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1<music>
2
3-->'''Weird Little Girl:''' They're he-re
4
5'''Nick:''' Thanks, Weird Little Girl. From Akron, Ohio, this is Episode 3 of "On the Tropes". I'm your host, Nick, and today, I'm joined by
6
7'''Cir:''' Cir
8
9'''Kyle:''' Kyle
10
11'''Nick:''' And, for the first time on the show, but not the first time in our hearts, your co-host
12
13'''Themos:''' Themos
14
15'''Nick:''' Themos. What's going on?
16
17'''Themos:''' Not too much. How you doing?
18
19'''Nick:'''Good, good. Not much new with me
20
21'''Cir:''' There's a certain person who wouldn't be to happy to hear you say that.
22
23'''Nick:''' I got married last week. In between episodes 2 and 3.
24
25'''Kyle:''' Niiice.
26
27'''Cir:''' It was a beautiful wedding
28
29'''Nick:''' It was. Thank you.
30
31'''Kyle:''' Mark off "personal time"
32
33'''Themos:''' So, we're three-dimensional people. Moving on...
34
35'''Nick:''' Don't care what's going on in you guy's lives.
36
37'''Cir:''' Seriously, though.
38
39'''Nick:''' Yeah, seriously. So, on episode 3 we're gonna be talking about a trope called "ChekhovsGun". This is based on the Russian author and playwright, Creator/AntonChekhov, who once said that if you say in the first chapter that there's a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter, it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there. And from this, we derive the term "Chekhov's Gun", which is this week's trope. Cir, can you explain that a little bit more? What did Chekhov mean by that?
40
41'''Cir:''' I think his point was not to waste any time in storytelling, like don't spend a lot of time explaining about the family dog unless he's actually going to be in the story or movie. If you can keep that in mind, it kind of helps you keep everything together; it's kind of a "every scene must move the movie forward" thing.
42
43'''Nick:''' It's about economy of detail.
44
45'''Cir:''' Right.
46
47'''Nick:''' Don't throw in all this extraneous information that's not going to be used, or that's just distracting.
48
49'''Themos:''' I'll disag-- I agree ''and'' I disagree. Certainly, you can't just throw a bunch of stuff at the screen that doesn't make any sense and that is just overwhelming the audience; however, I would argue that, if I have a character who's the type of, if I put a gun on his or her wall, I'm saying something about that character and in that way, it ''is'' moving the story forward.
50
51
52
53--> [[WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}]] '''Archer:''' God, I said the cap slips off the poison pen for no reason, didn't I?\
54 '''Cyril:''' I know, but I just assumed that if anything bad happened that it would have been... \
55 '''Archer:''' No, do not say the Chekhov Gun, Cyril. That, sir, is a facile argument. \
56 '''Woodhouse:''' And also, woefully esoteric.\
57 '''Archer:''' Woodhouse... \
58
59
60
61'''Nick:''' It's also the way the gun is showed. It could just be background matter. But if they show a close-up on it, then, I feel, it needs to be used in some way. That was one of the things I learned when I was in film school; that every scene... or every thing you shoot has to have a reason, and if you're shooting a certain object, it better be used, or tell the story. Or whatever.
62
63'''Kyle:''' I think that 's important, to make that distinction. That's a good point, what exactly, how much explaining of something or showing of something makes it almost necessary to be part of the plot? And what other things, like you're mentioning, "this is the character", "this is the pen that he carries", that sort of thing.
64
65'''Nick:''' One of the things that I think is interesting about this trope is that Chekhov was a playwright, and he wrote short stories, but he wasn't writing for the screen, he wasn't writing screenplays or TV
66
67'''Themos:''' Good point.
68
69'''Nick:''' Do you think he would say the same thing now, if he was writing for a sitcom?
70
71'''Kyle:''' That's a good point, because being a playwright, set design and such, there's no reason to have a cluttered-up set with a bunch of stuff. You know what I mean?
72
73'''Nick:''' Yeah, whereas now, say in a tv show, people have band posters on their walls, but it's not like Music/LedZeppelin is going to come into play at the end of the second act.
74
75'''Cir:''' Like Kyle pointed out, if you show a close-up of it, in a movie, generally, if I have to read something I generally think
76
77'''Nick:''' It's a harbinger of something to come, later, in the future.
78
79'''Themos:''' It's funny that you mentioned sitcoms, because I think a sitcom would be much more akin to a shrt story in that they have a very limited amount of time and space to get the story across as opposed to a film -- take something like ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' --- where it's a three, three-and-a-half hour epic and you can throw in a bunch of carvings onto the elven walls of Rivendell and no-one is going really...
80
81'''Cir:''' I see what you mean. One other thing about sitcoms: they also have a lot more time to fill out the character information in earlier episodes
82
83'''Themos:''' Right. Rightrightright.
84
85'''Nick:''' A sitcom is like a series of short stories, but over a season, it's a lot longer than one movie, so they have more time to play, like ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' uses this trope a lot and they play with
86
87'''Themos:''' They're constantly, I don't know why they...
88
89'''Nick:''' There are so many background things inthat show that, even if they don't forward the plot, they forward in-jokes that you might miss the first, second, third time you watch; the fourth time you watch, you go "Oh! I get that now."
90
91'''Themos:''' I think the first example of that is, for no reason, when, the first time you see it for no reason, Tobias Fünke is wearing jeans in the shower. Jean cutoffs. And you have no idea why.
92
93'''Kyle:''' And they never mention
94
95'''Nick:''' Even in the pilot, they have boxes in the background, on the boat, that say Saddam Hussein's name, backwards.
96
97'''Themos:''' No!
98
99'''Nick:''' Yeah.
100
101'''Themos:''' Get out!
102
103'''Nick:''' And that's something that I don't think gets explored until, like, the third season of the show.
104
105'''Themos:''' I just got chills.
106
107'''Kyle:''' They go deep.
108
109'''Cir:''' It was definitely a very well-thought-out show.
110
111'''Nick:''' So, is this trope then all about economy? Or is it also about foreshadowing?
112
113'''Themos:''' I thnk; one of the things I love about constructing, about a well-constructed story, regardless of the genre, is when they bookend it. I don't know why that's so aesthetically
114
115'''Kyle:''' Cycular? Cicular? What's it called when they go around in circles?
116
117'''Nick:''' "Circular"
118
119'''Themos:''' "Cyclical"
120
121'''Kyle''' That's what it is. Sounds like cicular.
122
123'''Themos:''' The best example I can think of that, not to get too off-topic; is with ''Film/{{Carrie}}'', where it starts off where she's walking through and everyone's laughing at her, and then at the end of the movie, she's walking through as the prom queen, and everyone's applauding her; and in both the shower scene and the end scene, there's blood as the catalyst to all of it. That's the perfect bookend to me.
124
125'''Cir:''' I think when Chekhov wrote it, it was about economy. I think that's why he wrote that.
126
127'''Nick:''' I think that now, the same idea is there, but not as literally as he meant it.
128
129'''Cir:''' Exactly.
130
131'''Nick:''' If you show somethng in the background, it doesn't need to be that important, but like Kyle said, if you zoom up on it and let the camera linger there for 10 seconds, it probably should come into play, otherwise you're just wasting people's time.
132
133'''Cir:''' I like it as a technique. A lot. I've always liked it.
134
135'''Nick:''' One other thing I like about this trope is when it gets subverted or played with, there's another trope called "ChekhovsBlank", when something gets set up so that it looks like it's going to be a Chekhov's Gun, but then it's not. And my favorite example of this is -- I meant to look it up but I didn't remember to -- but I think it's in season 3 of ''Series/TheSopranos''; the Russian episode.
136
137'''Cir:''' Oh, wow. Yeah, perfect.
138
139'''Nick:''' Christopher and Paulie are supposed to kill this Russian guy, and somehow, he gets away. And it's an entire, episode-long thing
140
141'''Cir:''' And they describe this guy, like "He's special forces..."
142
143'''Nick:''' They make such a big deal about how, how letting this guy survive is the worst thing that could happen.
144
145'''Cir:''' The end scene is Tony talking to that guy's best friend about how; he's talking to the other Russian mobster , and he's like "That guy saved my life, if anything ever happened to him, I would...". You know, implying there would be serious problems. So you always just imagine that ...
146
147'''Nick:''' And throughout the rest of the series, you're waiting for something to come of it, and it never happens.
148
149
150
151--> "Where is this prick? You sure I hit him in the head?"\
152''Yeah, f{bleep}in' positive."\
153"I don't see any more blood. It's like the trail just ended."\
154
155
156
157'''Cir:''' "Pine Barrens". That's what the episode is called, "Pine Barrens".
158
159'''Nick:''' Yeah, and it creates this sense of uneasiness in the background, in the back of your mond, that at any point in time this thing could come back and not to spoil -- well, it's too late now, but... It doesn't. But I like the mood that sets for the rest of the series.
160
161'''Cir:''' Yeah, because you ''are'' always wondering. I thought about it during the ending. The ending of the series, I considered that.
162
163'''Kyle:''' There's a game, ah, ''VideoGame/WalkingDead'', and the game is really all about the decisions you make, and at one point you come across a car, and you have to decide whether you take the ...groceries or something like that... in the back of it. An abandoned car. And if you take it -- there are a couple of episodes that happen in between -- but they bring it back at the end, who you took them from and what kind of implications it led to. Interesting
164
165'''Nick:''' You mentioning groceries and zombie-related things, I'm just now thinking that a good MacGuffin for our last episode could have been the Twinkies in ''Film/{{Zombieland}}''.
166
167'''Kyle:''' Yeah. Damn.
168
169'''Nick:''' So, without spoiling your top five lists, what are some other examples you like of this trope in use?
170
171'''Themos:''' In ''Film/{{The Host|2006}}'', a ChekhovsSkill. I think that's a trope, It's either "Hobby" or "Skill", maybe both. The daughter in the family is an archer, and she's shown being an archer and then at the climax of the movie that comes into play in a big bad way. And also, the creature has an instinctual thing it does, when it gets rained on, to drink the rain and that also comes into play in a big bad way.
172
173'''Kyle:''' Or like the daughter in ''Jurassic Park Two'', who knows gymnastics and takes out that raptor at one point.
174
175
176
177--> '''Dr. Ian Malcolm:''' "The school cut you from the team?"
178
179
180
181'''Nick:''' Do you guys have some examples of how this is maybe ''not'' used so well, and why is it good in some places and bad in other places?
182
183'''Themos:''' Sometimes it insults the audience, I think. Like Film/{{Robocop|1987}}'s giant spike. Do you really think he's ''not'' going to use that to stab somebody in the eye with?
184
185'''Kyle:''' Yeah, exactly.
186
187'''Nick:''' The one example that I thought of is a movie that has a good and a bad example of a Chekhov's Gun in it, and that's ''Film/TrainingDay''. Creator/{{Denzel Washington}}'s character is a cop, and you see that ... earlier in the movie, you know that he's got some problems with the Russians, and you know that they're going to come into play later; then Creator/EthanHawke, and all the drama, and you forget all about the Russians and it doesn't come into play until the very end of the movie. So it's a good Chekhov's Gun, it wasn't extraneous information, it was useful. But where they kind of use this trope poorly is where, after Ethan Hawke saves some random girl, he finds her wallet and keeps it, which seems kind of weird, but then, when the wallet comes into play again, some people are about to do something bad to Ethan Hawke
188
189'''Cir:''' And they see it, right?
190
191'''Nick:''' And they take his wallet out before they beat him in a bathtub. It's like "What are you wasting your time for?"
192
193'''Kyle:''' Maybe they didn't want the contents of the wallet to get wet?
194
195'''Nick:''' Maybe...
196
197'''Kyle:''' To get wet with blood. I dunno.
198
199'''Nick:''' It's a lot of...
200
201'''Cir:''' The whole thing was really ... I mean, as one character famously said, "This is some trippy-ass shit, Holmes." That summed up how I felt when I first saw that, just like, "Really?"
202
203'''Nick:''' Yeah. So I think that movie uses the trope both to its benefit and , the opposite of a benefit. A "bad-nifit"
204
205'''Nick:''' "Detriment"
206
207'''Themos:''' As far as the "badnifit" goes, that's the thing that I don't... I like it when it comes into play early, but it also seems to be moving the story around. It feels much more organic as opposed to its own separate entity that's glaring, "Hey, this is gonna be, gonna come into play later." I like it when it's organic and you ''don't'' see it coming in advance. It blindsides you.
208
209'''Nick:''' I agree that if it's staring you in the face, it doesn't work very well. Which is why I think sometimes this works best for TV shows. Because you have an entire season to have something be set up
210
211'''Cir:''' Good point.
212
213'''Nick:''' And for you to forget about it. And then when it comes back, you go "Oh, I remember that now!" rather than " -_- " .
214
215'''Kyle:''': the entire time I was watching ''Training Day'' I was "The wallet's going to come into play sometime." And you see these people and you go "I bet..." You see it happening
216
217'''Cir:''' I didn't call it. I actually didn't call the wallet. I didn't think they would be related to her. Until, like... It was one of those things that happened, it wasn't like a good surprise. It was more disappointing, "Oh really?"
218
219'''Kyle:''' "Oh, we're doing ''that''?"
220
221'''Cir:''' I think I had forgotten that he even had it with him.
222
223'''Themos:''' Another thing is that sometimes it feels contrived, in how they utilize it.
224
225'''Kyle:''' I think that's part of the risk with Chekhov's Blank, too, though. That you set these things up, and, like we were saying with ''The Sopranos'', a lot of people ''hated'' that the Russian never came back into play. ''I'' thought it worked really well, but a lot of times, if you set something up like that, and it doesn't pan out later, people hate it.
226
227'''Themos:''' I love Chekhov's Blank. I think I respect that more than the Guns, because you set something up, and then it doesn't come to fruition, and that's a lot like ...life. Where somebody can be a great... We were just talking, before we started the show, about ''Film/CityOfGod'', and there's the one character who's really well-trained in martial arts, and he's in a gangwar with the main baddie of the film and, at least, I was expecting for a long time that there would be a confrontation where he would just beat the hell out of him and it never came to fruition.
228
229'''Cir:''' I like how you point out how that's like real life, because they're based on real characters and Brazil, it's the birthplace of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which is perhaps the most important martial art of our time.
230
231'''Kyle:''' I think when it works, the Blank is more interesting, and I think it's a ballsier move
232
233'''Themos:''' It ''is'' a ballsier move.
234
235'''Kyle:''' Say what you want about ''Film/{{The Room|2003}}''
236
237'''Themos:''' Having a character vanish? For no reason.
238
239'''Kyle:''' Yeah. If that would have worked, it would have worked out really well.
240
241'''Nick:''' So, that is our discussion of ChekhovsGun. Send in your thoughts to us by email at [=OntheTropes@gmail.com=], and join us after this break, when we talk about our Top Five Chekhov's Guns.
242
243----
244
245
246--> "I thought this tape was gonna be a f{bleep}in' conversation stimulator, man. I was gonna ask for your "Top Five Records To Play On A Monday Morning" and all that and you just have to f{bleep}in' ruin it."\
247"Well, we'll do it next Monday."\
248"NO! I wanna do it NOW!"
249
250'''Nick:''' Welcome back to "On The Tropes". We're doing our Top Five Chekhov's Guns this week. Kyle, what is your Number 5?
251
252'''Kyle:''' My number 5 is the bat, Merrill's bat and the water from ''Film/{{Signs}}''. It's introduced pretty early that the girl like to leave water out, I don't remember what the exact reason is; she thinks it gets contaminated or something but definitely, it comes around to the end and... Well, the ending may not be my favorite, but it definitely shows that the water is pretty useful. And then, Merrill's bat, Merrill being a baseball player -- an ex-baseball
253player, he uses it at the end and it's, ahh, pretty cool. So yeah. What about you Themos? What's your Number 5?
254
255'''Themos:''' My Number 5 is from a little comedy called ''Film/MenInBlack''. The flying saucers are actually a very effective example of this, because, the idea is that in the 1950's the World's Fair, the flying saucers that actually, literally landed, were just propped up on poles instead of the government trying to hide them. That's introduced early on, and at that time, it just kind of moves the story along, because "Oh, aliens are everywhere. And even right in plain view." But inthe end it comes back in a big bad way, because it's what the main villain is using, is going to try to use to get off the planet. So it's a pretty effective Chekhov's Gun in that it's misdirection in the beginning, moving the story along, and then actually comes into play in a big way in the plot. I really like that.
256
257'''Cir:''' That's one of my favorite ones, because I like the idea of the villain taking advantage of his environment. Using old equipment to fulfil his mission.
258
259
260
261--> '''Edgar:''' You idiots! You don't get it - I've won! It's over! You're milksuckers! You don't matter! In fact, in just a few seconds you won't even BE matter!"\
262'''Kay:''' "You're under arrest for violating sections 4153 of the Tyco Treaty.\
263'''Jay:''' So hand over whatever galaxy you might be carrying and step away from your busted ass vehicle, and put your hands on your head!"
264
265
266
267'''Nick:''' Cir, your Number 5.
268
269'''Cir:''' Number 5 is an example that I guess is more towards being bad, only it's a great movie. ''Film/MarathonMan'', starring Creator/DustinHoffman. The Chekhov's Gun is right in the title. The first time you see the character, hes running, and you just know
270
271'''Nick:''' He's a "marathon man".
272
273'''Cir:''' Right. I do like it a lot, I like how it plays out, because he does outrun those guys, and he would be able to.
274
275'''Themos:''' The acting is so strong on that, oh, my god.
276
277'''Cir:''' That movie?
278
279'''Themos:''' That movie.
280
281'''Cir:''' Yeah, I love it. It's one of my favorites.
282
283'''Nick:''' My number 5 is from one of , Jake, who is an honorary co-host, and this weekend, at the wedding, he said that this is his favorite movie of all time: ''Film/WaynesWorld''. It's when they learn about the record producer, Mr Big. Earlier on in the movie, they've learned that he drives around in his limo, and he has a satellite and a TV in his limo and he watches it all the time. Then later, when they're trying to get a record deal for Cassandra, Wayne's girlfriend's, band they find out that he's going to be driving through town, so they try to triangulate the signal to project her band playing to his car. And they even mention that it seems kind of extraneous, like "It seemed kind of extraneous at the time when we learned about it, but it's important now." So it's not only a Chekhov's Gun, but they're BreakingTheFourthWall and [[LampshadedTrope Lampshading]] it as well. Kyle, your Number 4...
284
285'''Kyle:''' My number 4 is the Winchester gun from ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. It's the first one that popped into my head. It's pretty obvious in the beginning of the movie that ... when they're debating whether the gun behind the tavern or whatever works. And then also, at the beginning of the movie; I don't know which version of Chekhov it is, whether it's ChekhovsSkill or not, but they're playing that video game and (I don't remember their names) Creator/SimonPegg's character is pointing out where to shoot, and then later on in the movie, they're doing the same thing with zombies.
286
287'''Themos:''' I think the dialogue is word-for-word.
288
289'''Kyle:''' It's pretty awesome. What about you, Themos? What's your Number 4?
290
291'''Themos:''' My number 4 is "Wingardium Leviosa" from ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone]]''. That whole series is full of stuff coming back, even with the first chapter.
292
293'''Nick:''' "The Philosopher's Stone" for our U.K. listeners.
294
295'''Themos:''' Right, sorry. Anyhoo, they're learning this spell and then the first time there's danger in the world of Hogwarts for Harry, they use that spell to overcome the cavetroll that broke loose. So there it is. Boom!
296
297'''Kyle:''' The big bad troll.
298
299'''Themos:''' The big bad troll. Cir, what's your Number 4?
300
301'''Cir:''' My number 4 is the exploding-pen kill in ''Film/{{Goldeneye}}''. One of the Russian hackers is shown
302
303'''Nick:''' Boris
304
305'''Cir:''' Boris. He has a nervous tic of clicking his pen over and over again, and of course, Bond winds up having an exploding pen at some point. With predictable results. He gets it into his hands.
306
307'''Themos:''' That inspired me to try to type one-handed for a long time. And only then.
308
309'''Nick:''' My Number 4 is the ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode "Blink". It's the one with the Weeping Angels. There's a list of [=DVDs=] that Sally Sparrow receives midway through, and then later it comes into play, it helps to define her role through out the story and sort of ties everything into a somewhat tidy little bow, considering the whole plot is about time travel and that it's very convoluted.
310
311
312
313--> '''The Doctor:''' "People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but *actually* from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff. "
314
315
316
317'''Nick:''' But it's definitely one of my favorite episodes of any TV show, ever.
318
319'''Themos:''' That's my favorite ''Doctor Who'', period.
320
321'''Cir:''' I tried to watch the new series
322
323'''Themos:''' Did you watch that one?
324
325'''Cir:''' I tried watching the new series, and...
326
327'''Themos:''' Did you watch ''that one''?
328
329'''Nick:''' Did you watch that one?
330
331'''Cir:''' No.
332
333'''Nick:''' Watch that episode.
334
335'''Kyle:''' He's barely in it, actually.
336
337'''Nick:''' Yeah. You'll be converted.
338
339'''Cir:''' Just skip all the...?
340
341'''Nick:''' Yeah.
342
343'''Themos:''' When I watch it, I don't watch it chronologically. I just watch the best episodes from Season <x> and then
344
345'''Cir:''' Yeah, I don't watch anything like that.
346
347'''Nick:''' Creator/CareyMulligan, before she made it big.
348
349'''Cir:''' ...Who?\
350'''Nick:''' Carey Mulligan. Before she made it big. ...She's a superstar. ... ''Gatsby''.
351
352'''Cir:''' Oh.
353
354'''Nick:''' Kyle, Number 3.
355
356'''Kyle:''' My Number 3 is actually from my favorite movie of all time, the scene in ''Film/JurassicPark'', when Grant is explaining how raptors attack to that little kid.
357
358
359
360--> '''Grant:''' "You stare at him, and he just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes. Not from the front, but from the side, [makes 'whooshing' sound] from the other two raptors you didn't even know were there."
361
362
363
364'''Kyle:''' The way he explained it is exactly the way Muldoon dies; he has a raptor in his scope of his gun, and then one just comes out of nowhere that you never even saw coming. I never really thought of it as being a Chekhov's Gun. I don't know if it's still a Gun, or if it's a Chekhov's Situation or something, but I think it's really eerie that he was explaining this thing to a little kid at the beginning of the movie, before you even knew anything about how intense the island was, minus the first raptor attack
365
366'''Themos:''' "Like a giant turkey!"
367
368'''Kyle:''' Yeah, but...
369
370'''Nick:''' I feel like Muldoon should have known better.
371
372'''Kyle:''' Yeah, really.
373
374'''Themos:''' He's hunted most things that can hunt you.
375
376'''Kyle:''' Yeah, I don't know.
377
378'''Themos:''' Chekhov's, uh, yeah, no. Chekhov's Tactic?
379
380'''Nick:''' Yeah.
381
382'''Kyle:''' Something like that. what about you, Themos?
383
384'''Themos:''' My Nunber 3 is from a video game. I'm a huge fan of this series of video games called ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'', and they just, Telltale Games, who did ''Walking Dead'', just released a five-part series, five episodes of a new ''Monkey Island'' series called ''Tales of Monkey Island''. The entire time, you have this ring. Your wife kind of abandons you slash you lose her. But you have her wedding ring. Her engagement ring, rather. The entire time you're trying to get back to her, to save her and so on and so forth. You get to the end of the game and you have to go between planes and the first time, you have the ingredients to complete this circle, and part of the ingredients are "devotion" and "commitment" (those are the same thing, but,) -- a bunch of stuff that describes "love". And the first time you're able to complete the circle with these parts. But then you get thrown back there, and the second time you have to go through, and the only thing you have that symbolizes all these things is the wedding ring. So... It's a very very sweet, subtle thing, because you forget you have it in your inventory the whole time.
385
386'''Kyle:''' I feel like those guys are really good at storytelling because the ''Walking Dead" game is one of the better-told stories in the last couple of years for games.
387
388'''Nick:''' All right, Cir, your Number 3.
389
390'''Cir:''' Number 3 is from ''Film/{{Bloodsport}}'' and the character Frank Doo? Dux? It's supposed to be French, I think. He practices this move, the 'Dim Mak', 'the touch of death'. He practices it early in the movie and he breaks a bunch of bricks. Later, he's fighting this huge Hawai'ian wrestler who is really hard to beat, and he goes to the Touch of Death and you're thinking "OK, he's going to kill this guy." And ''it doesn't work''. So he has to use a cheap shot to beat him.
391
392'''Nick:''' So it's like the "Five-Point Exploding Heart Palm" thing
393
394'''Cir:''' Exactly.
395
396'''Nick:''' gone wrong.
397
398'''Cir:''' It just doesn't do anything.
399
400'''Themos:''' The Hawai'ian dude, if I remember ---I'm a big guy, so I'm not judging, but he wasn't just muscle. He had some padding. So maybe that's why.
401
402'''Cir:''' Maybe. Could be. Could be. As we've seen from Batman, the touch of death, Batman, [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries]], you can defeat it with a pinch of cloth. A small pillow. I thought it was funny, though, because in the movie, in the 80's, Frank Dux was supposed to be this reality-based martial artist, and that was kind of his thing; making fun of the old-school martial arts that supposedly didn't work. And it's even funnier, because in real life, he wound up being a complete fraud.
403
404'''Themos:''' Really?
405
406'''Cir:''' Really. I think it's common knowledge by now that Frank Dux is -- If you're listening, Frank Dux, I don't want to fight you.
407
408'''Nick:''' Frank, I don't know who you are.
409
410'''Themos:''' I'll fight you, but only if I have a bunch of pills I can grind up and blow in your eyes.
411
412'''Cir:''' Exactly.
413
414'''Themos:''' A little throwback to all those who like ''Bloodsport''.
415
416'''Cir:''' Love it, that movie.
417
418'''Nick:''' All right, my Number 3 is also from Kyle's favorite movie, one of my favorite movies, ''Jurassic Park''. But instead of the raptor, it's the frog DNA. We learn about it, I think the science guy talks about it, and we learn about it very briefly during the "dino DNA" cartoon. They tell you that the dinosaurs are made with part frog DNA to fill in the gaps, and later we find out that the frogs that they used can convert genders, which sets up the... it makes the whole first movie seem more ominous, that there's even less control than they thought, in this uncontrollable terrain that they're in already. It's worse than it even seems, because they ''can'' procreate, and it sets up a second movie, a third movie, and the fourth movie, that's in development.
419
420'''Kyle:''' It's a strong Chekhov's Gun. A really strong one.
421
422'''Themos:''' There's the scene, the foreshadowing, when Grant uses two female sides of a seatbelt and "finds a way"; he ties them together
423
424'''all three of Nick, Kyle, and Cir:''' Oooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!
425
426'''Nick:''' Yeah!
427
428'''Kyle:''' Mind. Blown.
429
430'''Cir:''' Wow. Wow!
431
432'''Nick:''' You just assaulted my mind.
433
434'''Cir:''' Gee. Suss.
435
436'''Themos:''' You're welcome.
437
438<crosstalk>
439
440'''Nick:''' Kyle, what's your Number 2, now that we're all,
441
442'''Kyle:''' I don't want to say it. I don't want to say it anymore, because... That's awful. It's from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarI'', a video game. Early on in the game, you are, well, the ''God of War'' series is really notorious for having a really big sense of scope and scale and you'll be fighting these monsters who are really huge and everything. Early in the first game, you cross a bridge that's made of a sword. And you don't think anything of it, because all the levels in the game are over the top and ridiculous. Then later on in the game, the last battle, actually, you're fighting Ares, the god of war, and you actually have to use that sword. You rip it off, like Megazord yourself up to a really big height and then you have to take the sword and defeat the god of war with it. Which is kind of cool. It's cool that they allude to it early on, and it's a bridge and you're tiny, but then you use it in the end. So...
443
444'''Cir:''' "megazord"
445
446'''Nick:''' For sure
447
448'''Kyle:''' Is that a good reference? I'm trying to think of a way to ... But, what about you, Themos?
449
450'''Themos:''' My Number 2 is from Nick's favorite movie. It's the box of matches in ''Film/TheFifthElement''. It's early in the movie, in a very throw-away scene, but still kind of reminiscent of ''Film/BladeRunner'' in a way, because he's ordering noodles. The main character, Creator/BruceWillis plays, is lighting a cigarette and he's talking to his mom on the phone while ordering the thing, blahblahblah. And he burns his fingers and he looks and he only has two matches left, so he lights another one and lights his cigarette and goes about his business. and then, at the very end of the movie spoiler alert!
451
452
453
454--> "Spoilers"
455
456
457
458'''Themos:''' They need the matches to create the element of 'fire', thus completing the defense of Earth. So it was just, pretty cool.
459
460'''Nick:''' I feel the need to clarify that ''Film/TheGodfather'' is my favorite movie.
461
462'''Cir:''' That's another..., that's what he calls ''The Fifth Element''.
463
464'''Themos:''' He refers to Bruce Willis as The Godfather.
465
466'''Kyle:''' That reminds me of the one in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'', when Sid lights that match; he doesn't light the match, but he puts the match in Woody's little pocket
467
468'''Themos:''' Right, right.
469
470'''Kyle:''' And then they light it and it just blows out.
471
472'''Themos:''' That's a, a Blank.
473
474'''Kyle:''' Yeah, a Blank.
475
476'''Themos:''' Love it. Nice.
477
478'''Nick:''' Cir, what's your Number 2?
479
480'''Cir:''' My Number 2 is from ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'', one of my favorite movies. One of Nick's favorite movies also, I think. Nick and Mike.
481
482'''Nick:''' Why are we making me the bad guy?
483
484'''Cir:''' Anyway, there's this great character, the Irishman, and I can't think of his name. When he's introduced, they talk to him, and it's pretty clear he's crazy. And he makes reference to Ireland as being "his island". They're all like, "Okay, this guy's nuts." and then, spoiler alert:
485
486
487
488--> "Spoilers"
489
490
491
492'''Cir:''' Then later, in battle, the English bring Irish troops and they all defect over to Braveheart's side because he's ... basically, he just steps out and waves them over. And they ask him how he did it, and he's "It's ''my'' island." It's definitely one of my favorite ones, and I think it's probably one of the most literal Chekhov's Army.
493
494
495--> <incomprehensible>\
496"Irish."
497
498
499'''Cir:''' And ah, Nick?
500
501'''Nick:''' All right, my Number 2 is, in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', Marty [=McFly's=] guitar playing. Early on in the movie, we see him in his band, trying out; I don't know what school event they try out for, but they try out and they're just too much rock-and-roll for the administration. But when he gets sent back in time to 1955 and the guitar player at the prom injures himself, he has to step in, and he shows off his Creator/ChuckBerry -like dance moves, and, I guess in terms of time travel, invents the song
502
503'''Cir:''' Yeah.
504
505'''Nick:''' "Johnny B Goode". He technically wrote it.
506
507'''Cir:''' Yeah, and he essentially starts rock-and-roll, because
508
509'''Nick:''' He invents rock-and-roll, and more importantly to him, he makes sure that his parents have a good time at the dance, and get together, thus
510
511securing his own, his own fate.
512
513'''Cir:''' And it's got one of my favorite lines: "You remember that sound you were looking for? Well, listen to ''this''."
514
515
516
517--> '''Marty:''' This is an oldie, but, ah... . Well, it's an oldie where I come from. Alright, guys, lets have a blues riff in B, watch me for the changes, and try and keep up, ok?
518
519
520
521'''Nick:''' Time travel is coming up a lot on my list so far. I like time travel. Kyle! What is your Numero Uno Chekhov's gun?
522
523'''Kyle:''' My numero uno, just because I think it's really funny, is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCvULMRUq8 the Swedish-made penis enlarger]] from ''Film/AustinPowers'':
524
525
526
527--> '''Quartermaster Clerk:''' "One Swedish-made penis enlarger."\
528'''Austin Powers:''' ''[to Vanessa]'' "That's not mine."\
529'''Quartermaster Clerk:''' "One credit card receipt for Swedish-made penis enlarger signed by Austin Powers."\
530'''Austin Powers:''' "I'm telling ya baby, that's not mine."\
531'''Quartermaster Clerk:''' "One warranty card for Swedish-made penis enlarger pump, filled out by Austin Powers."\
532'''Austin Powers:''' "I don't even know what this is! This sort of thing ain't my bag, baby."\
533'''Quartermaster Clerk:''' "One book, "Swedish-made Penis Enlarger Pumps And Me: This Sort of Thing ''Is'' My Bag Baby", by Austin Powers."\
534
535
536
537'''Kyle:''' When they introduce it in the beginning of the movie, you think it's just a joke, and they actually manage to bring it around at the end, with that Random Task guy when he breaks in. But yeah, when I saw that on the Website/TVTropes list, I thought, "That's the perfect one", really, because you don't even really think of it until the very end, when they bring it back. So I think that's a really good example of Chekhov's Gun. And a really funny one. What about you, Themos?
538
539'''Themos:''' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4eOn1P3Tj8 The clock tower fire in ''Back To the Future".]] It comes back, where at first it's just ruining the moment for him and his girl, and then it turns out to be what his ticket home is made out of. Really cool in a slick way. What about you, Cir?
540
541'''Cir:''' My favorite one, probably of all time [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1SV0LInE-s is recent. It's one of the characters,]] it's from ''Film/TheCabinInTheWoods''. One of the characters is set up at the beginning of the movie as
542
543'''Nick:''' a huge burner,
544
545'''Cir:''' A stoner, just completely worthless idiot.
546
547
548
549--> "That's what I have to say."\
550"Do you want to spend the weekend in jail? 'Cause we'd all like to check out my cousin's country home."\
551"Honey, that's not OK."\
552"Statistical fact: Cops will never pull over a man with a huge bong in his car. Why? They fear this man. They know he sees further than they and he will bind them with ancient logics."\
553
554
555
556
557'''Cir:''' And it turns out that his potent marijuana and the fact that he's high all the time keeps him safe from the drugs that they use to basically control everybody else. And I think that's pretty cool that for once the stoner gets to be the hero, there's a huge benefit, and I think it kind of shows our times, they are a-changin'.
558
559'''Kyle:''' Is that what that song's about?
560
561'''Themos:''' he actually has one of my favorite lines of any recent movie, where he's reading "Little Nemo", and he's like "Nemo man, your shit is topsy-turvy."
562
563'''Cir:''' Yeah, Marty. Marty, from ''Cabin in the Woods''. We salute you.
564
565'''Kyle:''' I like the one
566
567'''Themos:''' Puppeteers? puppeteers? Poptarts?
568
569'''Kyle:''' No, when he tells the girl to make out with that moose.
570
571'''Nick:''' So, my Number 1 is from the movie ''Film/TheSearchers'', starring Creator/JohnWayne as Ethan Edwards. It's his jacket. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI2AZb04HAc There's a part in the movie where he goes offscreen and he comes back and his jacket is gone.]] Not much of it is made of it initially, but later on you find out why his jacket is missing. Namely, he buried a person who had died, in it. And it not only fulfills the Chekhov's Gun in that moment, but it also shows that the people that -- It helps set up the stakes for the people that they're trying to rescue. It shows that, racist as it may be in that movie, that the Native Americans that they're trying to track down are maybe not the best people in the world.
572
573'''Cir:''' Yeah, they're certainly repaying the US in kind.
574
575'''Nick:''' That movie is... It's a good movie.
576
577'''Cir:''' It's one of my favorite movies. I love that that movie doesn't ... It's pretty obvious how racist John Wayne's character is.
578
579'''Nick:''' It's ...troubling. It's got a lot of troubling parts.
580
581'''Themos:''' Is it, is it... Shame on me, I haven't seen it; is it that his ''character'' is incredibly racist or is it that the movie itself is?
582
583'''Nick:''' Moreso the character.
584
585'''Cir:''' Moreso the character. The character is blatantly out-there.
586
587'''Nick:''' It is somewhat based on a true story.
588
589'''Cir:''' Yeah, events like that happened. I've always loved that, I think it was Creator/JohnFord pushing the envelope as far as he could. For his times.
590
591'''Nick:''' It's a very -- don't get me wrong-- amazing movie. Incredibly influential, one of the most influential movies ever made.
592
593'''Nick:''' So, those are our top five Chekhov's Guns. If you have comments, critiques or ah,
594
595'''Cir:''' One of your favorites?
596
597'''Nick:''' Yeah, one of your favorites that you think we've overlooked, shoot us an email, and we'll have a poll up on the Facebook page, where you can vote for your favorite, also.
598
599'''Themos:''' And remember, you can find more Chekhov's Guns if you go to [=TVTropes=].com
600
601'''Nick:''' Dot Org.
602
603'''Kyle:''' Dot-O-R-G.
604
605'''Themos:''' Is it really? Dot org?
606
607'''Nick:''' It's dot-org. Yeah.
608
609'''Themos:''' I just Google
610
611'''Nick:''' Yeah, that's fine. Google works. I don't know if dot-com redirects you, but it's dot-org. For the curious listeners.
612
613'''Nick:''' Join us after the break, we're going to do a couple of trailer reviews on some upcoming summer blockbusters.
614
615'''Themos:''' Aw right.
616
617'''Nick:''' After this. Ye-ah.
618
619----
620
621--> "We always thought alien life would come from the stars; but it came from deep beneath the Pacific\
622"What the hell is going on?\
623"[unintelligible] land in San Francisco. The second attack hit Manilla. Then the third one hit Cabo..."\
624
625
626'''Nick:''' You just heard a clip from the trailer of Creator/GuillermoDelToro's new movie, ''Film/PacificRim'', which comes out July 2nd. It stars Charlie Hunnam, who is from ''Series/{{Undeclared}}'', which is a tv show I liked;
627Creator/IdrisElba, from ''Series/TheWire'', which is a tv show I ''loved''.
628
629'''Cir:''' Right.
630
631'''Nick:''' Creator/CharlieDay, from ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', kinda weird; and Creator/RonPerlman, from being Ron Perlman
632
633'''Cir:''' From every other adult horror movie.
634
635'''Themos:''' That dude is just, he's so tough. No matter what he's in.
636
637'''Kyle:''' So cool, yeah.
638
639'''Themos:''' I haven't seen ''Series/{{Beauty and the Beast|1987}}'', but I'm pretty sure he's tough in that too.
640
641'''Nick:''' Oh, we were talking about
642
643'''Cir:''' I grew up on that show.
644
645'''Nick:''' We were talking about ''Film/{{Drive|2011}}'' on the break, and Themos hasn't seen that. And he's in ''Drive''
646
647'''Themos:''' Is he?
648
649'''Nick:''' And he's pretty awesome in it. Not only is he awesome in it, but he's like not even the fifth most awesome person in that movie.
650
651'''Kyle:''' It's a great movie.
652
653'''Cir:''' It's one of the few times tha he's a gangster in a movie and another character is more gangster than him.
654
655'''Nick:''' Yeah, but we'll get to ''Drive'' in a minute. First, Guillermo del Toro's new film, ''Pacific Rim''. Cir, we'll go to you first, because I know that you're like, ''dying''
656
657'''Cir:''' I'm pretty much convinced that this is going to be my favorite movie of all time. I'm convinced that it's going to eclipse ''Film/CitizenKane'', it's going to eclipse ... all the greatest films, ''Braveheart'', ''Film/DumbAndDumber'', all the greatest, most amazing
658
659'''Kyle:''' ''Dumb And Dumber'', ''Citizen Kane'',
660
661'''Cir:''' All the most amazing films. This is going to be the best sci-fi action movie ever made, hands down. That's my prediction.
662
663'''Kyle:''' ''Dumb and Dumber'' was pretty good sci-fi action...
664
665'''Cir:''' This is pretty much everything I've ever wanted to see in a movie, since I was a child. So I'm just, ...
666
667'''Nick:''' What are those elements? What is it about this trailer?
668
669'''Cir:''' Giant robots fight giant monsters, continuously, throughout the film. And it's directed by del Toro. Those are all the elements I need.
670
671'''Nick:''' We've had ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}''.
672
673'''Kyle:''' It beats ''Film/RealSteel''.
674
675'''Nick:''' Eh... We've seen these things before
676
677'''Kyle:''' That was missing "giant monsters", also known as "kaiju". Which I think is brilliant that they're called "kaiju" in this film. That's the name for "giant monster".
678
679'''Nick:''' What about
680
681'''Kyle:''' All the monsters from ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' are kaiju.
682
683'''Nick:''' What about, like, ''Film/GameraVsGuiron'' or whatever, any of the Gamera movies.
684
685'''Kyle:''' I think it's going to be better than Gamera. I love Gamera, though.
686
687'''Nick:''' Is this movie based on certain media, or is it
688
689'''Themos:''' Like a manga, or something like that?
690
691'''Nick:''' Yeah, is it based on anything or is it
692
693'''Kyle:''' and '''Cir:''' simultaneously: It's based on an original story / Original script
694
695'''Nick:''' That's pretty cool.
696
697'''Cir:''' I think that it's funny that next week we'll talk about {{Genre Buster}}s, genre-busting, and this is definitely kind of a mash-up, in a way. I think anytime
698
699'''Nick:''' Hopefully.
700
701'''Cir:''' It's kind of a genre-busting work.
702
703'''Nick:''' I think that's something, and we'll talk a little bit more about it next week, is that del Toro does -- and part of the reason I'm excited for this movie, is, based on thre trailer alone, Kyle was saying off-air, it could be cheesy, but I'm giving del Toro a lot more credit than that. Some of the movies he's produced haven't been the best, but the movies he's ''directed''; look at ''Film/PansLabyrinth''; one of my favorite movies made in the last 20, 30 years. ''Film/DevilsBackbone''.
704
705'''Themos:''' ''Devil's Backbone" is soooo gorgeous. That movie...
706
707'''Nick:''' That's a terrific movie.
708
709'''Kyle:''' ''Film/{{Hellboy|2004}}'' is the reason why I think this movie will be good. He';s shown that he can take something that's ... I mean, ''Hellboy'' in the wrong hands could have been
710
711'''Nick:''' A mess.
712
713'''Kyle:''' Awful. It could have been horrifyingly bad.
714
715'''Themos:''' ''Devil's Backbone'', actually, to go back to the topic, had a great Chekhov's Gun in that one when the students are learning about how the cavemen used to be able to take down a mammoth, and then that's exacly how they take down the bully. Anyhow.
716
717'''Nick:''' That's a terrific movie. One of my wife's favorite movies.
718
719'''Cir:''' "Ma wife".
720
721'''Nick:''' "Ma wife".
722
723'''Themos:''' "Ma wife".
724
725'''Nick:''' She hates that.
726
727'''Themos:''' You already know she hates that.
728
729'''Nick:''' She's been yelling at me for doing it for, like, months. and then within maybe twenty minutes of us being married, I was "Hey, guys, meet ma wife!" and she was "Will you stop that?! Or I'll divorce you."
730
731'''Themos:''' I'm really excited, even if there is a lot of cheese, because you look at, even if there's a lot of cheese, it will still deliver on what it needs to. Look at a movie like ''Film/HoboWithAShotgun''. A lot of cheese, but at the same time, it's giving you exactly what you're paying for.
732
733'''Kyle:''' Did you ever watch the movie?
734
735'''Themos:''' Oh, my god, yeah. Many times.
736
737'''Nick:''' I've watched it and I liked it. Creator/RutgerHauer, c'mon.
738
739'''Kyle:''' At the same time, I think the trailer was better.
740
741'''Themos:''' I feel that way for ''Film/ThreeHundred''. Not for this movie. This movie, I think, way surpasses it. There's a line in the movie (it's also in the trailer), where "You can't just solve all the world's problems with a shotgun!" And the response is "It's all I know", which is ...
742
743'''Kyle:''' There's some great lines in that trailer. "You're on a one-way ticket to Hell!" "And you're riding shotgun."
744
745'''Nick:''' The original trailer?
746
747'''Kyle:''' The original.
748
749'''Cir:''' is better than the movie.
750
751'''Nick:''' Well, the best line from the original trailer was "I'm gonna sleep in your bloody carcass, ''tonight''!"
752
753'''Cir:''' I love it.
754
755'''Nick:''' One thing that I'm interested to see in ''Pacific Rim'', though, to get back on topic, is Charlie Hunnam, who, like I alluded to, was in ''Undeclared'', and since then, the only thing I think I've seen him in is, he's got a tiny part in ''Film/ChildrenOfMen''. But besides that I haven't seen him much, and in ''Undeclared'', he's really funny. He's a charming dude.
756
757'''Cir:''' He's got the traditional actor looks, too. He's
758
759'''Nick:''' Yeah, so I thnk if this movie pans out well, and I haven't heard any review, early reviews or anything about it, but if it pans out well, like we're hoping it will, dude could shoot to stardom.
760
761'''Kyle:''' I think so.
762
763'''Cir:''' I'm notorious for being just a complete
764
765'''Nick:''' hater?
766
767'''Cir:''' old guy. I'm just like a crotchety old man. But this is definitely that movie, where I don't care if it's cheesy or not. I want to be entertained at the theater. I want to feel like the very first time I saw ''Film/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1990}}''' in the theater.
768
769'''Nick:''' So you're comparing this movie to a goofy movie.
770
771'''Cir:''' I don't think it's going to be goofy. I think it's going to be wonderful. The scale is huge. You're going to feel like
772
773"WOW!". Like a kid watching this huge -- c'mon, every kid has wanted to see giant fight monsters.
774
775'''Kyle:''' But that one line... What I kind of wish is that they were actually just robot-robots, not controlled by human people. I thnk that kind of takes away from it
776
777'''Themos:''' If you put -- I'm sorry, go on, I ddn't mean to interrupt.
778
779'''Kyle:''' But also the line, "Go big or go extinct" or something?
780
781'''Cir:''' Yeah.
782
783'''Kyle:''' That line just got me. I was like, "Ahhhhhh."
784
785'''Nick:''' The {??} "We're cancelling the Apocalypse." looks like it could be
786
787'''Cir:''' That's heavy.
788
789'''Nick:''' looks like it could be awesome. It could have, like an ''Film/IndependenceDay''
790
791'''Cir:''' ''Independence Day''
792
793'''Nick:''' kind of vibe, which
794
795'''Themos:''' I'm all excited to see how it pans out.
796
797'''Nick:''' which is awesome.
798
799'''Cir:''' Yeah, that's my thing. I'm looking forward to that part. I think del Toro's smart enough to have it just >right there< on the edge, and he's got to know that a line that's saying "We're cancelling the Apocalypse" is right on the edge of cheese.
800
801'''Kyle:''' But it's going to be Brie, not Swiss.
802
803'''Nick:''' It's going to be a fancy cheese.
804
805'''Themos:''' What's wrong with Swiss?
806
807'''Nick:''' As we have the first cheese fight on the show...
808
809'''Themos:''' We haven't mentioned ''Film/BladeTwo'', which is, it's a pretty cool flick, a lot of great action, but I think it fell short because it spread itself too thin with subplots.
810
811'''Kyle:''' I think ''Blade 2'' is the strongest one of the series.
812
813'''Cir:''' I think ''Blade'' 1 is hands-down
814
815'''Kyle:''' Uh-uh. ''Blade 2'' is worlds better than ''Blade'' 1. Just because ''Blade 1'' is ...
816
817'''Nick:''' I can't comment. I've seen ''Blade 1'' within the last couple of months and I haven't seen ''Blade 2'' since I saw it in theatres.
818
819'''Cir:''' I thought the action was a lot better in ''Blade 2''
820
821'''Themos:''' Action was more fast-paced.
822
823'''Cir:''' del Toro does a good job of big, ''big'' movies. Whereas you're pointing out that you didn't like ''Blade 2'' because the subplots were too thin.
824
825'''Kyle:''' The last thing that I thought was kind of weird -- did you guys notice that during the title screen, they take the Tyrannosaurus roar from ''Jurassic Park'' and play it over it?
826
827'''Nick:''' No, I didn't.
828
829'''Kyle:''' It was really weird. I don't know.
830
831'''Themos:''' You noticed that too?
832
833'''Nick:''' Kyle, I think you're reaching a little bit, there.
834
835'''Kyle:''' No, no, no. We're critiquing the trailer, not the movie itself. This is a trailer critique.
836
837'''Cir:''' I'm just busting your balls.
838
839'''Kyle:''' I know you are.
840
841'''Themos:''' I don't see why they didn't use fat guys. This is the one chance the fat guy had to be the star of an action movie. 'Cause he doesn't need to be physically fit. He has a keyboard and a mouse, he can do the same thing. I'm angry at this movie.
842
843'''Cir:''' I actually am interested to see if that comes into play. if the characters are r3equired... Because they seem like they're pilots or military people. I see what you mean, though.
844
845'''Themos:''' A gamer would be much more efficient in this situation. Just saying.
846
847'''Cir:''' That's interesting, too, just from what we've seen. There's a feature out, talking about the technology they use to control the giant robots. That does seem a little bit... That's one thing about this movie that does seem weird, that you need two people to pilot one, and they basically have to mindmeld, it seems.
848
849'''Themos:''' Wait, those guys weren't operating independent ones?
850
851'''Cir:''' Yeah, it's two pilots in each. Which I think is cool ''and'' strange. Apparently it's supposed to be a huge... it's like a big deal.
852
853'''Themos:''' They should have just done a Voltron thing.
854
855'''Nick:''' They showed their past memories or something.
856
857'''Cir:''' It's something to do with... yeah, that doesn't make any sense to me. At the same time, honestly? I don't even care.
858
859'''Kyle:''' I'm excited
860
861'''Cir:''' I think it's going to be awesome.
862
863'''Nick:''' So, let's put down the robots, the flash, the special effects, and take a quick listen to Creator/NicolasWindingRefn's trailer for ''Film/OnlyGodForgives''
864
865
866
867--> '''Female:''' "While I was pregnant with you, it was strange, you were different. They wanted me to terminate. But I wouldn't. I don't understand you. And I never will."\
868<music>\
869<Gargle-y choking sounds>\
870<Tinkley, music-box type music.\
871
872
873
874'''Nick:''' That was the trailer for ''Only God Forgives'', which comes out on July 19th. It was shot in Thailand; it is Nicolas Winding Refn's I-don't-know-what-th movie, but it's his fourth made in the English language, a follow-up to ''Film/{{Drive|2011}}'', from a couple of years ago, I know, a movie that ''I'' love with all my heart.
875
876'''Cir:''' I'm a huge -- I call him Nicolas "Winning" Refn, I'm just a huge fan of this guy. I think I've been a fan since I saw, I think, ''Film/{{Pusher}}'' in, like, 2001. It came out in 1999, and ever since then, I've been following everything this guy's done. And he's yet to disappoint me. There hasn't been a movie that he's put out that-- even -- I felt that ''Film/ValhallaRising'' was kind of a 'bump', but at the same time, it's so much better than so many other movies that came out that year. And I think the same is going to be with... The thing I'm seeing with ''Only God Forgives''; I'm pretty excited about it because I like the world that he's in,
877
878'''Nick:''' I've only seen his three English-language -- ''Film/{{Bronson}}'', ''Valhalla Rising'', and ''Drive'', but it seems that his movies tend to focus on hyper-violent male figureheads.
879
880'''Cir:''' Yeah.
881
882'''Nick:''' And it looks like this movie is going to be ...not much different from that.
883
884'''Cir:''' Yeah. One thing that is interesting about that, though, is that one of the more powerful criminals is a woman.
885
886'''Nick:''' Kristen Scott Thomas?
887
888'''Cir:''' Yeah, "mom" in the movie. She plays kind of a "Ma Barker" type
889
890'''Nick:''' Bob Barker?
891
892'''Cir:''' Den mother. ''Ma'' Barker. You know who Ma Barker was
893
894'''Nick:''' ''Series/ThePriceIsRight''.
895
896'''Cir:''' Yeah, no.
897
898'''Themos:''' His mom.
899
900'''Cir:''' "Ma" Barker was a Depression-era gangstress who had a whole family of criminals. There's a movie based on her, it's called ''Film/BloodyMama''.
901
902'''Nick:''' Happy Gilmore.
903
904'''Cir:''' I always like seeing that on the
905
906'''Kyle:''' "The price is right, bitch."
907
908'''Cir:''' I don't know if it's a trope or what, the woman gangster.
909
910'''Nick:''' I ''do'' like the woman gangster.
911
912'''Cir:''' So I'm excited to see it for that
913
914'''Nick:''' It easy to Justify. Do it awesomely.
915
916'''Themos:''' I should probably spay and neuter my pets.
917
918'''Cir:''' I don't like the title.
919
920'''Nick:''' You ''don't'' like the title?
921
922'''Cir:''' No, actually, and there's only one reason I don't like it. Because Rick Ross released an album last year -- either in 2011 or 2012, called "Only God Forgives" -- No, "God Forgives, I Don't." And I hate Rick Ross to a degree, so I'm ...
923
924'''Nick:''' Do you think this is allusion to a Rick Ross album?
925
926'''Cir:''' Something about those two, I hate that they came out so close to the same time.
927
928'''Nick:''' Do you listen to the music that gets played in
929
930'''Cir:''' Yeah. It's all Rick Ross.
931
932<Laughter>
933
934'''Nick:''' No, I was gonna say, it's the polar opposite of Rick Ross. It's like 80's synth-pop.
935
936'''Kyle:''' The only thing that I think would ruin the title of the movie is if they found a way to say it in the movie.
937
938'''Nick:''' "Please forgive me!" and
939
940'''All simultaneously:''' And he's like, "Only God forgives!"
941
942'''Nick:''' As he's standing over somebody, yeah.
943
944'''Cir:''' That could definitely happen in the movie.
945
946'''Themos:''' What I like about the title is that you ''know'' you're getting into a vengeance flick. There's no way you're not.
947
948'''Cir:''' I'm a huge fan of revenge movies.
949
950'''Themos:''' Me, too.
951
952'''Nick:''' And so am I. That's part of the reason I'm so excited for this movie. That, plus Creator/RyanGosling, ... Let's put our cards on the table: he's a beautiful man.
953
954'''Cir:''' He's a dreamboat.
955
956'''Kyle:''' He can also be really creepy.
957
958'''Nick:''' He was a dreamboat in ''Drive''. That's one of his strengths.
959
960'''Kyle:''' I wonder if he's going to have a mask in this movie, too?
961
962'''Nick:''' With a mask?
963
964'''Kyle:''' That should be a spoiler alert.
965
966'''Nick:''' They show it in the trailer. Don't watch the trailer for ''Drive'', people. Please don't watch the trailers for ''Drive''.
967
968'''Kyle:''' Don't watch them.
969
970'''Themos:''' How is that a spoiler?
971
972'''Cir:''' I like in this movie, how he trains. I guess he trains
973
974<crosstalk>
975
976'''Nick:''' Go, Cir.
977
978'''Cir:''' He trained, in Muy Thai, I guess, for this movie. That's a huge part of the movie, is martial arts, which I think is going to be... I'm excited and I'm curious to see how it works out. It seems like he's almost setting up like a kung-fu movie, set in the modern world. It's apparently a huge part of it.
979
980'''Themos:''' Is this a direct sequel to ''Drive'', or is this a
981
982'''Nick and Cir simultaneously''' No. No not at all.
983
984'''Themos:''' or just a spiritual
985
986'''Nick:''' Apparently, they are planning a sequel to ''Drive'', called ''Driven''. Because ''Drive'' was based on a book. And the book has a sequel, I believe.
987
988'''Themos:''' I hate when movies do that, when they add another letter, and they form a franchise and they're screwed. Hence, ''Film/{{Alien3}}''.
989
990'''Cir:''' It's based on a book, though.
991
992'''Nick:''' Well, they did ''Film/{{Alien}}'', and then ''Film/{{Aliens}}'',
993
994'''Themos:''' That's what I'm saying. Then you're stuck. Where do you go?
995
996'''Nick:''' Yeah
997
998'''Kyle:''' They could have put another Aliens''s''. Or ''Film/DumbAndDumberer''
999
1000'''Kyle:''' I think that this trailer is so beautiful. And It's kind of weird how all the terrible stuff that's happening, and it's so bright and colorful and it really looks, really nice.
1001
1002'''Themos:''' It reminded me, when I saw it, it reminded me of, have you guys ever seen ''Film/HiroshimaMonAmour''?
1003
1004'''Kyle:''' I haven't
1005
1006'''Nick:''' No, but ah, what's her name?, the girl in that is the girl from ''Film/{{Amour}}''
1007
1008'''Themos:''' Oh, really? The one you just saw?
1009
1010'''Nick:''' Well, I saw it.
1011
1012'''Themos''' The girl from what is the girl from ''Amour''?
1013
1014'''Nick:''' The girl from ''Hiroshima, Mon Amour'' is the girl from the movie ''Amour''.
1015
1016'''Themos:''' Oh.
1017
1018'''Nick:''' From last year. She was nominated for Best Actress. She's awesome in that movie.
1019
1020'''Themos:''' Is she?
1021
1022'''Nick:''' I haven't seen ''Hiroshima, Mon Amour'', though.
1023
1024'''Themos:''' It is, it's really good.
1025
1026'''Cir:''' I guess my vote is, it's going to be better than what most directors are capable of.
1027
1028'''Nick:''' Did you say it did well at the independent film festivals?
1029
1030'''Kyle:''' Apparently at Cannes, it got both (this is per Wikipedia), it got both standing ovations and boos, but a lot of
1031
1032movies, ''Film/TreeOfLife'' got the same thing. It's getting panned
1033
1034'''Cir:''' I liked ''Tree Of Life''.
1035
1036'''Themos:''' I would have been one of the "Boo"s.
1037
1038'''Nick:''' Really? ''Tree of Life'' is pretty good, but they kind of lose me at the end. But it's got such a strong first hour. Beautiful first hour. But Early reviews on Rotten Tomatoes aren't great, but it's a small sample size...
1039
1040'''Cir:''' That's the thing. I think it's going to be better than what most directors... I thnk it might not be his best.
1041
1042'''Nick:''' Winding Refn does things that might not be ... palatable... to most people
1043
1044'''Kyle:''' He keeps winning, though.
1045
1046'''Nick:''' Indeed.
1047
1048'''Kyle:''' Did ''Drive'' get good reviews?
1049
1050'''Nick:''' Yeah, ''Drive'' did.
1051
1052'''Cir:''' ''Drive'' got great reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it got, like, 90-something.
1053
1054'''Nick:''' It should.
1055
1056'''Themos:''' All I know is if it comes close to ''Bronson'', the character
1057
1058'''Nick:''' You're going to like it, then.
1059
1060'''Themos:''' completely haas no redeeming qualities and yet you want to see them
1061
1062'''Cir:''' That guy from ''Bronson'' has some nice books out.
1063
1064'''Themos:''' I hear he has a weight --- a workout book, for if you're in a confined space.
1065
1066'''Nick:''' I heard he was in ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest''. I might have been misled.
1067
1068'''Themos:''' Are you thnking of Charles? Charles Bronson?
1069
1070'''Kyle:''' Rob Swanson?
1071
1072'''Nick:''' I think he was in ''[[Series/ParksAndRecreation Parks and Rec]]''. ... All right.
1073
1074'''Cir:''' You completely got me with that one.
1075
1076'''Nick:''' Okay, so ''Only God Forgives'' is in theatres on July 19th and ''Pacific Rim'' is in theatres on July 12th. When they come out, hit us up and let us know. And,
1077
1078'''Kyle:''' Maybe a special event...
1079
1080'''Nick:''' Yeah, Akron listeners,
1081
1082'''Kyle:''' Akron, Cleveland listeners. We will have more information about which specific theatre we'll be seeing ''Pacific Rim'' on July 14th. Either the Imax at Crocker Park or at Tinseltown in Canton.
1083
1084'''Nick:''' Yeah, so keep an eye on our Facebook page for that. That's at [=Facebook.com/OnTheTropes=]. Where can you find us on Twitter, Cir?
1085
1086'''Cir:''' At "On the tropes". So that's [=Twitter.com/Onthetropes=].
1087
1088'''Nick:''' Yes. And Kyle, where can they email us?
1089
1090'''Kyle:''' [=Onthetropes@gmail.com=]
1091
1092'''Nick:''' He says it like a question, but it's a statement.
1093
1094'''Kyle:''' "I'm Ron Burgundy?"
1095
1096'''Nick:''' And Themos, if they want to subscribe on iTunes?
1097
1098'''Themos:''' They can search... "On The Tropes", then hit "subscribe". Was that a trick question?
1099
1100'''Nick:''' Yeah, I made it easy for you.
1101
1102'''Themos:''' I appreciate it.
1103
1104'''Nick:''' So, that was episode 3. Please, subscribe, send us e-mails or whatever with feedback, and keep on listening. So, we have been On the Tropes, and I have been Nick, and we have been
1105
1106'''Cir:''' Cir
1107
1108'''Themos:''' Themos
1109
1110'''Kyle:''' Kyle
1111
1112'''Nick:''' And, I don't remember our catch-phrase.
1113
1114'''Cir:''' That might be it.
1115
1116'''Kyle:''' Every episode should end that way. "I don't remember our catch phrase."
1117
1118'''Nick:''' And, and, and, shoot us an email with a catch-phrase idea. Should we just end it that way?
1119
1120'''Kyle:''' ...fighting, was it something about fighting?
1121
1122'''Nick:''' Oh, and as always, something about "catch us next week when we're again
1123
1124'''Cir:''' Stuck On The Tropes. Was it "stuck"?
1125
1126'''Nick:''' Yes.
1127
1128'''Nick:''' And join us again next week, when we're once again stuck -- On the Tropes.
1129
1130<music out>
1131
1132'''Kyle:''' Would you consider the Ryan Gosling movie a "blockbuster"?
1133

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