ken I'm super excited and super into this movie. I'm I don't know what it's gonna be like, is it? Is it a kid's movie or is it going to be minimum bid is a good move is going to be very smart, great written kitten.
Lee Pugsley
I've been trying to figure that out the whole time that this movie has even been in development and when it was announced, because when you hear the movie title Barbie, you automatically assume it's gonna be a kid's movie probably for girls between ages like six to 12, primarily. But based on the sophistication of the cast and the creative team behind this movie, I don't necessarily think it's going to be fully a kids movie. And I'm just so fascinated to see what they're going to do with this. And it's also interesting, because what I've been watching or reading movie reviewers, like early picks for Oscars for 2024. Some of them think that this movie might actually be in the Oscar conversations. What do you think about that?
Alex Howard
Yeah, I mean, considering the talent behind the camera and on the page, I wouldn't be surprised at that. But yeah, it's, it would be so weird to have Barbie up for best picture I would have. I would never have guessed that. I guess we'll see what happens. But I'm very curious to see what the plot is and everything and considering the spoof 2001 in the trailer. For this one. I'm just, I'm mesmerized to see what this is.
Lee Pugsley
It would be so awesome. And slightly humorous to if at next year's Oscars, they announced the Best Picture winner and like and the best picture goes to Barbie. Like, just imagine that. I mean, you know, I guess anything's possible. And I honestly don't think that will happen. But I'm rooting for that movie. And that actually would be in my honorable mentions as well.
Alex Howard
So what is your number 10 on your list?
Lee Pugsley
Number 10. on my list is a movie that I think is higher on your list. And I'm pretty sure it's in your top 10 list, which we can talk about it more as we go. But it's the flash. And I'll be honest, initially, I wasn't necessarily super excited for this movie, and especially with the direction that DC has been going. But with all of the early reviews of people that have watched test screenings and early screenings, as well as the trailer, I can't deny how good the trailer looks. And it just looks like a very quality, intense and fun movie.
Alex Howard
Yeah, I'll definitely touch on that later in the show once we get up to that point.
Lee Pugsley
Sounds good. Let's move on to your number nine.
Alex Howard
So my number nine is magazine dreams, which premiered at Sundance and probably the movie with the most buzz coming out of Sundance. Jonathan majors plays a body builder. And I, I love Sundance movies, I keep an eye on, you know what's been coming out. Because usually that's a great indication of what's going to be good this year. And beyond that, what's going to be Oscar buzz for next year. But yeah, at the beginning of the year, this wasn't on my list, because I didn't know it existed. So now that I had to replace and man magazine dreams is my number nine.
Lee Pugsley
That would also be I keep adding to my honorable mentions list. But that would also be on my honorable mentions almost made my top 10. I'm very intrigued about this movie as well. And putting aside recent controversies with Jonathan majors, I do think that he's a phenomenal actor. And I think that he's really diversifying his portfolio of the roles that he chooses. And a lot of people are saying that he could very easily get nominated for an Academy Award next year for Best Actor, it will be interesting to see if number one this movie holds up to the expectation and the buzz that it's getting right now. And if it can stay in the conversation until next award season as well.
Alex Howard
Well, so the release date for it is December 8. So they're waiting to put it out to the public till right before work season. So we will be in the heat of all of it with the Oscars and everything. When that comes out.
Lee Pugsley
I see I see. But ya know, I'm super excited for that movie as well. I think it sounds interesting. And just to see Jonathan majors diversify even more, and do this type of role will be thrilling.
Alex Howard
So he was arrested this past weekend. So we don't know much about the allegations, or we know it was what was a domestic violence, but we don't we haven't heard all sides of the story. But hopefully, that doesn't have an impact. But I mean, if you know, if he really did do something wrong, then it might have an impact on if it even gets released. So we'll see what happens.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, for sure. And, you know, like I said, the for putting aside that controversy. I do think he's an excellent actor. And if there is something that needs to have consequences, I just want to be very clear that consequences need to be served and justice does need to be administered in that case. Absolutely my number nine is Spider Man across the spider verse. I think that the first movie was one of the best movies of 2019. I just think that was a stellar movie on every level. I think that the trailer for this movie is one of the best trailers out there right now. And I honestly cannot wait to see this movie.
Alex Howard
So you will be shocked to learn that this is actually not on their list. Whoa, I
Lee Pugsley
am shocked to learn that wow,
Alex Howard
I was not a huge fan of the first one. Like I'm still going to see this one. But I feel like especially visually version one is really hard for me to watch because just there's so many different animation styles. My si wasn't working with me to grade on that one. But I I think I do need to revisit it. Maybe give her another chance and see if it speaks to me then. But I don't know why I did not connect with the first one as much. I will be seeing this one June it's going to be packed because I think that comes out the first weekend of June. But it did not make my most anticipated. Wow, I am
Lee Pugsley
I actually didn't know that you didn't resonate with the first into the spider verse. Yeah, that's crazy. But I you know, I totally respect that and I get it. I would be interested to see if you rewatch into the spider verse. If it does have a bigger impact on you which it may or may not as well.
Alex Howard
Also with the Guardians movie, same thing I've never been a huge guardians fan. I don't know why like I love James Gunn. I love slither and super and most of his stuff, but does never connected with me the way they did other people.
Lee Pugsley
Interesting. I'm learning so much about you now. This is why I guess we do this podcast not only for film lovers, I mean, ours can learn things about each other, too. So number eight then for you.
Alex Howard
So number eight for me is the killer, which is the new David Fincher movie starring Michael Fassbender. And that one is scheduled to come out on November 10. And I'm just excited to see David Fincher get back to form is from the writer of seven. So hopefully it will be another gritty crime. You know, Thriller from David Fincher, I was not a big fan of his last one mink Yes, I was not a big fan of manque. I just, I thought it was kind of boring kind of long. As much as I love the history of film, it just did not speak to me, but I love David Fincher his other movie, so I'm really excited to see what he does getting back to the crime sort of thing.
Lee Pugsley
Nice. So the killer is on my list. It's in a higher position, but I'll comment on it now, because I love David Fincher so much. I think that David Fincher is among my favorite directors. I think that he always Rex in a very tight and polished manner. He has a really good knack for pacing. He trims out all the fat and just keeps his movies rolling along very nicely, with the exception of manque, which was a very slow or although from a technical point of view, all the elements of the crafts were very well done. That being said, I don't see myself revisiting that movie anytime soon. But what you said about Fincher getting back to form, I'm totally here for that. And anytime I see David Fincher, his name attached to anything, it always makes me really excited. And Michael Fassbender is a wonderful actor. And so I'm excited to see that combo of Fincher and Fassbender working together. It has potential for next award season two. Last thing I'll say about Fincher is well, I know we talked about this on our last podcast with Aaron, but you do need to watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Unfortunately, it does not have audio description. So if there's any audio description creator out there, consider making an audio description track for that.
Alex Howard
Yeah, that would be awesome. Otherwise, I mean, I'll watch it with a sighted friend maybe you know, describe for me, but I do. That's the one dude Fincher movie I have not seen so
Lee Pugsley
one of the best for sure.
Alex Howard
What is your number eight
Lee Pugsley
we Okay, so my number eight is saltburn which is directed by Emeril for now this movie is coming out later this year. It's with Carey Mulligan and a few other people of note that are slipping my memory right now. But there's been no trailer or anything for it. I think it may have even premiered at some festival recently. I don't think it was Sundance but I think that there have been people that have seen it so we'll see if it actually comes out this year but just because I like promising young women's so much as I know you did and I don't remember the full description right now but I don't really need to know the full description because Carey Mulligan and emerald for now have my trust. That's awesome.
Alex Howard
So you're literally when I make these lists, I'll go through my favorite directors and see like, oh, when do you have a movie coming out? And I am so happy that she has one coming up because promising young woman was my favorite movie of the year that it came out. I think it was 2020 Yeah, it
Lee Pugsley
was 2020 And that was such a smart, clever, fun and poignant movie all at the same time.
Alex Howard
Oh, yeah. Very, very, very relevant. And it didn't get as much love that award season as it should have
Lee Pugsley
totally agreed. So yeah, well, now you learn something today. And now what is your number seven.
Alex Howard
So my number seven is a movie you mentioned earlier, Bose afraid, which used to be called disappointment Boulevard, which I actually think I like that title better. But this is also directed by Ari Astor, who did hereditary and midsommar, which I love hereditary. I have this problem where like, if I love a movie enough for my director, every other movie they do, and if I don't like it as much, I'll be stoked for the movie. So I loved hereditary, I felt like, like, I've never been through true trauma. But I felt like I had a slice of trauma watching that movie. It's so good. And midsummer didn't speak to me as much as it did other people. But I'm so excited to see what he does with this. The only reason it's a little lower. I thought the trailer was a little disappointing. But I'm still gonna go still had to see like what he's doing. Because I feel like even in mid Samar, every movie he makes, there's at least one image that just like sticks with you, in your mind, because it's so weird or so horrific. So I'm really excited to see what he does with this.
Lee Pugsley
I completely agree with that. I loved hereditary midsummer was good, but not as good. And this movie, but it was afraid. looks really interesting. Even though I got to be honest, the trailer really didn't tell me hardly anything about what it was about, I still had no clue what to expect from it. But once again, like you're talking about with area master keys, earn your trust, and kind of same thing for me with Fincher features that are in my trust as well. So I totally get that and I will be excited to talk about that more with you once it comes out.
Alex Howard
Yeah, and that one actually comes out April 21.
Lee Pugsley
That's great. We don't have to wait that long for it. My number seven is Mission Impossible dead reckoning part one, we can't deny the fact that Tom Cruise makes blockbusters and the fact that he does most of his own stunts is really commendable. The little clip that we've seen with him on the motorcycle is awesome. And every Mission Impossible movie I feel like has progressively got better as its went on. Like Mission Impossible. Fallout was just spectacular. It was such a fun thrill ride. So I have faith in this franchise now. And I'm just really excited to be there for the action for the stunts for Tom Cruise being Tom Cruise and doing his thing. I'm all about
Alex Howard
that. I am very excited for this too. And it is actually my number six. So this is a great transition. Oh, there we go. There we go. Yeah, I'm super excited for this movie. I love Mission Impossible Fallout, the scenery jumps out of the plane is amazing. They did in one take. I also really like Not Rogue Nation Ghost Protocol.
Lee Pugsley
Just protocol was great. Just watching Tom Cruise do
Alex Howard
these crazy stunts is so entertaining. So I'm very, very excited for this movie.
Lee Pugsley
You didn't like Rogue Nation.
Alex Howard
I thought it was fine. I didn't like it as much as I did Ghost Protocol.
Lee Pugsley
That's fair. Maybe it was just because I had a really good theatrical experience with that for no notable reason maybe was just the mood I was in or whatever. But I really liked rogue nation as well. But yeah, goats protocol objectively might be a slightly stronger film. Just kind of like stepping back and looking at all of those together, maybe some time off to do like a ranking episode of The Mi movies.
Alex Howard
I watched the first one earlier this year rewatched it, but they have all of them on Paramount plus with audio description. So that makes it really easy. I was going to try and rewatch rode nation before this one, because that's probably the one I remember the least out of the more recent ones. And I might try and rewatch Mission Possible three also, because now that his wife is back in it, I might want to go because I'm sure they're going to reference the events of three.
Lee Pugsley
I would agree with that. You know, it's interesting, because the only Mission Impossible movie that I've watched with audio description is fallout. Oh, wow. Really, because once again, before that, I my vision was better. So I was able to take in more. And then I think it was around Rogue Nation. By the time Rogue Nation had come out, my vision had decreased. But I was not in the place where I wanted to admit that I needed audio description or that I found the benefit of it. So yeah, maybe I'll go back and watch all of those on Paramount or maybe we'll watch them together. Who knows?
Alex Howard
I think now that you mentioned it, I think Paul is the only one I've seen that ad as well, although I just watched the first one with it. But before that, like Yeah,
Lee Pugsley
that's funny. My number six is killers of the flower moon. Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio De Niro. So yeah, it'll just be a really nice reunion between you know, DiCaprio De Niro Scorsese, and not every Scorsese movie is you know, a knockout the Irish man for example, I found that a little long and cumbersome even Though I had a great cast, but it didn't really speak to me in any way, but killers of the flower Moon would have been on my list last year for most anticipated, but it never came out. So I'm excited that we're finally going to get another Scorsese film. And I think he might be back to more true to form as well. I don't know. What do you think? Yeah,
Alex Howard
I think so too. Yeah, that's definitely higher on my list. But yeah, hopefully he gets back to his, like, departed days. Kinda.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I'm here for it. So now we're, we've done the bottom half of our list, what's your number five as we move into the top five.
Alex Howard
Number five for me is Oppenheimer, which comes out the same day as Barbie. I am very excited for Oppenheimer. Obviously, it's Christopher Nolan. And I think anytime you make some movie would be on most people's top 10 list. Obviously, we don't know much about it. But I mean, it's gonna be gorgeous. an IMAX, and it's Christopher Nolan. So what else do you need to say, you know, well,
Lee Pugsley
I guess what we can say about Christopher Nolan is his crafts, in terms of cinematography, editing, score, sound, visual effects, all of those are going to be top notch. In terms of character, I don't always feel like his characters are the strongest, I usually think that's the weakest point of his movies,
Alex Howard
a lot of people feel like the sound is also not great. And a lot of his movies do like the dialogue is hard to understand.
Lee Pugsley
That is also the case. And obviously, the most glaring example of that would be tennis. So maybe I'm a little scarred from tenant to really be fully on board. For Oppenheimer, obviously, I'm going to go see it. And I would throw up and hammer into my honorable mentions, because I think it's going to be a great theatrical experience. I'm a little hesitant and I don't know if that's merited or not, but once again, maybe it's just because I expected more from tenant and feel like I got a lot less than what I wanted.
Alex Howard
I could see that. Yeah, I was just wondering with tenant, I was honestly disappointed with Interstellar, there's been a lot of things that Chris Nolan is only leave that I haven't loved. But I liked. And I'm like with other directors on this list, like I love the Dark Knight, The Dark Knight is probably my top 10 movies of all time. And I feel like I latch on to that. And I'm like, when is he going to get back to something like this? Yeah,
Lee Pugsley
maybe Oppenheimer will do it. Now the real question for you, though, is between Oppenheimer and Barbie, which movie are you gonna see first?
Alex Howard
Whoo, that's a good question. Um, I might go see Oppenheimer, just because it'll be in the specialty format. It'll be interesting to see is Oppenheimer in IMAX and Dolby? Or is it Oppenheimer and IMAX and Barbie and Dolby. So yeah, I think it might just be like, whatever group of friends of mine wants to go to one before. The other one is what I'll do that I
Lee Pugsley
think that both of them would have great opening night energy as well. And it's also interesting, because I think that both of them cater to different markets. Like there will be some crossover between the people that will see Barbie and the people that will see Oppenheimer, but I also think that certain demographics will lean more heavily one way over the other. Yeah, my number five, and we don't need to spend a lot of time on this. So it's the killer. Once again, love Fincher love his movies, love seeing him return to form loved the movie Seven. And if he goes back to that kind of vein, it'll be spectacular. And yeah, what's your number four. Now,
Alex Howard
number four, for me, is one that I'm sure you have on your list somewhere, is Dune, part two. And I have not read the book. But I really liked doing part one. I think, Danny, I liked some of his other movies better, but I still really, really liked dune. And I hear the second one is going to be crazy. So I mean, here's another one that like, I think he's starting to get at the point just like Nolan where he can sell a movie just based on having his name on it. So I'm very curious to see just the completion of the story of doing part two, because I don't know how it ends
Lee Pugsley
with him without giving away any spoilers. Being someone who has read the book, the second movie is going to be very action packed, I think if they're following the form of the book, because the first movie was a lot of kind of setting up the world and introducing us to the characters and where we need to go, which I loved that too. But I know that there are people that it just didn't work for them. They thought it was too slow or too confusing to follow or whatever, which those criticisms are valid and I can see how people could walk away thinking that but yeah, for me, I loved doing part one and you are right, do part two is on my list at a higher position that we'll get to and it's interesting because I think between like Denny Villeneuve, David Fincher, Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese, I think that Denny Villeneuve is kind of one of those directors that he appeals to a certain crowd of people but not to everyone in the same way. My number four is maestro, actually, which is the movie directed by Bradley Cooper, where he plays Leonard Bernstein who wrote the music for West Side Story Stephen Sondheim did the lyrics but he also has done a lot of other really great compositions. And I've been a fan of the man Leonard Bernstein for a long time and just his music and what he does musically. So I think that this biopic is going to be very interesting. Have you seen any of the pictures of Bradley Cooper as Bernstein? I have not. Yeah. So it's crazy because he looks so similar to Leonard Bernstein. It's uncanny. I think this movie could go either way that it could be really good. Or it could be just your typical biopic fair. And I know that it's a Netflix movie, they haven't announced a release date. Other than that, it's coming out later this year, I assume that it'll be for award season. And I'll be interested to see if this is the movie that Netflix is going to put all of their campaigning towards. And apparently there's another Leonard Bernstein biopic that's supposed to come out. But I don't remember who was directing that one. And I haven't heard anything about the other one in a long time. And I don't really feel like it's necessary. The two of them.
Alex Howard
I know, I took a music and film class in college. So yeah, I'm very excited to see what this story is that they're telling what part of his life?
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, cuz I mean, there's so many different directions. They could go with it. I don't know a ton about his life. But I know some of the highlights, and there are so many different aspects that they could hit on. All right, so now we're into the top three. So Alex, what is your third most anticipated movie of 2023.
Alex Howard
So my number three is the flash. And this has been on my list for the last. It's got to be three or four years, it just kept getting delayed and kept getting delayed. And so when that was the pandemic, but I'm so excited that it's finally coming out, and all the Ezra Miller stuff. We didn't even know if it was going to come out. But I'm so happy they're releasing it from what I hear within DC even Tom Cruise says it's amazing. All the James Gunn says James Gunn isn't even involved in this movie, but he was like one of the best superhero movies that has ever been made. So I'm very excited to see what this is. And like I know the Flashpoint storyline, I used to work at DC. So I have the big absolute comic of it. And they could really use the story to literally reset the DCU as they're trying to do right now. So it's weird, because I'm not very nostalgic for Michael Keaton's Batman, which for some people is the selling point of this movie. But I didn't grow up with those movies. So I'm literally going for what the story is because I know the basics of the story. And I'm super excited to see it translated on screen.
Lee Pugsley
Nice. It's been interesting because I have friends who had no desire to see the flash until they saw the trailer. And then we were talking and they were like, I had no interest in this movie. But I have to admit, this trailer looks really good. And it makes me want to see this movie, the trailer, what they're putting out there is definitely gaining appeal and momentum. I will be curious to see how this movie does play into the future of the DCE. Oh,
Alex Howard
yeah, I think I think they said this Shazam, the Flash and Aquaman will kind of bookend of this part. And then in 2025, Superman will start the next one. But they could literally use the flash to start the reboot if they want to, because literally, it's in another dimension. So we'll see what they do. It'll be really, really interesting.
Lee Pugsley
Out of curiosity, did you watch the flash TV show?
Alex Howard
I did not. Okay, I
Lee Pugsley
didn't either. But I've heard mostly good things about
Alex Howard
it. So that's what's crazy is the flash TV show is ending its 10th and camera if it's ninth or 10th season this year, it's his final season. This movie was announced the same year that that show started.
Lee Pugsley
I remember hearing about that, actually. Yeah, that is wild.
Alex Howard
It's been a while in the making but I'm glad that they finally did it and glad everyone gets to see the Flashpoint storyline because I mean, in comics, it is a rather classic story. It's kind of like a Back to the Future. Like once you change one thing, you know, the ripple effect of everything.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah. Also on a note about that about the flash and Michael Keaton and Batman. So I did grew up with the Michael Keaton Batman movies, but I wouldn't say that his Batman really does much for me like I've never really been a huge Batman fan. I like Batman, but any version of Batman I'm willing to accept just to see what they're going to do differently with each iteration they have of it. But yeah, it'll be cool to see him back in that role again, so my number three is one of the movies that was on your honorable mentions list and this probably also is very on brand for me being a musical theater lover and a fan of movie musicals, even though not all of them are standouts. But my number three is the color purple. I've seen the show both the original Broadway production when it went on to Were and the revival production when it went on tour. So I've seen the musical twice. And this is actually an adaptation of the Broadway musical. I think that there's some really gorgeous music in it. I think that the cast it's Fantasia Barrino, Danielle Brooks and Taraji P. Henson. They all could easily get Oscar nominations, depending on the quality of their performance and the direction of this movie, if it's well received, but the roles that they're playing are all very meaty roles that give an actress a lot to really dig their teeth into. I'm really excited for the color purple moving musical adaptation
Alex Howard
was the last one not a musical The last movie. Yeah, the last
Lee Pugsley
movie that I believe was directed by Steven Spielberg, correct? Yeah, that was in like the 1980s. And that was not a musical. This one, I believe, will be more drawing from the stage adaptation, which is also actually pretty faithful to the original movie. And I'll just be interested to see what they take from the original movie, what they take from the stage adaptation, and how they kind of merge those things together and bring something fresh to the table as well. And it could also just be that I'm starved for movie musicals, because we didn't really get that many last year. So I'm excited that another one's on the way.
Alex Howard
Yeah, that's awesome. And I know it'll be coming out for awards convention. So I'm sure we'll both be checking that one out.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah. 100%. All right. Number two for you.
Alex Howard
Number two for me is killers of the flower moon. This is another one that has been on my list for years. Like they had it set to come out last year. And then they were like, oh, no, we'll wait till next year. I'm so excited for this. Since I heard about years ago when they said I think it's a killer with multiple personalities or something. I'm very, very curious to see this movie. I think, yeah, it's gonna be Scorsese's kind of return to form. Hopefully, it'll be gritty, like the departed or something like that. This could be a great year, and we could have Ridley Scott Martin Scorsese, Daniel, new, Christopher Nolan and David Fincher. all competing for Oscars. Yeah,
Lee Pugsley
I think that that's a very viable scenario to have happen. And I think that this year is kind of shaping up to be like the year of like, crime themed movies.
Alex Howard
Yeah, it's looking like that. Yeah, the Oscars will be a lot darker than everything you ever were on last year.
Lee Pugsley
Definitely. But even like, beyond the Oscars, like, you know, like last year, I think could be called like the year of horror movies, because we got so many good horror movies last year. And then like, you know, 2021 was like the year of movie musicals, because we got more that year than we usually get in this year just seems to be leaning really heavily into the crime genre for a lot of movies coming up. And so it's always just interesting to see how like each year kind of takes on their own genre character as an overarching quantity, if that makes sense. Well, my number two is one that you've already mentioned, but it's doing part two, and I guess we don't really need to touch on it too much more other than the fact that I love the dune universe. And I love Villeneuve. I love Timothy Shala. Me and the rest of the cast, so I can't wait that comes out in October,
Alex Howard
right? Yes, it comes out October 10, I think. Okay,
Lee Pugsley
nice. So I don't have to wait till December, which is great. All right, now comes the big one. Drumroll BOO, BOO, BOO, BOO, BOO, BOO, BOO, boom. You're number one most anticipated film of 2023. Alex is
Alex Howard
Indiana Jones and the dial of destiny, I think. So the trailer was fine. It didn't give me goosebumps or anything like Force Awakens one day. But even before the title was announced, I was so excited for this movie. I love the Indiana Jones franchise Kingdom of the Crystal Skull not as much, but I love the original Lost Ark and Last Crusade. And so my temple of doom two, I just I love the franchise. I'm really excited to see what they do with it. Especially James Mangold, you did Logan and for the Ferrari. So I'm just I really, really, really hope it's good. I want a good Indiana Jones movie again. Like, I would hope that if the script wasn't good, they wouldn't make it. Because the last one was, wasn't great. But I mean, I could be wrong. I couldn't help but put this at my number one. Nostalgia
Lee Pugsley
gets me every time. And you're also hoping for a cameo from quixote Quan
Alex Howard
that was in there. Oh, man, that probably make the movie for me.
Lee Pugsley
Like I feel like film Twitter would lose their mind if that happened. Oh, yeah. Just based on the momentum from everything everywhere all at once. I know you already know this, Alex. But for the listeners out there, my confession is that I've only seen Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. And that was like, I don't know, like five six years ago or something for my first time. So I didn't grow up with Indiana Jones and I've never seen any of the other Indiana Jones movies. I really liked the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland that's in my top three favorite rides at that theme park but As far as the movies go, my exposure to them is very limited. So I'm glad that you're excited for this movie. I will definitely watch it. But you'll definitely have a lot more at stake going into it than I do.
Alex Howard
And that comes out June 30. And are you going to watch all the other ones before the new one?
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, I will, because I have some time. So it's not like one of those things you have to like rush to get done, but I probably should watch them. And I think that I would like them because I liked Raiders of the Lost Ark. I wouldn't say that, like, I loved it, but I liked it. Maybe it's one of those franchises that you have to kind of like grow up with to some degree to have the full appreciation for it. But
Alex Howard
how old were you when you saw writers for the first time? Um,
Lee Pugsley
it was like, like six years ago. Okay. What I will say about Indiana Jones is I definitely acknowledge its place in cinematic history and the adventure genre because I think that so many films, and probably even franchises since Indiana Jones have really drawn from what Indiana Jones did and the sense of adventure and the adventure stories that those movies tell. Would you say that's accurate?
Alex Howard
Yes. Yeah, there have been a lot of things that have taken like even the Uncharted game franchise in the movie. You can tell they're a little bits and pieces of Indiana Jones in there,
Lee Pugsley
and it feels like even Jungle Cruise like the movie with Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson. It seemed like they were drawing on some Indiana Jones stuff as well.
Alex Howard
Oh, yeah, definitely. But yeah, what is your number one Lee? I'm very curious, because I thought dude, it'd be your number one,
Lee Pugsley
you know, it was close. But it's kind of in the same, not the same vein. But there is a connection because my number one most anticipated film is Wonka. So what the theme is, here is Timothy Charlemagne, because I'm a very big Timothy shallow, my fan. He's definitely one of my favorite actors working nowadays. And because of this movie is also a musical. You have Timothy Charlemagne, you have singing and dancing, and you have the director of Paddington. So it's like all of that, to me is like the most winning combination you could have for a whole explosion of excitement for me. And I can't wait to see this movie. I don't think it's necessary, honestly. Because I feel like we've had the Charlie in the Chocolate Factory movie with Johnny Depp, we had, you know, the Gene Wilder movie. And I know, it's like a prequel to how Willy Wonka becomes who he is. These are questions that I don't necessarily need answers to. But if you're gonna give me answers to them, then you can give it to me in this way. I have a musical movie with Timothy Charlamagne. And I am totally sold. That's awesome.
Alex Howard
I think that's coming out around Christmas, right?
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, it's coming out on Christmas, I'm gonna have to wait for that one. It might be coming out either on the same day as the color purple or around there. Hopefully they're not on the same day. Because if I have to choose, that's going to be really challenging. Yeah.
Alex Howard
Hopefully this means about because I don't know, they could compete like two musicals at the same time.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, it would be to their advantage to space them out, it would be really dumb for them to put those on the same day. So now the next question for you as we look at our top 10s. And honorable mentions, Alex's, if you had to predict right now, which movie out of any of the movies you've mentioned today, do you think we'll have the best audio description?
Alex Howard
I think doing part two, I think Denny Villeneuve gives his like I said, they're very beautiful. So they have a lot of room to breathe a lot of shots where it's just like the landscape, I think that one will have some great opportunity for some really good description.
Lee Pugsley
I would agree with that. And I also think that that movie will require a higher detail and level of audio description than other movies because of how intricate and vast the world building of that movie is. And I thought that they did a great job of audio description in the first movie as well.
Alex Howard
That's very true. They did. And I also think Indiana Jones that hearing them describe the, I'm sure there will be nostalgic characters that pop up or different things that call back to the different movies. So if they can describe what those are so that, you know, blind fans of Indiana Jones can appreciate them too. That'd be great.
Lee Pugsley
I mean, I will say that Disney usually does a decent job with their audio description. Although when we go back to like last year's Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers Movie, they did not call out all of the easter eggs in that movie. So hopefully, they've heard from the blind and low vision community. And they'll take note of that and make sure that we all are informed of the easter eggs that exist in the Indiana Jones movie.
Alex Howard
That's very true. One other question for you before we sign off. I know for me usually my most anticipated movies do not line up with my favorite movies at the end of the year. Maybe there's one or two crossovers, but which one of your top 10 Do you think is most likely to be the highest on your pop movies at the end of the year?
Lee Pugsley
That's a tough one because I think there's a lot of potential but not to sound like a broken record, but I'm pretty sure that doing part two will be in my top five movies of 2023. As far as the rest of the movies on my list, I think there's potential for them to make the top 10. But I also could see it going the other way. And my excitement for them could be let down a little bit. What about you?
Alex Howard
Yeah, I think for me, it'd probably be killers of the flower moon. But then, you know, if it's a three hour thing like Irishman, I don't know if it would be my top 10. I'm really hoping it's great, though. So we'll see.
Lee Pugsley
I gotta say to that, I would love to see less three hour movies this year, based on how things are going. I don't think that that's necessarily going to be the case. But once again, as we talked about a few episodes ago, not every movie needs to be three hours, two to two and a half hours is great.
Alex Howard
Yeah, I think with John Waite being like 250. Yeah, we're definitely going to have some long ones. But hopefully, we'll get some good, shorter ones as well.
Lee Pugsley
I mean, I could see like the killer being almost three hours, I could see killers of the flower moon being three hours, dude, could be almost three hours. I just think there's so much potential for so many movies to be that long this year. And we kind of need a little reprieve from that, don't we?
Alex Howard
Yeah, after after the last war season? Yeah, we definitely do. Well, cool.
Lee Pugsley
Well, this was really fun. And um, yeah, before we sign off, I'll pass it to Alex, do we have any recent mail that you want to talk about?
Alex Howard
Yeah, so we got an email from a woman who was reaching out to us because her two sons were diagnosed with me pan, which is the neurological disorder that I have, as well, there was only 19 people in the world with it. And now there's 20 and 21. So it was really great. This is why we do this podcast, I mean, not only to bring awareness to low vision, movie fans, but you know, make our stories more accessible and more well known. And so she was able to find me through the podcast. So I love that I was almost in tears when I read that email, because it really touched me that this platform led me to connect with her. And we were able to connect her with the other people with me. Then I talked to her on the phone with me and my mom. And she had a lot of questions for my mom and how she handled things with me growing up, since her kids are younger. But yeah, it was it was really, really great that she was able to find me
Lee Pugsley
that yeah, I was so happy when we got that email in. And it just made me so happy that someone was able to connect and relate to your story and your journey, which is very specific. And you know, not the norm at all. Really quickly, though, for the listeners out there. Could you just explain a little bit more about what mi pen is?
Alex Howard
Yeah, so it depends on mitochondrial disorder. The symptoms vary in a lot of people, a lot of the people that have knee pain are either have leg braces, or in a wheelchair. And luckily, I've been doing physical therapy my entire life. So I'm not there. Hopefully, I won't ever be there. But you know, only time will tell they don't know much about the disorder. It's very, since it's so new, I was just diagnosed in 2018. So they're still doing research still trying to discover things about it. But it was a relief because at first I can't remember the disease. She thought her son's at first, but it was something that you don't live very long with. And with knee pain, there's no sign that you deteriorate that seems like you live a full life and we think knee pain affected my eyesight, too. But yeah, the there are various degrees of severity of it. And we're still discovering a lot. But feel free to reach out with any questions about my disability or at least disability if you have any further questions. Also, email us and let us know what if you have any future topics you want us to cover if you want us to, once Lee finishes the Indiana Jones franchise, we can go through that and talk about how the ad was on here. So let us know what you guys want to hear.
Lee Pugsley
Yeah, to reiterate that point, too. It's like you know, seeing you know what, how Alex was able to connect with someone over his experiences and his journey. Just let that be an encouragement to any of you guys to reach out to us with anything. It can be movie related. It doesn't have to be movie related. It can be just about your journey as someone with a disability or it cannot be it can you know, bottom line is we're totally open and we just love connecting with our listeners in any in every way. So please never feel like a correspondence with us is pointless. Don't ever think that like oh what I'm writing about isn't relevant or doesn't matter. because it does, you know, your voice matters. You know, that's one of the things that hopefully, we're able to communicate on this podcast is that we all have a voice. And we all deserve to be heard. So, go ahead and feel free to reach out at any time at dark room film cast@gmail.com. Once again, that's dark room film cast@gmail.com. And Alex, any final thoughts before we close out?
Alex Howard
Be sure to like, comment, subscribe, follow us on Instagram, all that good stuff. You guys know you've been to the show.
Lee Pugsley
And the best way to get the word out about this podcast is just even finding one other person to share it with. It doesn't have to be like a whole network of people. You don't even have to blast it on social media. But you know, just recommend our podcast to one other person if you like what you're hearing and you think it's valuable. And the ripple effect is a real thing, right?
Alex Howard
Oh, yeah. It's it's crazy. I feel like just having Aaron on. I've met other people that find our podcasts interesting, even through my friends. It's, I mean, we have a lot of sighted people listening as well as blind people. So it's a great community that we're building awareness and all of that.
Lee Pugsley
Exactly, exactly. Well, awesome. Well, thank you guys so much for listening. It really does mean a lot to both me and Alex and just know that it's very, very meaningful. Have a wonderful day, and we'll see you back here next time on the dark room. See you guys. Bye.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
