Weekend Watchlist: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Happening and The Twin
[Izon by Trent Walton fades in, plays alone, fades out]
MIA Hiiii! Welcome to Weekend Watchlist, a look at what screening and streaming, brought to you by The Letterboxd Show. I’m Mia. He’s Slim...
SLIM Hiii!
MIA And together we’ll dig through what’s dropping this weekend, last weekend, recent trends on Letterboxd and we’ll also take a peek at our own watchlists—all under 30 minutes or your money back.
SLIM Mia, we are traveling once again into the multiverse. Is it possible—I ask you, Mia—that Doctor Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness] could crack our Top 250 Narrative films just like Everything Everywhere All at Once? Do you think it’ll happen?
MIA No... [Slim laughs] Said with respect.
SLIM With respect, no...
MIA 250... Like, there’s a lot of movies out there! I’m just sayin’.
SLIM There’s a lot of movies. It’s gonna have to topple a lot of movies. And if you’ve been listening and digging the show, just like we said last week, consider rating or leaving us a review to help folks discover the podcast and in-turn more movies. But we have a jam-packed show—Doctor Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness], Happening, The Twin, some community reviews and maybe your thoughts on What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? later in the show.
MIA Oh yeah, we are going to find out what the heck ever happened to Baby Jane, but first we have to find out what is currently happening with Doctor Strange in his multiverse of madness! What’s going on in there?
SLIM What is going on with Doctor Strange? So this is directed by Sam Raimi, written by Michael Waldron and it’s in theaters. It’s on 93,000 watchlists, Mia. For those that are unaware: “Doctor Strange with the help of his mystical allies, both old and new, traverse the mind-bending and dangerous alternate realities of the multiverse to confront a mysterious new adversary.” So Sam Raimi is back in the director’s chair. Mia, how do you feel?
MIA I love Sam Raimi... and I trust him!
SLIM What’s your favorite Sam Raimi movie you think?
MIA Drag Me to Hell. It is so much campy fun. I watched it on my first date before my first kiss. So, there.
SLIM Wow!
MIA Yeah, I owe a lot to Sam Raimi. [Slim & Mia laugh]
SLIM Sam, if you’re listening, we love you. Please come on Weekend Watchlist.
MIA Yeah!
SLIM So I also love Sam Raimi and I think Sam Raimi kind of came in... maybe not the last minute to direct this movie. The previous director of the first Doctor Strange bowed out graciously and Sam has stepped in. So some of the reviews that I have seen have said there are some flashes of the “Sam Raimi we all know and love” but it’s a big Marvel-machine movie, so I’m not sure how much of that will actually get in there. So I’ll read a review from Ryan McQuaid Awards Watch. Ryan was able to see it and his review reads: “This movie reaffirmed two things for me, that Doctor Strange is my favorite MCU character and Sam Raimi is the best director to ever make comic-book movies. One of the best installments in the MCU so far, and a fantastic way to kick off the summer! They let Sam [Raimi] cook and we are all better off for it!”
MIA I like they let him cook! [Slim laughs] They let him in the kitchen!
SLIM What’s it gonna take for you to fall in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Is there room in your heart for love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
MIA Oh, we’re gonna have to decorporatize a lot of it for me to start falling for it... [Slim & Mia laugh] And then... and then it’s possible. I think love will be able to bloom, once they stop, you know, controlling the entire... [Mia sings] industry! [Slim laughs]
SLIM Maybe one day you’ll be telling another date story, that I went on the date of my current partner and we saw “X” Marvel movie and it was magic in that theater that night. Maybe that’ll be the story you tell one day.
MIA I think that that might be the only way I’ll meet a long-term boyfriend, yeah. [Slim & Mia laugh]
SLIM Yeah, that’s where they all are! They’re in line to see the next Marvel movie. That’s why you don’t see them anywhere. [Mia laughs] We have a very different movie at the opposite end of the spectrum this week, that is probably even more relevant than we would ever hope.
MIA Yes. Happening directed by Audrey Diwan. It is going to be opening in theaters. It has a 3.8 average and it is on 22,000 watchlists. This film is based on Annie Ernaux’s semi-autobiographical novel. Happening follows Annie, a bright young student who faces an unwanted pregnancy while abortion was still illegal in 1960s .
SLIM So very unfortunately topical—and you’ve seen this already, right?
MIA Yes, yes. I saw this film a couple of weeks ago. And it is one of my favorites of the year. I think it’s incredibly important, urgent, relevant, only becoming more relevant. And, you know, it is set in in the early 1960s but this stuff is literally “happening” today... hence the title. It’s happening all over the world. It’s going to continue to happen until abortion is legal, free and destigmatized. And then aside from all the extremely relevant and important topics about abortion access, the film itself is just phenomenally made. It’s so effective at showcasing this, that horror and desperation and helplessness of an unwanted pregnancy. I consider myself pretty well-versed in women’s history. I don’t know how obvious it is that I took Women’s Studies classes in college... [Mia laughs] I was constantly learning new things from certain plot points of the film, and all while being riveted by the incredible acting and directing and intimate camera work. I just, I was really blown away by this film. I can’t recommend it enough. It’s very important. Go see Happening in theaters this weekend.
SLIM Yeah, I’m excited to see it. And the current climate today really blows chunks. And once again our political system is about to fail these people needs to be ing and protecting. And we don’t mean to be a downer on this pod, you know, we have fun with podcasts, but it’s an important moment and it’s an important movie. So I think we both agree that people should go check it out. Some reviews, our own Gemma, Editor-in-Chief of Letterboxd: “Holy rags, indeed.” Mariah E. Gates: “Unflinching look at the lengths a woman had to go to get an abortion 1963 .”
MIA You know, it’s kind of hard to sell like, “Oh, you’re gonna be sad for an hour and 40 minutes” or whatever. But that’s not—it’s not... it’s not like that! I promise. It’s thrilling. I have already said riveting, but it is completely riveting. Like I don’t want you to be—
SLIM Say it again. Say it a third time. Say it a fourth time.
MIA I’ll say it again! It is riveting! It is riveting! [Slim laughs] Truly, like I cannot stress it enough. It’s an incredible film.
SLIM Next on our release this week, The Twin from Taneli Mustonen. This is the Shudder horror release. So Shudder army, rise up right now. This is on 464 watchlists. Synopsis: “Every parent’s worst nightmare is just the beginning for Rachel’s ordeal. As the aftermath of a tragic accident, she and her husband Anthony decide to move to the other side of the world to focus on raising their surviving son, the twin, Elliot.” I’m not going to read any more of that because it already sounds horrifying. Anytime twins are involved in a Shudder horror movie, you know it’s about to go down, Mia.
MIA Scary twins! [Slim laughs] Scary twins! [Mia laughs]
SLIM So this is in theaters, video-on-demand and for Shudder fans. I’m a big Shudder fan. I like to relax on the weekend with my dear wife, fire up a random Shudder movie, heat up some popcorn, maybe get some Wawa, and just enjoy ourselves—maybe get a chicken parmie.
MIA Is Wa—sorry—is Wawa... what is that? [Slim laughs]
SLIM Your confused look says it all. It was like I just made up a word on the show! It’s like a fancier 7-Eleven.
MIA Ohhh...
SLIM It’s like an East Coast Philadelphia, New Jersey spot where they have, like, you can order food, they have touchscreens. You can get sammies made but you can also get gas. It’s like Sheets, have you ever heard of Sheets?
MIA No... [Slim laughs] No, man. [Mia laughs]
SLIM They have hoagies, they have sandwiches and what I love to get... I like treat myself a little bit. I get a chicken parmesan on a roll, maybe a little garlic aioli and some bacon in there.
MIA That sounds awesome!
SLIM Right? That’s what I’m sayin’!
MIA Wait, that actually sounds very good.
SLIM You haven’t lived until you’ve gotten a chicken parm with garlic aioli inside, and bacon, Mia.
MIA Okay, I’m adding this to my Weekend Watchlist. [Mia & Slim laugh]
SLIM Your weekend food list. [Mia laughs]
MIA Yeah, we’re a foodie pod now.
SLIM So Shudder has a ton of great horror movies. What do you think are some recent horror movies that you’ve seen the last couple, maybe the last year or so?
MIA Hatching is also great. Girl with giant egg.
SLIM What more do you need? [Slim laughs]
MIA What more do you need?! Giant egg. And then I also, I want to give a shout out to Malignant from last year. I keep thinking that Sam Raimi had his little fingerprints on it but that’s not true. It’s James Wan—through and through. Influenced by our friend Sam but Malignant is so much fun. Gabriel is the villain of the year.
SLIM Wow. Strong words.
MIA You’ve seen Malignant?
SLIM I have seen Malignant. I think I might have given it a star and a half. [Mia & Slim laugh]
MIA I feel that! It’s dorky. But I had a lot of fun in the theater. Did you see it in a theater?
SLIM No, I watched it at home but this is probably the most divisive movie. So I know friends that have really hated it. But I also know friends that love it, like absolutely loved Malignant, so it’s definitely both sides of the coin.
MIA I have noticed that my friends who watched it on HBO Max at home didn’t really like it.
SLIM Ohhh.
MIA But when I saw it in theaters, I saw it with like a group, we had so much fun. My friends who saw it in theaters enjoyed it a little more.
SLIM The theater experience, okay.
MIA So maybe it was more of a theater experience.
SLIM I was probably busy getting garlic aioli on my shirt watching Malignant at home.
MIA Wawa! [Slim laughs]
SLIM Wawa, if you’re open to sponsoring, so are we my friend.
MIA I was going to say, I was confused because Wawa is what I call water when I’m feeding it to my cat. [Slim laughs] So, I go “Brat, do you want some Wawa?” Like every day of my life.
SLIM The cats probably thinking of Wawa the food place! They’re like “Yeah, I would love some Wawa right now!”
MIA He’s like “Yeah, I would love a chicken parm!” [Slim laughs]
SLIM So let’s look back at last week’s releases. You just referenced Hatching. I do want to call out that the rating for Hatching on Letterboxd has gone up since our episode last week. So it’s at 3.4 average. So bravo, everybody.
MIA Woo!
SLIM Vortex sitting at a 3.8 average, and Memory, starring our dear friend Liam Neeson, unfortunately is sitting at a 2.4 on Letterboxd. But you know, that could be the sweet spot. You never know.
MIA Yeah, that’s close to what All the Old Knives was...
SLIM We don’t need to get into All the Old Knives again, Mia. We don’t need to start that up. [Slim & Mia laugh] You saw a secret screening. Can we talk, just briefly talk about this big-shot screening you went to? We won’t reveal thoughts about maybe the movie itself, but...
MIA Yes, yes. I’m gonna be secretive. But I did get to go see Alex Garland’s Men—highly anticipated. I loved Ex Machina and Annihilation. I saw Annihilation three times in theaters. One of my favorites.
SLIM Yes. Hell yes.
MIA And I’m not going to say much about Men, except that I’ll just reference my review of it, which was that Alex Garland is in his mother! era... mother, exclamation point. Darren Aronofsky. Make of that what you will...
SLIM Wooww. That actually does make me really excited to see it. So I think I might actually be seeing it next week, believe it or not. You know, some Philadelphia s, reaching out, my Wawa s reaching out. [Slim & Mia laugh] So I’m very excited to see it as well. I’m a huge Alex Garland fan. Annihilation is in my top four right now. I just moved that in there at a recent rewatch.
MIA Good! Good!
SLIM The last twenty minutes of that movie, Mia, are you kidding me?
MIA Yes! I transcended. I transcended in the theater. That’s why I kept going back, was for those last twenty minutes and for the bear scene.
SLIM Mhmm. I do, I mentioned this on the podcast that I do with my friends, 70mm, but I recently watched Annihilation at home. So do you have a Roku? You ever hear of one of those Rokus?
MIA Yes.
SLIM So you get one of those like Roku Pro remotes and it has a headphone jack. And you can plug in a nice pair of headphones and listen. So I listened to Annihilation with a nice pair headphones and my mind was blown in that movie.
MIA That’s actually huge to know. I would love to listen to it with headphones. I listened to the score all the time when writing or just doing work.
SLIM Wowowowow.
MIA Wawa..wawa...wawa...wawa weewa! [Slim laughs]
SLIM So back to Hatching. Tediouslybrief, Michelle, recently hosted a Q&A with Hanna Bergholm and their review for Hatching: “This movie is my Joker. I know I say this, but Hatching really truly is my Joker. Every single watch uncovers another layer of masterful, intricate planning and thematic layering.” So there’s another positive review for Hatching.
MIA Hatching! New Downton Abbey[: A New Era] just dropped—all of our Downton-heads! [Mia laughs] Gemma reviewed it: “Not sure what is more intense, John Lunn’s score or Hugh Bonneville’s perma-tan. Dominic West’s camp canon gains another entry as do all the lists of movies about movie making.”
SLIM Ellie wrote a [Jerrod Carmichael:] Rothaniel review, which we talked a little bit about last week: “This has changed the game yet again. I put this special up there with the likes of Mike Birbiglia’s The Big One, both Hannah Gadsby’s specials and obviously Bo Burnham. Revolutionary.” And Phillip also watched: “Funny, vulnerable, beautifully shot and edited. Deeply human.” I said recently, that was my first Bo anything and I was pretty impressed. I’m on the outside. I’m on the Bo bubble. And I’m happy to stay there for now.
MIA Yeah, I’m kind of on the other end of the spectrum and I was drawing Bo Burnham fan art in high school. [Slim laughs] So... I do have a notebook filled with that and I’m very afraid of it falling into the wrong hands. Last review we want to spotlight Diddy Rose’s, [The] Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent review: “Cage and Pascal are utterly charming. But Demi Moore over Laura Dern? Missed opportunity in an otherwise fun meta movie.” So for those who have seen the movie, you know, what Diddy is talking about. But I want to talk about Laura Dern for a second. Can we talk about Laura Dern? Is that allowed here?
SLIM Absolutely. Absolutely.
MIA Thank god, this is a safe space. I just saw the Inland Empire 4K restoration starring Miss Laura Dern.
SLIM Look out!
MIA Yes, yes. It is expanding across the US—do not miss this film! I had never seen Inland Empire before because I was ittedly intimidated by the three-hour runtime. But, you know, seeing it in a theater, it makes you sit there. It makes you sit there for the whole thing, and I’m so glad I did. I am still so afraid of Laura Dern... in a good way. [Slim & Mia laugh] This movie is terrifying, speaking of horrors that we’ve seen recently.
SLIM Alright, what’s your elevator pitch? Besides Laura Dern being in it.
MIA A woman in trouble... [Slim laughs] That’s the tagline! And also, David Lynch also had trouble coming up with like a pitch for it. Because, you know, it’s not structured really, it’s very experimental. And he and Laura were kind of just experimenting and coming up with stuff. So it is hard to pitch it. But Laura Dern plays an actress who’s in a remake of a cursed Polish film whose leads were murdered. And she finds herself unable to distinguish between her character and reality and just kind of falls down this Hollywood rabbit hole of delusion. And I really enjoyed it. I don’t know, I don’t really know how else to describe it.
SLIM That’s pretty good. I know it’s very difficult to sometimes describe David Lynch doing anything. So I think that was a pretty bang-up job. And it’s four stars from you on Letterboxd right now.
MIA Yeah, four stars! It’s great!
SLIM Okay, I’ll add it to my list.
MIA Thank you. Thank you for doing that.
SLIM Jack is back from vacation! We referenced I think last week, that Jack was taking a well-deserved vacation. So he’s been able to update the Letterboxd Top 50 of 2022, which we’ll have linked in our episode notes. And some sad news, Everything Everywhere All at Once is now conceded to The Beatles[: Get Back –] Rooftop Concert on our Top 50, just as Jack predicted. But it remains the third-best film of all time. So it even, you know, it was at the top of the list for Dave’s Top 250 of All Time list after nearly 200,000 views. So still hanging tough up there with the likes of, you know, some all-time amazing films.
MIA What’s number two? Is it Parasite?
SLIM MUBI, have acquired it for US and UK distribution. So stay tuned for an official release date from that film. And we’ll have a link to Jack’s list in the episode notes if you want to add some of these movies to your watchlist.
MIA Back to our dear friends in Downton Abbey... [Slim laughs] Downton Abbey: A New Era has crashed the list at number 37. It was released in several countries last week and is due in the US on May 20. It’s rated higher than the first Downton Abbey movie right now.
SLIM I refuse to become a Downton Abbey podcast. I’m just putting my foot down right now. We will not become a Downton Abbey podcast, Gemma. It’s not happening.
MIA Yeah, we can’t do it. We’re too busy becoming a foodie podcast now. [Slim laughs] Philadelphia specific.
SLIM Don’t forget too, if you watch some of these movies, you can tag your reviews “Weekend Watchlist” and if you shuffle your watchlist alongside of us, be sure to tag your reviews so we can spotlight them on the show. So last time when you were on the show, we shuffled you got What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Classic movie. How did it go?
MIA Well, let me tell you What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, because now I’m an expert and I know. Two aging film actresses live is virtual recluses in an old Hollywood mansion. Jane Hudson, a successful child star, cares for her crippled sister Blanche whose career in later years eclipsed that of Jane. Now the two live together, their relationship affected by simmering subconscious thoughts of mutual envy, hate and revenge.
SLIM Oh my god.
MIA And the sisters are played by Betty Davis and Joan Crawford, who famously had a feud! Ryan Murphy.
SLIM Ohhh, excuse me. What a cast! 1962. So this is streaming on HBO Max. This has been on my watchlist for ages. Maybe I’ll shuffle and get it. So I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
MIA I really enjoyed it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I am going to start emulating the sisters in my day-to-day life. I believe they are excellent role models and they did nothing wrong! [Slim laughs]
SLIM Robert Aldrich...
MIA Robert Aldrich!
SLIM Who also directed The Dirty Dozen.
MIA Yes, yes!
SLIM So... The Longest Yard. Oh my god.
MIA My ghost husband was nominated for an Academy Award for The Dirty Dozen, John Cassavetes!
SLIM So we’ve already had six degrees of Mia Vicino on this podcast with John Cassavetes. Also, I don’t think—maybe we should reference too, where you did your episode of The Letterboxd Show and we talked about Mikey and Nicky, right?
MIA Yes.
SLIM And I after editing that episode, I found out that the cemetery that was filmed at, is literally in my backyard. I can like look out the window and see the cemetery they filmed that movie.
MIA Go do it right now.
SLIM I’m gonna end the show, I’ll be right back.
MIA Yeah, go end the show and go do it and then come back and report to me. [Slim & Mia laugh] No, but that’s actually very cool. That is history. Peter Falk and John Cassavetes trod upon that very soil!
SLIM That’s right. I can smell them when I walk by that cemetary. I can smell their essence. So when I shuffled when we were last together, I got Lovesong. That was the movie that I got, and I liked it a lot. I liked it a lot, a lot. So Lovesong, 2016, So Yong Kim: “Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart.” I loved the long shots of the leads just kind of sitting back and thinking about the decisions in their life and maybe like missed opportunities, maybe acting on those opportunities. And this is streaming on Netflix. So I loved it! I gave it four stars. Had a great time watching it.
MIA I also have seen this film and I also loved it. The Ferris-wheel scene made me cry. It is, it is a gorgeous film. I also related to the little baby in it because she’s half-Korean and half-white just like me. [Mia laughs] I was like “Finally! There’s one out there!” [Slim laughs]
SLIM Also the dance-club scene with the two leads... holy smokes, what a moment.
MIA And it’s—
SLIM Riley [Keough] and Jenna Malone! Jenna Malone, who people might recognize from many movies. Famous actress.
MIA Many movies, yeah, excellent cast.
SLIM People are shuffling their watchlists alongside of us. So I do want to call out, next week, I have to watch The Sacrifice. That was the movie I shuffled with Mitchell. Ben watched it: “If you ever feel the need for an existential crisis, pop on a Tarkovsky flick and you’ll be set. Just surrender yourself to the monologues and long takes. It’ll pay off if you give it a chance.” So that is a long movie. So I’m halfway through, I can announce that I’m halfway through The Sacrifice. Subtitled movie. [Shuffle sound plays] I just shuffled. [Slim gasps]
SLIM It happened! What did you get?
MIA I’m delighted once again. [Slim laughs] On the Town, 1949. Directed by Stanley Dolan and Gene Kelly!
SLIM Oh my god, Gene Kelly making his first appearance to Weekend Watchlist, I think.
MIA And we’re all grateful for it. I love that guy. I love him! Love him, love him, love him.
SLIM Gene!
MIA Gene! Gene! This movie is about three singing and dancing sailors, and they are Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra... and another one. His name is Jules Munshin.
SLIM So, good pick from your watchlist.
MIA I’m super excited. Yay! They’re gonna sing. They’re gonna dance. They’re gonna sail!
SLIM Let me go to mine. Let’s see, I’ll filter by streaming, and I’ll sort by shuffle. Full disclosure, I once again have culled my watchlist. Just to try to, you know, give me something I putting on my watchlist. [Shuffle sound plays] Alright, okay. I’m back. 1989’s Nightmare Beach, and it’s the picture of a motorcycle-clad guy killing a woman. [Slim & Mia laugh]
MIA Killing a woman!
SLIM So, “Florida: Biker Edward Santer, known as ‘Diablo’, is electrocuted for murder. He goes to the chair protesting his innocence, claiming he was set up by the local police chief and vowing vengeance from beyond the grave.” Okay. This is streaming on Kanopy. This is another movie I don’t adding to my watchlist. But some friends of mine have it at four stars.
MIA Nightmare Beach... That sounds like Old.
SLIM 1989, yeah, it is pretty old.
MIA I mean, the film Old...
SLIM Oh—[Slim laughs] What’s your rating for M. Night Shyamalan’s is Old? It can’t be high.
MIA I couldn’t rate it. I did not rate it. I couldn’t do it.
SLIM Oh my god.
MIA I had no idea what to rate it... Because it was—I had so much fun. But I’m also like, this is not a real movie. It is not real. [Slim & Mia laugh] It doesn’t exist.
[Izon by Trent Walton fades in, plays alone, fades out]
SLIM Thank you so much for listening to Weekend Watchlist, brought to you by The Letterboxd Show. You can follow Mia, Slim—that’s me—and our HQ page on Letterboxd using the links in our episode notes and you can also look out for a brand new Weekend Watchlist list, updated weekly in the episode notes.
MIA Thanks to our crew and thanks to Letterboxd member Trent Walton for the theme music ‘Izon’. And thanks to Jack for the facts and to Sophie Shin for the episode transcript. And to you... for listening. Weekend Watchlist is a Tapedeck production.
[Tapedeck bumper plays] This is this is a Tapdeck podcast.