iTunes Exclusive Episode Last Flag Flying

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Greetings Empire member and or members.
If you're hearing the sound of my voice it means the following conditions have been met.
At least once in your life you've checked out the clubhouse podcast live every Sunday night 7 Eastern for Pacific.
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It also means you've checked this out in your favorite podcast app because it is time for iTunes exclusive number 329.
Strong Shrain running on this thing man.
Welcome. My name is Rob on the executive producer of the clubhouse podcast and we're recording this on Veterans Day weekend.
As I said on social media for those of you that have served those of you that currently serve and those of you that will serve thank you.
We thank you today we thank you every day for being around the world helping protect the freedoms that we have.
I'm not alone for this particular episode joining me across the desk as he tends to do from time to time is the official fact checker of this show.
And this episode will be one of those rare times where we're going to be reviewing the same film that we did not see at the same time.
You may know him as fond on go but his mom and even don't ford I'm going to call him don't ford welcome sir.
Yeah and well we had divided a week apart.
Yeah so I'm like that yeah because I see my written review which is at www.clubhousepodcast.com.
I would enough that is our website and you held up on eating or even eating it because you want to see the fact that I see it for myself because I was out of town when you saw it.
Yeah and we were given the opportunity another screen so I got to pick that up.
It is Richard Linklater this is the same guy that did dazed and confused everybody wants some and boyhood.
Now it does a film called Last Flag Flying.
For which it's not this whole thing.
Yes sir.
We got to think Brad and everybody at FontsPR.
We're so happy that they're with us now and they treat us so well they've gotten us to access to some films way ahead of time that we're going to be reviewing later on.
So stick around for that as you guys tend to do which we appreciate so much and let it be known that as of right now
Donna's mainlining caffeine and sugar so be prepared for that.
No just wait for the show.
I'm just saying this is where the journey begins.
Okay so your three main characters in this.
You've got Sound Neal and played by The Great Brian Cranston.
You've got Richard Mewer played by The Great Lawrence Fishburn and you've got Larry Doc Shepard played by The Great Steve Carell.
This is a film where all three of them are guys that knew each other from being in the Marine Corps in Vietnam together.
There were some happenstances and things went sideways on them and they kind of went on their own ways.
This takes place in the early 2000s I believe in 2003 and Carell kind of gets the three of them back together because he has lost his son.
Also a Marine and he wants them to help him come and bury his son.
That's pretty much all you need to know.
When I saw that link ladder was directing this I was a little intrigued because this is I mean the guy does a lot of different kinds of films but this is way off the beaten path for him.
Yeah because these are computers is that's turning into a cold cloud.
I love that film.
It's turning into it is a cold cloud.
You know it has a great comedy stuff like that the time of the thing but then the boyhood which was a film upon itself.
I mean and then you look at something like a lot of people are saying this is a spiritual sequel to a movie that Jack Nicholson and Randy Quay did in the seventies called the last detail.
I could see it but not really that film is great on its own because this this film has a bit of a different flavor to it.
My vibe walking into this screening as I was expecting a very very dark very very morose kind of thing and I was pleasantly surprised that there is elements of that because you're dealing with very very serious subject matter.
You're dealing with loss and you're dealing with war and you're dealing with you know sins of ones past but there was a really good heart to this film.
There's some great comedic moments.
Oh yeah which for me to say Karel plays the straight man a lot of people are going to go I'm sorry what but he really really does he's very very low key in this.
Where has the the wild man comes from Cranston who every time I see him do something I'm more and more convinced that he could be one of the greatest actors of my generation.
He is so versatile you know whether you remember him as the dad from Malcolm in the middle or you remember him from breaking bad or some of the billions of things that he's done in his career.
This performance for him is strong.
Lawrence Fishburn is Lawrence Fishburn is Lawrence Fishburn.
Yeah I remember Lawrence Fishburn when he was Larry Fishburn okay let's be real.
Now I know that there's movie posters that have been changed because back then it said Larry Fishburn and now it's his Lawrence Fishburn.
He is an amazing actor.
This is as much of a buddy road comedy as it is anything else and I think that adds a really nice touch to the serious tone of the film.
There's a really nice balance between those emotional moments and the very lighthearted moments that kind of keep the thing moving.
Well if you go to might we're in view at www.thecovastpodcast.com still our website.
I put it on there that this has some tough circumstances it deals with.
Absolutely.
But I put this film as a serious comedy.
Took a way to put it.
Solid description.
There's some good comedy throughout the film that mix with those serious moments like when they're in a hangar.
But you know how good the acting is.
I had started to hate Cranston.
Really?
Yeah he started to really really bug me.
It's like buddy don't you get the point.
He's the he's the character that's since something about acting in this film.
His character is one of those Peter Pan syndrome.
He won't grow up.
He owns a bar.
Yeah.
He's he's just the consummits.
In a way that's a good harbor and sometimes he's just an idiot jerk.
There's there's a phrase that the kids at the clothes and the hair use zero and then another word that we don't use on the show.
That's who he is.
But his character arc in this is really really impressive too.
And it's one of those where some people end the film the same way they are when they started it.
Other people evolve.
Other other people devolve.
There's going to be a name that you're going to hear.
I'm going to say for a very very long time.
And this is an actor who his first big project was the Fox remake of Dirty Dancing earlier this year.
And I don't think we should hold that against him.
But Jay Quentin Johnson plays Washington.
And Washington is the best friend of Steve Carell's son who was there when he was killed.
And he has a duty of transporting his mission.
Yeah.
This kid is in scenes with three of the biggest actors in the last 30 years.
And he is straight toe to toe with them.
There's no there's no hesitance.
He's right there with them.
This kid gives a performance that absolutely floored me.
He was amazing.
Well, he kind of look like with Carell and his thing.
His he's played so many different style of roles.
Whether it be in Fox Fox catcher or you know the office where he plays the idiot boss, which is more like.
Cranston's character.
A very underrated film of his in my opinion is a film called Dan in real life.
Oh, yeah.
And I think you should if you haven't checked that one out.
But Cranston's character is more like Steve Carell's character in the office.
Sometimes where it is just sometimes he could be have a nice, but he's just said he doesn't think sometimes.
But I get that, but I don't know if I can go there.
This one he's more of the soft spoken.
The good guy who doesn't want any kind of, you know, you know, drama or any arguments or anything like that except on certain things of the burial where he got.
He put his foot down.
So it's kind of like that.
Even that character in the 40 year old version, but it's not a comedy where he's the soft spoken good guy kind of thing who's the, you know, but not to the point of parity.
No, like he's very just like look.
There's there's a scene where they get to the Air Force to the, to the, to the, to the base to the Navy base where the body is being delivered.
And Carell's character makes a decision that is a very, very powerful scene.
Yes.
And Carell's performance here very understated but very solid.
Oh, yeah.
And it's, it's one that you don't see a lot from him because of his comedic chops, but a lot of people forget how good he is in drama.
And he really shows it here.
And then you've got Fishburn who's kind of that he, he's also a little understated here.
I wouldn't say that about Carell because he got that, you know, for him with Foxcatcher, he played that story as well.
But again, most people know him from roles like Michael Scott from the office or the 40 year old version and really haven't.
I don't know that enough people have explored him on the dramatic side of things.
And this film is an excellent example.
So it was what that's what I'm saying.
Okay.
But I kind of see that too.
Yeah.
But yeah, he got the nominee for best actor in Foxcatcher.
So I mean, that's kind of, maybe he's trying to really, some people know to some don't.
Well, he's, he's trying to really kind of make more of a, of a, of a real rounded career.
And by the way, I thought he deserved the Oscar that year didn't get it.
For Foxcatcher.
But my thing is with this film though, it is roughly about a little over two hours.
It's right at two hours.
Yeah.
For some points, I thought it got too long to write some.
It was like that car going 55 in a 65 zone.
You said that in your written review currently located at www.theclubhousepodcast.com, which is still our website.
I saw that you wrote that and I can tell you why I disagree with that.
Okay.
What's the one question that you always ask me when we talk about these?
Watch 40 minutes.
Okay.
So it's, it's not tied for second, but it's a third.
It's the bronze medal right now.
Yeah.
I thought this movie was paced very well, especially when you compare it to another film of its ilk that came out recently and thank you for your service.
Was that the one that Kevin Bacon?
No, that's with Miles Teller.
Okay.
That I saw recently.
That film definitely has some pacing issues, although still an excellent film and I would highly recommend it to people.
I felt that this film was was really well paced.
I thought it seemed by a point where after the, they leave the base and they're on the train.
And they're all together, then they get to a city and they start doing the cell phone bit or whatever.
So there are presence of all planes, trains and automobiles on this.
Yeah.
I thought it was kind of doing.
Do they really need this point right here?
Do they really really need this?
I felt that way.
That's where I say it.
Yeah, maybe, but I don't think it needed it.
And I think maybe they drank this out a little bit.
See, I felt that way.
I felt that way about the bus stations and scene.
Yeah.
I thought there's better ways that they could have made that work.
But it was still funny.
Don't get me wrong.
There's just better ways they could have done that.
Yeah.
But how much security?
Still a great film.
Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
But I mean, acts incredible.
It's just, it's right for me.
And as much as you rely on these guys, you also rely on a strong story.
Now, Link Ladder actually co-wrote this with the guy that wrote the book,
which I thought was impressive as well.
This script is strong.
All of these characters are very, very richly developed.
There was never a part where I was like, oh, I kind of wish I could have known more about them.
Speaking of the train, there's a great scene of the train,
where all four of your main cast members are talking to each other.
Because Washington's actually with the body in the cargo car.
They finally get him to come sit down.
And there's a really, really nice exchange between the four of them
as they talk about intergenerational things.
And the way the core was when they were in it in the early 70s,
versus the way the core is now.
And I thought that scene was really well written.
It's a very, very engaging story.
And it never, I never drifted.
I never wandered.
Even though they tended to, because that's the way the story went,
I just really, really dug this film.
Yeah.
I'm, you know, it just reminded me of the book.
The book and coast screenplay is Darryl Ponnescan.
I didn't say that earlier.
Yeah, the one thing it just kind of in way reminded me,
there was a movie it came out.
Oh, Lord.
It was with Kevin Bacon, where he, his journey of the man
who takes a body from the base.
That came out a couple years ago.
Yeah, I'm trying to find it.
But that's what it kind of reminds me.
He's talking about find it.
Yeah.
It kind of reminded me of that thing.
It's just, you know, part two of that Kevin Bacon film in a way.
I love when you look him up on IMDB and the thing it was some four
little 13, like Apollo 13's what they put for him for him.
Like, no, he's done more than that.
This, this was just in the last couple of years.
No, it's not that one.
Was it tough day?
Might be yet.
Let me look it up.
No, there's nothing listed for it.
So it's not tough day.
I know what you're talking about.
I wish I knew that one.
Just keep going.
I'll look for it.
Okay.
But in a way, I mean, is this a remake of that one with Kevin Bacon film?
That's the one that was kind of getting me on there.
But don't get me wrong.
I mean, still a good film.
But it's just, I thought the couple scenes could have been cut out of this thing.
I thought maybe it was just seemed like that slow driving car.
At some point saying, you know what?
This, this, this did not need to be seen.
This, this did not have to be in the film.
But still, I would still say I like the film and everything like that.
You're talking about taking chance from 2009.
It was an HBO film.
Okay.
That's the one.
Yeah.
Okay.
I knew that's what it was.
There was another one recently that you could have gotten him confused with somebody,
but it wasn't the same film.
Yeah.
But taking chances, what you recall.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That's the one.
So they were reminded me of that a little, but I can see that.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
That was a good film till it.
Yeah.
Okay.
All right.
It's a final analysis.
Yeah.
All right.
I'm going to give you letter grades, numbers, anything like that.
What we're going to do is we're going to ask up to two questions.
Question number one is, would we see this film again?
If the answer is no, then we're done here.
But if the answer is yes, then we have a follow up question of how far we will need to go to see it again.
From the best of the best of the worst, the best here is the list.
Full price of the theater, twilight, matinee, early morning on a weekend, second run at the dollar theater,
actually leaving your house to go get it from Redbox, streaming it on Netflix, or watching it on cable.
Don, would you see this again?
Yeah.
How far are you willing to go?
I'm sitting in Redbox on this one.
Okay.
Yeah.
A little below the halfway point.
Yeah.
Just the 55 and the 65 zone I felt.
But great acting.
I would do this as a matinee for the first going, for a second run or for a second viewing.
I would agree with you.
Redbox would be a good second viewing for it because it's a really great film.
It's respectful to its subject matter, which I dug about it.
It doesn't get too preachy.
It doesn't try to get real political.
Oh, yeah, of course.
It stays in its lane and that's what it needs to do.
All right.
That's our opinions.
It is Richard Linklater's last flag flying.
Bro, in this whole thing.
Yes, sir.
Having a brand of fonts PR.
Thank you guys so much.
We appreciate you guys letting us see film so that we can talk to the empire about them and help them make the best possible decisions they can make.
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