Mafia Mamma, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Totally Completely Fine, Mrs Davis, Fired On Mars, Love & Death and Evil Dead Rise

Full transcript of Mafia Mamma, A Black Lady Sketch Show, Totally Completely Fine, Mrs Davis, Fired On Mars, Love & Death and Evil Dead Rise.

0:00KT: It's another week in the For Your Reference household, and it is another seven screening screeners worth of Reference Max.

0:08Oti: Woohoo.

0:09KT: We're gonna rat it and snap it off.

0:12Oti: Mm-hmm.

0:12KT: Let's get on with the show. Hey, friends and lovers, and welcome back to another Reference Max, where we cover the screenings and the screeners that we've been watching. Mm-hmm. With your host, KT

0:39Oti: and Oti.

0:40KT: On the docket, we have seven again, Oti. Mostly everything has been released, um, aside from one that is coming out very, very soon. We will be covering Mafia Mamma, A Black Lady Guest Show. A Black Lady Sketch Show. Totally Completely Fine. Fired on Mars. Mrs Davis. Love & Death. Ooh, the BLEs. Are you ready for the lemons? Oti?

1:06Oti: Oh yeah.

1:07KT: Lemonade. That's what I've been blasting.

1:09Oti: Wow.

1:10KT: And Evil Dead Rise. Oh, how are you feeling? Oti?

1:18Oti: Good. I'm hyped for this.

1:19KT: Oh, super hyped. Um, so we are going to be starting off with Mafia Mamma. Thank you to Maddie and the team at. Paramount for inviting us. Um, unfortunately our executive dog producer, um, was not well, so Oti wasn't able to come. So I took one for the team. Oh, team. I did take one for the team. Um, you know, I think it was literally a previous Reference Max where I was talking about, um, old mate Rusty on his Vespa. You know, I had back to back screenings of Australians playing Italians.

1:57Oti: Oh,

1:58KT: Super talented, but you know, we, we know where the birth certificates are. Oti. So this is Mafia Mamma, um, the ever loved, ever lauded Toni Collette. I am a bit wor no Sixth Sense. Okay, so this isn't the first official time we're talking about Toni Collette on the podcast. We do have Sixth Sense. Go and check it out. Um, friends and lovers, uh, I guess just rounding out, uh, general sort of information. Wow, I didn't even realize this until I saw the credits at the end of this screening. This was directed from Catherine Hardwicke.

2:34Oti: Oh, yeah.

2:35KT: And that name should be familiar to you because it is one of the most prized recordings of this For Your Reference podcast. She directed the first Twilight film.

2:47Oti: as you can see, stuck with me.

2:51KT: Well, you know, I, I, I did say that the first Twilight really captured the nerdy, moody sort of atmosphere that the Twilight books, you know, evoked into my life. So, um, it was very interesting that I saw her name in the end credits and I'm like, is there another Catherine Hardwicke? Anyway. Um, in regards to writers, we have J. Michael Feldman, Debbie Jhoon, as well as Amanda Sthers. In regards to Stars. Stars, stars. I already said Toni Collette, Monica Bellucci, as well as an Alfonso Perugini. Um, this was released, um, obviously recently in April of 2023. Um, This is, maybe this is her Kelly Rowland's Seat Filler.

3:37Oti: Wow. You mean a hit?

3:38KT: Wow. Well, I would feel like you would've, you would, you wouldn't say any of Kelly Rowland's roles weren't a hit. Um, but I, I think I. This film was effective to its demographic. You know, I don't like to proclaim that films that aren't necessarily targeted to you don't need to do the work in getting you emotionally invested. However, it was very clear that there was a demographic for this film, and it was people that have lived, you know, chapters of their lives. And potentially neglected their own life and, and their own motivations and their own sense of self. And perhaps the other films that they enjoy are the Magic Mike series.

4:23Oti: Wow.

4:24KT: Uh, Eat Pray Love.

4:25Oti: Okay. That's interesting. So in, in this, I take that Toni Collette is the Mafia Mamma in question.

4:31KT: Yes. And I don't think that's a spoiler as well. Um, cause it's one of those things of, you know, and I'm sure a lot of producers and maybe even Nick Cage, you know, the OG KA of it all. Um, I'm sure that's how they work. They wanna get Nick Cage or they wanna get Toni Collette in a situation, so they want her to be the Mafia Mamma. So they work backwards on trying to get that story there. I think a lot of the time for these sorts of films, the plot isn't as important as getting to the salacious sort of moments that we would have Toni Collette in how it, there was, uh, there was such a focus on the actions. The, um, role in the hay tris that, you know, that her character would want to explore.

5:23KT: It was definitely more of a fantasy feeling for those that have put their lives aside for other people to enjoy themselves.

5:32Oti: Okay. That sounds interesting. So there aren't any moments of hijinks, so you thought, oh, luck with our old Rusty, you know, you enjoyed him on his investment.

5:40KT: Oh man. But you know what's really interesting? Cause I was, I was very confused the whole time watching, um, The Pope's Exorcist. I was very confused. But talking about it with you, I was like, Hey, I think I actually really enjoyed it. I don't know if that's going to happen with Mafia Mamma. Um, but also at the same time, you know, It's, it's the same thing, like I said with Cate Blanchett. Like she's always going to bring qu quality Toni Collette, you know, because I very recently watched Muriel's Wedding. I understood the notes of her being a comedic sort of actress and knowing that she's got that gravitas as well. Um, but I'm definitely not going to. Hold this against her, you know?

6:23KT: Um, this film, sh also her best friend was black and she said all of the stereotypical, like even the point to the point where they were in like a yoga sort of setting. And she's like, you need to eat, pray, fuck, eat, pray, fuck. Really. And the crowd was eating it up. I don't know, like in the 2020s, do we still need the black best friend to say those things that make people laugh in the cinema?

6:50Oti: was our only value in the show. In the movie though, just that.

6:54KT: yeah. Um, she also, we see her later on in the film. This isn't a spoiler, but it just. It just further exemplifies how she had such a small platform of character, like you see her later on in the courtroom and she literally too, like an opera sort of effect, talks about the guy being a dick.

7:17Oti: All right. I, I think I get the picture of the movie now.

7:20KT: Yeah, there's obviously a lot of like Italian sort of stereotypes and that sort of thing. Um, as well. They also reference The Godfather a lot and I'm like, you have no business referencing the Godfather. Um, yeah. I just, I can, I can see how people could enjoy it, but personally

7:44Oti: it wasn't for you.

7:45KT: Yeah, I was just thinking about how you were doing at home with our, um, beautiful, lovely Greyhound. Yeah. So that was Mafia Mamma. I think, um, the best way, um, to move on is just as much hijinks in sketch form.

7:59Oti: Woohoo.

8:00KT: Yes. Thank you for the team at Binge, um, for giving us access to the whole. Season of A Black Lady Sketch Show. Love Splooshies forever in our celestial kingdoms. Robin Thede. Gabrielle Dennis, who we're also seeing in um, Big Door Prize.

8:17Oti: We are, we love Gabrielle Dennis.

8:19KT: Yeah. Skye Townsend. And we have new cast in the ensemble. Dami Gurley, Tamara Jade, as well as Angel Laketa Moore.

8:30Oti: It was wild seeing Angel. Angel there.

8:32KT: Yeah. So good.

8:34Oti: What can I say? The fourth season in going strong as ever. Uhhuh, uh, you know, I love the platform that Robin Thede has set out. Yep. And with a ever expanding cast, Uhhuh. Um, and I think this is what I appreciate about Robin and what she's doing in the industry. You know, she has a lot of fast in her repertoire, but she doesn't want to be the only one.

8:56KT: Yes.

8:57Oti: And that's really important. So with A Black Lady Sketch Show, I remember us just binging it all and enjoying every single moment. I think my favorite character in this is Professor Hadassah. Yeah.

9:09KT: Yeah. Oti, you are also from Afro Latia.

9:13Oti: Of course I am.

9:16KT: I absolutely agree with you. Like if we can splush ourselves, so Waly, it is so nice to be able to get screeners for shows that we've already loved and we've watched for years.

9:28Oti: Mm. Yeah. And Robin doesn't disappoint in this? No. Uh, like I said, you know, we don't get to see Ash, Ashley Nicole Black in this season,

9:37KT: Mm. Or Quinta Brunson, but

9:39Oti: or Quinta.

9:39KT: a couple of seasons

9:40Oti: but you know what, if, if, if they're getting work out there and new projects, that's all good. You know,

9:46KT: there were some standout sketches in this season and I really appreciated how there were callbacks from previous seasons as well along with the guest stars. Are you kidding me?

9:58Oti: Oh, yeah. They have heaps of guest stars in this.

10:01KT: I just like, I don't know. Sometimes the sketches come like, you know, out of nowhere or sometimes they work from the start that Amari sketch and he is obviously been in a black lady sketch show before, but the shine didn't disappear. Just like him eating the watermelon in verses.

10:21Oti: Friends

10:22KT: we know you are here specifically for A Black Lady Sketch-er, if you understood that reference. Um, but I just, there was some beautiful, beautiful moments in this season.

10:32Oti: We also get to see Colman Domingo.

10:34KT: Yeah. How do your Domingo swing, Oti?

10:37Oti: They just hang, but Wow. Uh, I think with ensemble cast and just, uh, you could tell the writer's room is expanding as well. Oh yeah. And that's good to see.

10:48KT: And you know, even, I think it was on The Daily Show when Robin Thede with Roy Wood Jr. Right. Um, she was talking about everywhere OG comics on the road, or even from TikTok to YouTube. We're seeing a lot of comedians that we saw come up through All Def Digital, you know, Angel as well to hear was here. Kev was here. As well. Like there was such a beauty and a celebration of black talent and also centering black women.

11:13Oti: Yeah. Yeah. We don't get to see just the black people in Hollywood that are already established, that are just injected back into the show because that's not how it works and how it should work really since this is the year of sketch comedy with History of the World, Part II, also, um, coming out earlier this year.

11:30KT: yeah, yeah. Jay Ellis, is Jesus in there? Jay Ellis was also in the Jesus setting, but he wasn't Jesus here. Oh, friends and lovers. You know, watching on a week to week basis is a lot of fun, but also being able to binge it all was a lot of fun as well. Um, I think part of the fun is also revealing. There, there are some great, great juicy cameos, um, that we're definitely gonna, not gonna spoil, but we would really love to, you know, have a little. Giggle gaggle and banter about it. Um, so it's gonna be fun rolling out throughout the weeks as well.

12:03KT: Let's move on. Uh, the next show that we had access to was Totally Completely Fine. Thank you to our friends at Stan. Um, Totally Completely Fine is an Aussie drama. Um, Thomasin McKenzie and I would say her Aussie accent is very on 0.5 out of $5 dues.

12:23Oti: We, hey, similar to mine. I'd say

12:25KT: I love your many other talents. I love your many other talents. Um, so this is an original Stan show from Creator Gretel Vella. We have, again, Thomasin McKenzie, um, starring in the role. This show, um, pretty much follows a very young woman. Navigating the fact that she had just been given inheritance of a whole property, um, compared to her two other brothers. And, you know, the classic sort of formula, one brother is very much, you know, as the wind blows and the other brother is, I wouldn't say uptight, but he is the one that's crossing the Ts and dotting the

13:07Oti: Yeah. And, and sometimes they come across as being hateful or not being, uh, you know, like there's nothing wrong with crossing the Ts.

13:16KT: T. Oh, yeah, absolutely.

13:17Oti: Right. Because I, I, I completely, cause there's this opening scene. I'm not gonna spoil anything, but, well, like I can see why he's saying that I completely makes sense. But then again, tv.

13:29KT: Uh, because we had so many screeners and screenings, um, very, a very good problem to have. But because we had so many, we didn't get a chance to get through, um, a lot of the episodes. But just generally, what were your thoughts on this show? I guess I can go first. Personally, I kind of find it. Found it hard to latch onto Vi's character. So Thomasin McKenzie's character Vivian. Um, I don't know, like I I, I am very comfortable in being in the uncomfortable, which I think we talked about recently in the TÁR episode.

14:03KT: Like, I'm okay to go to those dark and sad sort of places, but it was very hard for me to find where we were working towards, you know, in, in the, the small amount of episodes we were able to watch.

14:16Oti: I get that. Um, again, I, I think I shared a, a similar sentiment to you in that whilst I could see how she was, she is depressed. Yeah. And she has to work up, work that out.

14:29KT: or grief or both?

14:30Oti: I think I'd say both. Because even before the grief, there was some semblance or some showing of depression going on.

14:38KT: she was, she was painted to be the unreliable sibling or friend or family

14:44Oti: Righto. And we all deal with this stuff differently. Yeah. And I think the Johnny Vv takes and you know, the interactions between her and the siblings as well. Yeah, I could definitely empathize with. A bit of what she was going on. Mm-hmm. You know, but it, there was still a disconnect for me in trying to fully engulf myself in her character or her journey in this show that made it a bit harder to just latch onto it that much.

15:11KT: Yeah. I think if we're talking about the selection, whether it be film or television, there's a lot of, there's a lot of quality, but there's also a lot of, um, just general sort of quantity out there and the ability to be able to strike the balance of grief as well as levity. Is we're seeing more of that, which is great, but it also means it's a lot more difficult to latch onto shows that don't immediately, um, provide that sort of, not, not even not provided immediately, but give us that sort of essence that it's there.

15:47Oti: Yeah, a hundred percent. And, and, and it's not easy for you dealing with those heavy subjects and topic matter. Um, but I think they do, they do quite well in, in trying to show exactly how, you know, people go through depression and grief and that comes out clearly. So kudos to them.

16:05KT: Yeah. Um, so let's move on. We have watched a good chunk, um, of these, but given the nature of, I don't even know how much we can, you know, meaningfully discuss. We are talking about Mrs Davis. Thank you to the team at Binge for giving us screeners. Um, um, There was a four episode drop. Um, but even in that, uh, there's a lot that happens outside. So even our non spoiler, spoiler, non spoiler talk is only really going to be tap dancing around the first four episodes. No, nowhere near the end, um, of the show.

16:45KT: So, you know, we've got Lindelof at the wheel. At the helm. We've also got Betty Gilpin.

16:51Oti: woo woo. We

16:51KT: a lot of time for Betty

16:53Oti: Mm-hmm.

16:54KT: in the For Your Reference household. Go and check out The Hunt. Yeah. Yeah. We, that was very deep into the emmis.

17:00Oti: Yeah. Deep into the pandemics.

17:02KT: Yeah, in the Pangolin. Palomas.

17:04Oti: and GLOW, because we don't do references here. She was really good in GLOW.

17:07KT: She did. Yeah. Um, so yeah, so this show is out again, a four episode drop. Um, Tara Hernandez as well, executive produced. We've got Betty Gilpin, um, as well as a lot of beautiful cast. Um, it just happens to be David Arquette at the start of it. He's the one that did that documentary about wrestling, right? Yeah. Pass. Um,

17:32Oti: We love to be not get to this household. Come on now.

17:35KT: We've, we've got a lot of stuff to not discuss. Elizabeth Marvel, Andy McQueen. Ben Chaplin. Margo Martindale. Katja Herbers. Jake McDorman, Chris Diamantopoulos. Ashley Romans, Tom Wlaschiha, as well as Mathilde Ollivier. Who, what can we say without saying anything? Oti?

17:57Oti: What a cast. Um, again, uh, the concept felt quite unique. Um, I think the pilot was such a starting point for me where I, I could see the possibilities of where this was going. Yeah, I love the concept, um, you know, with the talk of AI and the consequences of that. Seeing it sort of imposed into this show felt unique in how they, um, implemented it. Mm-hmm. Um, but yeah, like the performances of Betty Gilpin and trying to navigate this journey and trying to choose a side. It's quite intriguing and interesting be, uh, because it gave us a bit of suspense, intrigue, uh, philosophical questions of which side you choose as well.

18:37KT: Hey,

18:38Oti: um, oh, wow. I, I'm, I was pretty taken aback by, um, I think with the first four episode, you'll get a, you'll get a good picture and understanding of what the show would be. Yeah. Um, and after that, it's just a rollercoaster of enjoyment.

18:54KT: Oh, I absolutely agree. Mrs Davis straddles the two worlds of truth, whether it be religion or replacing it. With technology, it can make as much sense as a nun on a motorbike.

19:08Oti: Mm-hmm. And those are the best kind of nuns you can have.

19:11KT: Oh my, um, it felt adjacent to American Gods. Mm.

19:19Oti: Mm.

19:20KT: You know, I've, I've got a lot of time in my heart for that show, especially Bilquis. Um, but even just the exploring of. You know, new media, old media, that sort of thing. I think this is a great way to explore, you know, not to, not to take penmanship away for another, but like, if Gaiman were to dabble and you had a Lindelof baby, this is kind of what this show would show.

19:44Oti: Okay. Okay. Marda. I think if the comparison would hold true, I'd say it's, uh, when Nancy was still in the show. Other than that, then

19:54KT: that's not Mrs Davis, that's Mr. Oti.

19:57Oti: Mr.

19:58KT: is fantastical an adventures.

20:00Oti: Oh, look at that. We could definitely write something on that.

20:03KT: that. Um, for those that haven't watched the show and aren't sure on the ambiguity, or you've watched an episode or two and you're not sure in the ambiguity, I would say trust in the care of the cast and crew.

20:20Oti: Mm. Cause it does take, um, some twists and turns that you didn't expect, at least for me. And that only makes the show better because one minute you think you figured it out the next minute, not back of the drawing board.

20:33KT: And I think, you know, I'm a very literal person. You know, even on the podcast of things we review, if I can't tangibly feel or resonate with something, I find it hard to connect. Um, so this is on my journey of trying to stretch and expand myself, um, on what I'm used to by default, connecting to and just allowing the show to take me wherever it wants to go. Ha. Do you want the show to take you out of this world, Oti? Well get on board. We're covering Fired on Mars. Hello? Yes, yes, yes. Thank you again to Binge, uh, for giving us access to these screeners. This is an animated show created by Nate Sherman, as well as Nick Vokey. In regards to cast, we have Luke Wilson, Tim Heidecker, Pamela Adlon, and a whole bunch of other peeps. Essentially, this show is kind of, if Jerry from Rick and Morty had his own show, And that is as much of a compliment or a comment as someone could ever say.

21:43Oti: oh bro,

21:45KT: You know when you see Jerry and he gets ejected into another galaxy and they cut sea into something more interesting, this is where they stay.

21:58Oti: Wow. What can I even add to that?

22:01KT: Yeah, you don't need a telescope to deduce what I'm saying.

22:08Oti: Got games, man.

22:10KT: Well, your laughter is agreeance unless you're going to say otherwise, sir.

22:15Oti: Um, well, I usually, I try not to judge a show with a pilot or even two, three episodes in Yeah. Before I know where the show is going. Um, but wow. I think we were hit by the tonality quite

22:28KT: the Mandan,

22:30Oti: the what was

22:33KT: that guy's name in Office Space? Milton.

22:35Oti: Yeah. This is the Milton of shows. Yeah. Um, no, like, it's, it's weird because. I thought the concept was quite solid and I wanted it to be a bit more bity, but it felt like it, it, there was sort of a disconnect where it didn't feel quite as engaging as it ought to be. Yeah. I don't know if it's, if it's, it wasn't, uh, it was too, too PG.

22:58KT: PG. You know you know why it's in the synopsis Or even if you've watched the trailer, friends and lovers, if you haven't watched the show. But essentially it's like a mega corporation, but they're the pioneers that have like settled and created, like their little office sort of, um, compound on Mars. Right. So it's like capitalism out of this world, literally. Right? And he gets let go and he's a graphic designer and he also doesn't, I I don't know the best way to equate it, but he wasn't picking up on a lot of social cues. And he also had a high level of like self importance, like to the level that he would compare himself to, like space engineers.

23:43KT: I'm like, bro, this is on you at this point.

23:45Oti: Oh, graphic designers are important.

23:48KT: and she had a no, but then he also had a girlfriend on Earth that was 10 outta 10 in the face. Really?

23:52Oti: Yeah, there was a lot of aspects that didn't align with what we were seeing, and I think the main, like we needed a Jeff Cooper to be a bit more realistic, you know? I think that would've made such a big difference.

24:05KT: You don't think it was too realistic, it was too

24:08Oti: Mm.

24:09KT: I was wanting some sort of big titered, heman adventure, like Kenny from South Park.

24:14Oti: Yeah. I, I see that even, even, even if, yeah, I, I thought we'd get a zone sort of, um, no, like I, I, I understand everything that you're saying and I get that. I just thought everything was there to have this be really funny and captivating and it just feels like they missed a mark a bit where they had all the ingredients. I I, I was like, okay, we've got this graphic designer who's just been fired on Mars and then you could build pretty much anything out of that. But we kept on going back and forth between two bloody aspects of the show,

24:54KT: I don't know, between, between this Big Door Prize, Lucky Hank, there's a common recurring theme for the protagonist. They sh they choose to put on there even Shrinking as well with the Segel. But the other Segel, like, I'm just kind of getting sick of these sort of protagonists. Um, I don't know. Personally, it wasn't for me. I guess you could say that I'm a hater and you know, catch me on a good day and I'll, I'll probably still say the same thing, but I just, yeah, it just wasn't my Airplane! reference. Jive.

25:29Oti: Yeah, I just felt there was a missed opportunity there to make it a bit more greedier. Um, but there's room definitely, hopefully when the do season two, they just go for it.

25:39KT: The unseasoned mashed potatoes are the unseasoned mashed potatoes, Oti. Stop trying to change it.

25:43Oti: They can buy salt.

25:47KT: Get that gap like the rest of us. Mm-hmm. All right, well let's move on. We've got two more Oti. Um, we've got a feature film, um, and we've also got an upcoming True Crime. Thriller, which one would you go to? Which one would you like to go to and which one would you like to end on?

26:07Oti: you like? Oh, let, let's start with a aons.

26:10KT: Ooh, our Olsens and a lemons make for a delicious spring

26:13Oti: Mm-hmm.

26:15KT: Uh, we are talking about Love & Death, friends and lovers. We are very excited. Since the start of April, we've been very excited to talk about this show. this is the David E. Kelley. Um, for those that are learned, and for those that are in the know we're talking about, we're talking about Boston Legal

26:35Oti: and everything. Law that you can imagine has been pro ed, like from The Practice. Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, you name it, he's done it

26:44KT: well. There you go. Friends and lovers. Uh, directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. In regards to Stars. Stars, stars, Elizabeth Olsen. I think, you know, I'm pretty sure friends and lovers people have already made jokes about this being crossed over in the Wandaverse. Jesse Plemons. Jesse's. He's going on the list of my beautiful people. That would probably be really great to be with, like Oti and Paul Dano.

27:11Oti: Wow.

27:12KT: Lily Rabe, uh, Patrick Fugit, Gilchrist, go and check out our Atypical episode, friends and lovers. Elizabeth Marvel, you would've noticed from the other credits previously. Um, Tom Pelphrey, as well as Krysten Ritter. You're fully nobody. We can see the black hair even over that wig.

27:31Oti: Yeah, I, I don't know where that red hair came from, man.

27:36KT: To be fair, her black hair gives her a very modern, like 2000 onwards sort of look. So I get that they needed to change the wig, but maybe it's not the wig.

27:48Oti: Yeah, it's not the wig.

27:49KT: We're not even talking about talents, we're just talking about the wig.

27:55Oti: Uh, but wow, what can I say about this? It was very well done. I think in Olsen and Plemons, you get really good leads. Even Lily Rabe. Man, she is amazing. Wow. It's quite entertaining. It's gripping. You'll find yourself wanting to binge a lot of it. Mm-hmm. It's not a, a sit and done, you know, you'd want to complete the whole series at a go. Which we did. Um, and I think a lot of the things that I came towards the end of it was you sort of forget that it's based on real life.

28:26Oti: Yeah. On true events. Yeah. And once the aspect comes back, well, at least I thought about it. I was like, uh,

28:33KT: uh,

28:34Oti: this, this feels a bit weird. Right. Um, so a lot of you who are familiar with the story, you know how it goes for those who are not, I will not spoil it, but I'll just say that at the end of the show, you know, regardless of how it was presented, I just felt that they, they, it was up to how to misrepresent a lot of the things.

28:54KT: Okay. Okay. I'm picking up what you're putting down, Oti.

28:58Oti: Right.

28:59KT: So my general sort of impressions for Love & Death is, I am. And you know, we even recently Welcome to Chippendales. I talked about how I don't really care for the genre of true crime. You know, it kind of feeds into our hedonistic, salacious sort of parts of us that stop seeing humans and, and just, we just wanna get the goods, you know? And not even in a modern, short Only Murders in the Building sort of way. It's not done in a QT way, you know? Um, So I was trepidatious about the true crime nature of this show. However, I found myself wanting to de devour the whole series. There were absolutely moments where I felt may have deviated from potentially what reality was.

29:52KT: However, as an overall watching experience, it was very satisfying.

29:57Oti: Yeah, a hundred percent agree with that. Um, I think you, you wouldn't fault the performances or anything like that because it's, it's quite, it's done quite brilliantly. There are directing as well, um, at the end of it with shows like this, um, the story is the anchor. Yeah. Um, and we have to stay true to that. And I think how a lot of it that was portrayed and how I was left feeling or there was a disconnect. Because I felt that a, knowing everything that happened and everything that transpired and how it was presented, it felt geared towards a, you know,

30:36Oti: like, pretty women. Woohoo. Everyone else fuck out.

30:40KT: Yeah, I agree. I absolutely agree with that. Um, what I will say though is, you know, there was recently a show that came out called Candy with Jessica Biel. Hmm. I believe we made it through the epi first episode. Screeners or not, we gobbled this whole season Love & Death up. So even in comparison to the same subject matter, um, I, I personally and I also talked about it and she said, um, as well, I personally liked the way that. Um, you know, the brutality was conveyed without the full violence being shown.

31:16Oti: Mm-hmm.

31:17KT: To me, that's very important. Like in a world where, you know, Oti, you no longer get the sense of bars anymore. You get the full, the full view of everything. Right. Um, it's, it's good to know that, especially if we're talking about a true story, that there is some care that still goes into the production of the making of a show like this.

31:37Oti: Yeah. And, and the data dear to that care. Um, that was good to see. Yeah. Um, but yeah, like at the end of the day, it's a really entertaining, um, show. Yeah. Uh, despite the subject matter because you get to see how the characters intermingle and how it all plays out. I think the dynamic between the two was really good. Um, we get a lot of good performances from this.

32:01KT: Ooh, we love it, friends and lovers. Uh, it will be coming out very soon, um, and it will be released on a weekly sort of basis, but definitely hit us up in the DMs, friends and lovers. And there's some tasty, tasty Plemons Olsen action going on.

32:17Oti: Mm-hmm.

32:18KT: Thanks to Binge for the screeners, um, on Love & Death. Ooh, are you ready to get to the end, Oti? This is Evil Dead Rise. Thank you to Warner Brothers, as well as Universal for inviting us to the preview screening. Uh, I believe Morgan Davies was also there as well. It was pretty cool. I think that was the first time that we've been to a preview screening where they had like a little Q and A at the start, so that was pretty cool. We also got, um, a, a Sydney specific message from the director, Lee Cronin, um, which was very cool. In regards to cast, we have Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, who are both Australia and also from Queensland, um, Gabrielle Echols, as well as Nell Fisher, as well as

33:04Oti: Mana,

33:05KT: our Jayden Daniels. I see why you always mentioned the random black character. Now, even if they're not like the mean, I see why you do it. Um,

33:17Oti: the

33:18KT: Tanya. Well, before we go into our general thoughts and feelings about Evil Dead Rise, um, I think it's worth just exploring the Evil Dead franchise. Right. Um, a couple of months ago, I think just for fun, we started watching Evil Dead One, Evil Dead Two. Just for reasons we thought we'll take a break until maybe Halloween. Um, and unfortunately we didn't get time to get to, um, the other two films before Evil Dead Rise. Um, and you've also watched Ash vs Dead.

33:50Oti: Yeah. Ash vs Evil Dead

33:52KT: See, see terrible shout outs to Tim, um, from Popcorn Podcast with Lee and Tim, because I remember after we were discussing Evil Dead Rise, I was like, oh yeah, lots of ho Marsh and I made a completely terrible non reference and you both corrected me and I both wanted to fight you, but let's, let's talk about our general sort of feelings with the franchise, Oti.

34:15Oti: it's a franchise full of hijinks and the level of not taking itself too seriously, that is admirable. Okay. Um, it's a, it's, it's one of those franchises that if you grew up on it, you, you think of it so fondly. I didn't know how it would age until we watched it. Again recently together. Yeah. And I was still impressed. It held its quality and that was quite impressive to say. Um, so I was very eager to see what they'll do with I evil dead, Dr. Uh, my love for Bruce Za, uh, you know, no, knows no bounds. So I was, I was stitious, you know, I, I was, I didn't know what to expect, but wow. I was not disappointed. I felt I had fun with this. You know, I went in with very little expectations, but I was completely blown away.

35:01KT: Oh wow. Okay. Um, so my general sort of thoughts watching Evil Dead One, like the OG Sam Raimi Evil Dead, I really enjoyed it. Mm. I enjoyed the earnestness in filmmaking, the love for film, you know, a lot of the. Like a lot of the charm was put into the filmmaking of the first Evil Dead. Mm-hmm. I loved it. I loved the innovation. It was a bit hokey where you saw, you know, the way they did the special effects and that sort of thing, but to me it added to the film. Yeah, because at the end of the day, this is what we are here to do, you know, budget or otherwise, this is the film we are making. And you're right, there was a lot of campiness.

35:48KT: I was all for the twig tie, you know?

35:51Oti: Oh, we love them vines.

35:52KT: Yeah, we got some cable tie, um, later on in Evil Dead

35:55Oti: Love of Vines.

35:56KT: Um, but I was, you know, I was absolutely here for what was the, what, what was distilled into the charm of Evil Dead. I really enjoyed it. Um, a lot of our friends and lovers and also just generally people talk to Evil Dead 2 being the better of the two. I can see why people say that, but I feel like a lot of it, not even the fact that you've watched the first one, but there was a lot of that. Sort of, um, rustic filmmaking magic that got lost in two. I think

36:27Oti: I'm with you. I'm

36:28KT: was a lot of the scenes that had, like, they already did similar beats, and then they just did the same scenes with those beats

36:34Oti: and they lost something in that, you know? Oh, yeah. It, it didn't feel as special.

36:38KT: No. Um, so I, I guess from that point of view, we're like, okay, even watching the trailer for Army of Darkness we're okay. Like, okay, this is a total shift. Let's take a break. Um, so, you know, even coming into e Evil Dead Rise, I would say friends and lovers, if you've never watched the Evil Dead films, um, or if you have, but mostly for people that haven't, don't let that deter you because to me it feels, you know what, with Evil Dead Rise, It finds a way to pay homage to not only the original ip, but also to other horror classics as well as find its own footing.

37:16KT: You know? And there, there's, there's a lot of, you know, sort of, um, you know, scenes that people will talk about in this film. I don't necessarily wanna talk about in too much detail, because that is part of the magic of Nicole Kidman's Cinema. it's, you know, just, just to go there and enjoy it. Um, I would say that this film is more gory than it is scary.

37:41Oti: Mm.

37:42KT: I wasn't necessarily scared. I think that was a great choice as well. Um, I, I did wish that we had, I don't know, and I think this is me because I think I'm a campy horror gal because my favorite is like Seed of Chucky. You know what I mean? I like that's where I am and I know that's not what this film was, but I do wish that it found its levity. Cause a lot of the levity were just through lines of really vulgar dialogue, which hello should be my mo. But it was the only way. It was finding its levity and I'm like, come

38:15Oti: Oh yeah, for sure. Oh, for sure. We, we, we definitely lost a bit of confides in this. It's far from Campy. Actually. It's none.

38:22KT: does it need to be,

38:23Oti: It doesn't need to be. But knowing the franchise, you feel like there, I, I expected a level of it. Yeah. But when we were met with a sort of straight on sort of approach. Yeah. I was like, okay, I'm in for it. You know? And there is definitely a bit more gory than what I expected. Uhhuh Uh, but I think the payoff for me came towards the final act of the movie where I felt everything just came together quite nicely. And I almost just stood up and shot it in the cinema. I was like, yeah.

38:53KT: show him your tits two points if you get that horror reference. Friends and love

39:02Oti: for sure. Um, but wow. Like I understand all the, but I think the expectations of it to be ought even mimic the Evil Dead that we are used to is. Wrong. And I, I, I appreciate the direction that they took.

39:17KT: to. Yeah, I, so that's what I'm saying, like I think I'm just the campy horror gal. Um, but even that aside, I really liked the way that they incorporated the lore, you know, even the book as well. But even then, to me that was always, Is the most interesting sort of part, which again, also kind of fell to the wayside. And Evil Dead 2. Maybe that's also why as well. Um, they hammed it up and then they kind of removed a bit of the, like they stopped saying native and indigenous. But anyway, um, I was kind of hoping, but that was just more for me cuz I just thought, um, it was interesting. Something that I would also like to point out as well, that I really enjoy about, maybe not the franchise, but at least from what I've seen. Scene is, I love how Evil Dead establishes. This is fucking it.

40:06KT: Because like if you think about, you know, not going into detail for Evil Dead Rise, but you know they're in an apartment, right? But they kind of cut out all points of entry to make it clear that this is where the movie's happening. You can't just divergent yourself out of this situation. You can't just Patronus your way out of this situation. This is the

40:28Oti: set the James would've tried though,

40:30KT: James. Be trying. You do be trying. Um, but also like even the, even the original, even Evil Dead, if we call back to that, you know the bridge is like broken and the twig tie is going to tickle you ever so nicely. Like it establishes, there's no way out of this. This is the story and this is where we're going to stay. Cuz you know, when you like start watching stuff, you're like, oh, why don't you do this? Why don't you try that? Why don't you do this? You know, I like how it makes it very clear these motherfuckers aren't getting out. They're just stuck there.

40:59Oti: Yeah. A perfect combination for just, um, creating a, a tense environment where you'd feel that anything could happen.

41:07KT: Oh, absolutely. Um, is this a safe space, Oti?

41:10Oti: always is.

41:11KT: Okay. Cuz I have two things that I wanna say, um, about Evil Dead Rise. The first one is, is this a white people thing? Because there were a lot of characters and mostly all of them were white that kept going to investigate shit.

41:24Oti: Yeah, I guess that's why they made them white.

41:29KT: cause but there were so many Cause personally, personally, and there were brown people in this film and we'll get to that. But personally, if I'm going to be nom, nom numbed by a fucking demon, I'm not gonna look to see 20 seconds ahead that you're gonna come and noob me. I don't need to know that. If you're going to come and get me, come and get me.

41:49Oti: Mm-hmm. Uh, I ain't coming for you.

41:53KT: Uh, the second thing that I wanted to say, and we're not going to get into spoilers however, love, love, love, love Jayden Daniels, friends and lovers. We do have a Head High, um, episode. Please go and check it out. It's unfortunate that the show's not continuing, but please go and check it out. Um, as soon as I saw our brother, I was like, I leaned over to you, and I was like, you know what time it's. I dunno, maybe I was having a hard day or maybe I'm just sitting here seeing all of this curious nonsense white people and I'm like, how you gonna do my people like that? I'm sure there's no personal feelings, um, from Lee Cronin, but I'm like, for fuck's sake, man.

42:40Oti: Yeah. Uh, well it was inevitable, wasn't it? Yeah, it was wild. Um, but it was good to see Mana showing his stuff out there.

42:48KT: Oh yeah, absolutely. Um, I really, it was nice to, cuz you never know what you're going to get, um, in a screening and I really enjoyed Evil Dead Rise.

42:58Oti: Oh, that's good. That's good. Um, it's definitely worth going out in the cinema for this. I think it adds to the experience. Um, but wow, I think it was a volunteer effort in, in, in rekindling the Evil Dead franchise. And I, for one, can't wait to watch it, um, on streaming once it's available. Nice.

43:17KT: Nice Woohoohoo. Thank you friends and lovers for joining us another week in the For Your Reference household, um, in way of things we're watching that we'll be covering soon. Succession is almost finishing up. Perry Mason has just finished, so we'll be covering that as well. Also on future Reference Max's look out for Pete Davidson's Bupkis. Thumbs up, thumbs down.

43:39Oti: Pop pop up.

43:40KT: better put your thumbs up. Um, Infinity Pool as well as Ivan Sen's Limbo. If you'd like to see Oti and I survive in a horror franchise on Twitter and Instagram for

43:51Oti: right, us an email hello@fyrpodcast.com.

43:54KT: we're also on stream, the Olsons in the Lyman's podcast if you'd like to liberating a review and we'll see you guys next week.

44:01Oti: See you.

44:01KT: Bye.