Fire Escape Cast #124

What is the deal, Jessica Bill, we are back with more Fire Escape cast.

It's episode one hundred and twenty four.

It is thirty six degrees fahrenheit in Juneo, Alaska. I'm your host, Michael Maharty here as always with Mary kesh Hello and Dan Reiker.

I don't think it's getting better the intro.

I think it's I think it sounded pretty smooth. If I don't say so myself, if I do.

A straight line, it is rest. Has it declined?

I can try again? All right?

What rhymes?

That's exactly what.

I came up with, Jessica Bill, Like ten am, today's Oh use that? Uh No, I don't feel like doing it again. We're in the show. What's going on with YouTube?

Oh? Hanging out?

I don't have anything, second way anything.

I was just about to say it's twenty twenty six now, but we literally recorded on New Year's Day this year.

Yeah, that was still when it was like the break for lack of a better term, quote unquote, where we weren't technically back into the grind. And now I am back into the grind, and it hits different when you got to go to work in the morning.

Yeah, we're back at it, and none of us have to like go into a place right supposedtill once a week. Oh yeah, you go in once a week.

I love the remote life, but I will also say it comes with this like additional labor, that I have very little work life separation, and I am constantly plagued with like thinking about work even at like ten pm on a Tuesday, because my office is where I be gaming.

I don't so if you were playing a game not for work or anything you are doing in the same.

Room generally, But I actually to fix that.

In twenty twenty six, I made a second office.

Oh wait, is the room you're in now considered an office?

Yes?

Absolutely, I mean, I mean this is a closet, but yes, I have converted.

It into my office.

If you're not, if you're not a video patriot, it's a big it's a room.

Yeah, But like he looks like.

It doesn't look like a closet. I've been in that room. It's pretty big. I have great closets.

You can't walk into your closets in my closet.

You want to watch me do it.

It's fucking He's got to fucking dodge this shitty looking xenomorphos.

Wearing socks, shoving his body. He can't fit.

He can't fit, it's gonna pinch his dick in the.

Crack, shoves his body into the closet.

Quick say something, Uh say somebody. He looks like he's stuck. The mirror is just flexing as if he is stuck. I think he's he's back, he's fine. He looks like he hurt himself. Hopefully he couldn't hear I say, okay, he's back.

Yeah.

So like then they were saying that I think the bill supposedly did make it past Congress, past Senate is the one. Sorry, man, we got off on it. Yeah, what's up?

I can see I legitimately got stuck in there. I tried to immediately leave, and then I couldn't.

They don't mirror.

It's like, you know, like car trunks, you know, in case the mob throws you in there. They put like emergency things then for closets.

Turn there was flexing, and I was like, he might be stuck. But I think it's a bit that's funny, you.

Know why, because you're not supposed to walk in there.

Dan, it's not a walk in Oh, I'm sure you got handles a holy in all your closets.

It's a cytyle in closet.

It's a little too big, honestly.

Oh yeah, I'm want to start broadcasting from in there.

Yeah, broadcasting that anyway, I associate this with work, even though it's for gaming and for fun. So I made a secondary desk set up so that I can associate this with fun.

That was my hope.

And then the other offices are on the boat on top of the mountain, the water all the those are the other offices.

Right, it's in the menagerie.

I see, I see. Okay, the office behind a waterfall would be fucking sweetly, would be awesome.

It's in the hallway above the stairs.

Yeah, but no, it's a it's a sizable closet. I will say that.

I love it. It's it's a cool. But this is you know, this house was nineteen fourteen. This is an old.

House, as they did all sorts of weird stuff back then, And this was the attic because back then you had eight children and they all were in one bedroom, and the mom and dad were in one bedroom, and you sat around you looked at the fire every night, and that's how they lived back then, all the.

Kids were in the same bedroom.

Yeah, there's this is a two bedroom house, one hundred percent. And then sometime in nineteen dickity two, they converted the attic into the upstairs so all this is the attic of the house.

I have no attic.

This is static, and they convert it into the upstairs bedroom.

And this is too small to.

Be another bedroom, so it's a it's a closet.

Super hot, fucking lutely, there is no there is no insulation.

It is so hot in the summer it's it's outrageous, and in the winter it gets pretty freaking cold. It's not a great space temperature wise, but aesthetically it looks really.

Quite flue house. I creep myself out last night.

I was on Reddit and I forget why I was looking through like through like a fucking some game.

Oh it was Warframe.

I was on Warframe Reddit, but for some reason, when I was scrolling past a post on like are supernatural encounters something like that? Every once in a while I just peek in because generally speaking, it's clearly I think it's clearly staged things that people make out to be supernatural encounters in their home. So to me, it's like

Lounge lizards or something. I swear there's.

Lounge a lot lizard is a sex worker in a tractor trailer parking lots. I think that's what you're thinking of.

Which tracks I mixed them up all the time.

Yeah, But like these people were saying, oh, they would hear noises at night, and then they would be pretty positive someone was in their house or something like that, and then they'd be like, well, you should make sure all your doors are locked. They have the police come and one of the policemen asked, if you're there.

They had attic access.

Policemen went up and found like gatoray bottles full of urine and blankets and like a Coleman lantern. And then when he went to the outside of the house, he saw a ventilation hole that was just had the vent removed and it was near a tree, so they're pretty sure someone crept up the tree and was like taking shelter in their attic crawl space for like sear or something like that.

So like leaving during the day to eat and things like that and then crawling up there at night to sleep, I.

Guess so or vice versa going out at night to get fine food somehow and bringing it back during the day and lying low.

Because there's other ones.

There's creepy photos and like even if many of these I'm sure are staged, there's ones where people, you know, in the suburbs, a lot of people have like an attic above their garage, specifically a crawl space.

There's photos of.

Like one of them had a fridge in the garage with a couple of boxes on top and then the attic entry hole. And they said they had never used the attic since they moved into the house, but there were like fingerstreaks in the dust on top of the boxes. Yeah, yeah, which is very creepy. That's infinitely creepier than a ghost. There was a human being living in my space that I didn't.

Know about, So yeah, one can actually happen.

So this morning, at like four in the morning. I duck tape the knife to the end of my broom and just start poking dark spots in the corner.

In the ceiling, like your.

Cats are like this, these knives the Kingdom weapon.

Someone's like.

This actually stopped. Ye was a very polar person. Oh this is Oh, I don't like this. Not a fan, but I don't want But that's what I think about when I think about addicts now because of that our supernatural post.

I live in my attic and I don't even pee in any Gatorade bottles.

You are the attic person.

I am the attic person.

It's a whole family below you.

So wondering why someone's streaming Silk Song at full volume at.

Three in the morning, screaming.

She talks about how much she loves Lion King and c rtvsstairs.

There's just six CRTs up there and a bunch of rings in a bunch.

Of bee I pay mortgage as much as I want.

That'd be a sick ruse if you've been paying their mortgage from their attic and then don't have to do shit.

I don't have to say my attic if they paid the mortgage.

Oldest grift in the book.

I think if they helped out, I would be open to it. I would be open to a drifter.

You're just describing a sublease if they're paying part of the mortgage.

Now I want to do like an illegal For years, I think we've were onto something here.

Dan, I want to speaking of weirder and more illegal though, speaking of.

A grift, I watched The Sting from like nineteen seventy five for the first time recently. It's on Netflix now and I saw it. I've been I've been mean to watch that for a while because I watched Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Same director, same duo, Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

It's really good.

It's a It's Chicago like have you guys heard it reference before? I've heard the I I don't know if I've ever read this Robert Redford movie. It's referenced often, so generally speaking, they're trying to pull a big con on Robert Shaw. So this was what, oh Jaws was nineteen seventy seventy six. Oh, this was like this was like right around the same time. I think this was nineteen seventy five. So Robert Shaw is this New York gangster essentially who goes out to Chicago and he plays

I think I like the like a good seventies heist movie, like a Thief with Michael Mann. James con Like that was awesome. This one's I should checked it out. I'm looking at his letter box now. I don't think I've ever seen a Robert Redford movie.

This thing is a solid two hours. I will say it was nineteen seventy six. It was set and I think the thirties.

He's one of the Avengers, was he really? How fucking old he's an Avengers end game?

No?

No, it's insane. Yeah, he's an Angy. But he died. Didn't he die two years ago or something that in September of last year? September once ago. Yeah, this thing's awesome.

Give it a watch.

Huh. Okay, I did think about watching a Bonca ny for movie night last week. We're going to watch the knives Out thing off of what we talked about last week. We'll wake up Dead now thing. As though we saw it was like two and a half, it was like two forty or something. Yeah, sometimes you're not in the mood for a movie that long, you know.

I agree, there's just no reason for it anymore.

Yeah, we did.

We did part of the bad Lands was like an hour forty and so we did that instead.

How was that?

I liked the Love Bank did not love it. It was very stupid and I just think I had to turn off the part of my brain or it was like a part of their movie because like nothing like the part of their always looks cool as fuck, but like that first one. It's Arnold, it's Carl Weather's, it's Jesse Ventura. You are not going to match that movie. So I think it's just unfair to even remotely expect it to be like the first one at all. So I just kind of went in like that, and it's

Like an action romp.

But it doesn't have any substance and I don't think you're supposed to learn anything from it, and I certainly did not. I was kind of laughing at the premise of it, like it's supposed to be a really serious premise, am I allowed to say? Like the plots right, like the premise is that in this movie, the main predator because that's a race of people whatever they are, and they are killers and they're all about being the biggest killer.

That's their whole thing. But the main character that we're following is the runt of his family.

Yeah, and it's block or something.

Yeah, sure, and his older brother is like trying to get him up to speed, but he's so little that his dad is like, I'm going to kill him because he's the weak link, and the brother is like, I will protect you. And that's kind of the crux of the whole movie is that, like he's like, I'm going to prove my dad that I'm not the runts. Yes, they're all predators, yea, they're all predators with internal.

Family drama and.

They have all these like you know, concerns and issues with each other.

And this whole time, this the runt.

So now he's like, I'm going to go prove to my dad that I'm actually a really good predator. He's like in this new area to take down this really big boss to prove that he's a good predator.

He keeps making mistakes where I'm like, you know, he is kind of the weak, runt guy that should die.

He tells his enemies his weaknesses, he gives unnecessary information to like he is like, I'm really upset with my dad, and it's like, no predator should be telling random people about their dad issues. And I was like, this guy is actually weak, he's actually not very good at being a predator. And maybe he's like a good character. And they tried to humanize him and they did that very good. But as far as the predator goes, that ain't any predator. I know a predator. I know rips out spines, and

To prove himself.

I didn't expect it to be like just predators. It's like all predators and then like el Fanning, basically she's a robot and then it's like so it starts out and it's the whole beginning sequence is pretty long, and it's just like him and is like the predator, the good runt predator and his brother.

Like having like a trial by combat thing predator.

They're trying to predator each other and they're like, I'm the bigger predator.

Yeah.

Yeah, And they're like flying around caves like doing sword fights and shit like that, and it's just the way it's just NonStop, just like groupaba like talking and then like like there are a whole back and forth where's like the two predators are looking at each other and it's like at a certain point I turned the box. I was like, does it feel like there should be subtitles at this point? It's just like, yeah, this is weird.

Okay, watching.

This movie doesn't make any sense. Why are they constantly talking to each other. We can't understand what they're saying. And you're watching a French film?

Yeah you know what you thinking about it?

I have I never know if I've seen any movies with subtitles, and now I can say.

I have Yeah, I'm proud of you. Yeah that progress.

Yeah, yeah, I got the other ones.

I think you probably you probably saw eight and a half a thousand blows, one hundred blows if you probably saw a lot of trufau movies back in the day.

What about that movie that everybody uh talked about?

I'm looking at most famous movies with subtitles.

Yeah.

Look, I didn't go to film school. Yes, what movie are you mary?

Oh, Parasite, Parasite.

I said it's great.

I did see Parasite, Okay, I've seen seven Samurai, I saw Rachaman. Okay, So I guess I've seen some well I might a dubbed those. But Godzilla, yeah, I fell asleep in that, and I don't really count that for seeing it.

I liked Godzilla.

I heard it was good.

Speaking of Wake Up Dad Man, I think that very well might have been my favorite movie at twenty twenty five.

Really, yeah, number one for really, thanks Mike.

I'm I'm trying to transition. I actually did think it was my favorite movie.

I appreciate that.

I think it would be fun to think of our favorite twenty twenty five movies because my coworkers did this and I heard a movie that I had never heard of, Like I was like, oh, why is this on everybody's list?

I should watch it?

And so I watched it, and now it's my favorite movie of twenty twenty five.

What is it? What it is called?

Train Dream?

Yeah, the book's one of my favorite top five books of all time.

It is gutting.

I was walking my dog the other day and thought about it and started crying.

Joel Edgerton, William H. Macy.

But the so it's it's based on a novella, like literally, I think it's like one hundred and two pages about a guy who's like working on the railroad during the expansionist era of America and he's in the woods. He starts doing some lumber work, but generally speaking, some shit happens to him, and the book is just about how he's reacting to it.

But yeah, it's gorgeous.

It's like beautifully shot and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's just beautiful, beautiful cinematic shots of a dude living his life.

Nothing crazy happens. This is not like a wild film.

I would think that most people possibly you Dan would say this movie is boring.

And I cannot tell you how much this film moved me. I was, I was just blown away by it. It consumes me.

I thought about it all night and all the next day, and I like can't stop thinking about it.

I mean, if it's good, I'm fine with slow paced and like, you know, because I saw that so many people were complaining about Pluribus being such a slow burn, and it's like, I fucking loved that season of pluribis. So it's like, I can take a slow burn if I'm end of the story.

You know.

I just thought it was phenomenal, Like what a cool snapshot of like an average dude's life back then, Like he's not dreams.

Yeah, Train, it's a Netflix.

Netflix like produced it, which is crazy crazy Netflix produces a lot. But yeah, that's definitely not the type of movie I would expect Netflix to produce.

Sure, but no.

The book, Dennis Johnson wrote, the book is incredible. Like you you if you both have like a weekend and want to read something. It's one hundred and two pages. You can get through it quickly. It's literally like an actual small book too.

Uh.

It won the Poetry that year, but which was kind of contentious because it was not like sweeping work of literature that was winning it in years previous.

But it's really really good. Nice Yeah, Trained Dreams.

So that's your number one, Mary.

That's my number one.

And I didn't expect it, and it just shocked me that it was just randomly on a couple of my peers lists, and I was like, I guess I should see it, and I was like, holy shit. It's kind of like one of those things where like if enough people say to you you have to see this film, you're gonna watch it because everybody's talking about it. But it was just in like five of my peers top tens. So that is on my Yes, it is my I

I put mine here and I'm not going to count Naked Gun because I've already talked about that a ton and I did watch it six times this year, Naked Gun, So like, I feel like my recommendation for Naked Gun is firmly established at this point. Yes, we know the five that I thought of here, and none of these are like it's super deep cut. I think everyone loved these centers. Weapons. I thought Bogonia was fucking awesome one battle after another, and warfare warfare was and what I

Yeah, I'm I don't I haven't ranked them, but I would say I'm Wake Up dead Man, Sinners, one battle after another.

Weapons. I don't know what my fifth would be. I'm not sure.

I need to look up look at the list, but yeah, Sinners was fucking awesome. Yeah I loved weapons like saw weapons twice.

But yeah, I don't know.

For those who are on the fence about watching Wake Up dead Man, I had watched it and I told you guys about it, and then I went back to watch Knives Out and glass Onion and I made the joke about I made the joke. But like that many people have made about Ryan Johnson, it just about like his his movies sometimes like he's obviously like pretty left leaning in his movies, often with his characters often are the good characters.

Quote unquote.

I think I like Wake Up dead Man because whereas glass Onion especially felt like it was just very on the nose every step of the way, with like billionaires are stupid and bad, It's like, yes, we get it, like I get it. It felt like the whole movie for me. And I'm being reductive obviously, but Wake Up dead Man hit me very hard. I will definitely say I don't expect it to hit everybody the same way, because on one level, it's a very good who done it.

Exactly who you're gonna say, I know it is. It's me Lacunis. Yeah, that's the fucking cop because she's a shit actress.

Yeah, I will say.

Literally, when this movie was happening, I was like, what a weird way to deliver.

That line, and I just thought it go. Yeah.

I didn't think I saw Sorry. I thought we talked.

About it last episode, and I was like, listening to you talk about it most of the time. I think you're passionate, like comes through when you want to talk about this.

I think it's a good movie. I don't feel as strongly as you do about.

It, for sure. I don't expect it to everybody, but I neilaus Is.

Like she's not good. No, if she's ever been good.

I liked her in some things, like I liked.

Her as a result of this.

I don't think the role itself was doing her any favorites.

Very weird cast, Yeah, I don't.

I think it was a that cast was weird for her, but I think everything else worked. A lot of people were thrown off that these huge stars were just these like people of interest in the case. And like, I think it works because in any other movie, if you had one star as a suspect, you'd know you'd be kind of leaning toward them for the as the culprit. But I think it worked here that many of them were just on the same playing field.

So to speak. But yeah, I like that movie quite a bit. But Centers is awesome.

I want to come around on Mela Kunis American Psycho too, where she plays the American psycho.

I don't know if that's gonna win me over.

It's incredible, Like, it's absolutely terrible, but it's worth watching.

I don't understand what you mean.

I mean, it's I'm just so happy I watched it because it's one of the worst fucking things I've ever and like a lot of people don't even know they made an American American psycho to all American girls starring.

Interesting, she's just a murder various reasons. Does she kill people.

Yes, she's an American psycho. Ooh, William Shatner's also what the fuck?

It's a really fucking weird movie. Yes, but yeah, one battle after another also phenomenal.

That one's really good for me.

One that I think i'd put on my list is twenty eight Years Later, which is like a very odd film, but I liked it, and I like that it did some pretty weird risks, and yeah, walked away being like I liked it even though it was weird.

I'm moderately curious about seeing the sequel that's coming out soon. I might wait for streaming for that one. But I didn't join. That was the first the twenty eight whatever so that I saw, and yeah, I liked it.

Yeah, and you got to put at least one horror on there for me.

Did did you? Not? Was Weapons not on yours?

Weapons is on mine as well?

Yes, only not a horror person at all, But like Weapons, I was just enamored by one.

Of the best endings to any movie this year. I think Weapons.

Its fantastic. Oh God, I was cracking out.

Yeah, it was like every emotion possible in one sequence. It was crazy, it was cathartic, it was terrifying. It was hilarious and.

A scene that really makes you want a hot dog.

I mean, there are these two guys getting ready to watch TV and they have hot dog trays ready to go with and I was like, I gotta get a hot dog. I've never had a hot dog be sold to me like that.

Fella Daddy says, I got to get my dog on.

I loved it. He's like dancing as he's walking.

To the.

Noises with the hot dog.

That's me.

That is like, that is the life I have asked for for myself.

They did not come out this year.

I will say I showed Amanda in Bruges and Banshees of in a sheer in for the first time.

Did you see both? I would say in Bruges many the jokes it's the same.

Yeah, it's so Martin McDonough who he also directed Three Billboards Outside of Evan, Missouri, which is way more contentious.

I remember liking that.

I liked it too.

I'm sure there will be people jumping into the comments to tell me I'm wrong for liking that movie on any level.

But I thought Franks McDormand was awesome in that she.

Was awesome Yeah.

A lot of people criticized uh Martin McDonough for trying to tackle that subject matter. But in Bruges and ban She's have been a Sharon. Both are Brendan Glees and Colin Farrell just having this like buddy movie with many layers beneath the surface. In Bruges, many of the jokes have not aged well whatsoever. It's still I think a really good movie. She's a Sharon is still a fucking masterpiece. I do not ever use that word. I will will probably say it for like two pta movies. I would say that.

For Uh there will be blood.

I like there will be blood quite a bit. I would say that's one of them, along with like Boogie Nights. Probably I like a lot of his movies, but those two are just genuine masterpieces.

Where do you land on Magnolia?

I like Magnolia. I know I hate it. Yeah, no, yeah, I get it.

Any that's like my I'm a I'm definitely a weirdo for really liking that movie.

I liked Magnolia. I think I can't. I don't know if it would pass the test of time. It's been like.

Ten years, yeah, bank and I just know it's been way longer than that, like twenty five years.

Come on, it's been like ten years.

It's been twenty five years.

I'm still not used to being on college life is so weird.

I mean, there will be Blood was like eighteen years ago.

Twenties it's hard.

Yeah, there will be blood was on nine.

What are we gonna do with our lives? Guys?

I love Fantom Thread in The Master as well.

The Masters was a waiter, so I need to see I haven't seen either of those. There's the Pta ones. I haven't seen it.

I didn't. I didn't want to see.

Fanom Thread because it's about like fashion or ever, and that sounds super boring.

But I've heard it's so good.

It's about fashion in the way that one battle after another is about a rebel group.

Now that sounds cooler.

It's about fashion in the way that I'm trying to think of movies you've watched recently that Naked Guns. That Naked Gun is about the actual case.

Okay, it's just it's just an air. But I still don't think you're gonna like Phantom time for what.

I love Daniel day Lewis. I think The Master is first on my list. Of pta stuff. Oh, first time to see I haven't changed, Josha.

That is, honestly, I think one of my top five movies of all time.

I love The Master Past.

It's UH that came out when I was that game former. I remember you all a bunch of like Ben Hansen. I think Tim Terry came into the office the day after seeing it and we're talking about it, and it was very I think people are split on it, but I think these days people are looking back on it

I think those might be the only way he did. Was it inherent vice?

Yeah?

I didn't see that either, So maybe there's a few of his that I have seen. Liquors Pizza I didn't see, so a lot of the more recent ones I haven't seen.

And hair Advice was after The Master but before phantom thread. I believe okay or no, no, no, I'm yeah, yeah, yeah, I believe that's the case. And hair advice is tough.

I will say I think I got when I was reading all those books when I lived in New York and you were constantly recommending books to me, which is fun. I like that a lot. I think I just started in hair advice not knowing anything about it, and I was like, this is a lot.

I don't know about this.

I did not bar in it any Thomas Pinsion book. That's probably the correct response. I like his stuff, but I will be the first to admit I don't. And he knows what he's doing half the time, and people glaze him for it. His books are his books are odd?

Yeah, I did not do it.

I like crying of Flat forty nine.

You have more substance in twenty twenty six. I don't want the things that I watch to be so vague that everyone.

Leaves and goes, what was that about? That's brilliant. I want to be like, tell me what to think. I want to know how to feel.

I don't want it to be like sotose that I'm like supposed to solve this riddle all the time.

Is this are you venting about a specific movie?

I'm venting very vaguely.

About symbolism and metaphor.

Symbolism, symbolism, symbolism.

The TV show Severance, which is like too vague answered any questions, and I am over it.

What's going on? I've what's up with the goats?

I don't interesting.

I don't want to play this game anymore. You know what's coming out in twenty twenty six that will answer all the questions.

Season three of seven's Terrifier for Oh, I love the story that you told me Dan, where someone had it on. I want to say something. I know who it was. You know it was at their party. It is such an over the top horror movie to have playing in the middle of a social scene. When he's just sawing someone through there, I think.

Yeah, I think I hadn't. I think he might not have seen it or somebody. I've talked to him about it and he was like, yeah, I don't know it was gonna be that much.

That's a that's like an I think you should leave sketch like he puts on a movie, and then he has to try to act like he had seen it before he's like, oh, it's funny.

Last I think it was when Ben Hansen's like then eighteen month old son was there to dressed as Batman and just Terrifier.

Something I think I want to say.

We were posing for a photo, like a friend photo, and I kept looking like, what.

The is that? That's fucking that's amazing. Yeah, Terrifier is fucked up. I think I have learned this year that like horror.

I used to say that I was not a horror guy at all, and I think I'm gonna review that thought because it's like, I don't think I'm a big slasher movie guy. I love like the Shining, I loved Weapons. This year I read that I finished that short story a book or a collection that Stephen King put out at Night Shift, and I fucking love that. So I think just really clever horror. I think I really like. I think it's just.

So much really clever horror. You just have to find it. I like the trash to quite but personally I like it.

But the dan is you're gonna hate this. They have a phrase for the kind of movies you're just describing, elevated horror.

It sounds like that sounds like when you called Chipotle fast casual.

Yeah, you like the fast casual horror movies, horror, thinking out about Halloween and Friday thirteen still, and Dan's like, I only watch things that make me think while I'm afraid.

Now allween kicks ass Is is John Carpenter, and that's a that's a fantastic director. It's but also don't know what then I'm talking about, because I've never seen a Fright of the thirteenth, I've never seen a Jason Jason Next. But it's like, I think a lot of these huge things.

What that's just a funny one Jason movie to have seen the Space.

And that sounded funny. So wait, maybe all the horror I've actually seen, I like, you're.

Just not a horror fan though, even though you like every movie you've seen.

Maybe you should try more. There's a lot of good ones, even the ones that are like, okay, are I think good?

It's like you have to get past it all.

I sorted by genre on letterbox right now, and horror. I've got all these ones that I rated like four and a half five, Aliens, Weapons Centers, Barbarian, the Sustans, the Thing. Yeah, holyh Near Dark Horizon. I probably like get Out, Get Outs fantastic. I love No Menu.

What's that did you see? Nope?

I didn't love No No No. I give it three service and looking Man.

Make him think enough?

Uh Blair Jennifer's Body.

Wait. I like a lot of horror movies.

This Body is a really good example of like, uh, not that it's bad, it's it's it's a good movie, but it's kind of like simple and stupid, but it's it's so fun.

It's camp.

Yes, I put that kind of the same categories like Slither. Did you ever see that James Gun horror movie?

But you guys reed that to me last year and I watched it. Yeah, it's bither is great.

It's so it's got everything you need.

It's got zombies, it's got aliens, it's got weird creepy stuff.

It's got love story, it's got oh, it's got like gross visual horror. It's got everything you need.

I think pregnant lad.

I think that's why I like Barbarian and Weapons specifically because I feel is it Zach Crowder that the director of my freaking up his name? I feel like he can do that elevated horror quote unquote, but he's also not a shame to be making horror movies, like he's still having fun with the genre, like he's doing genre fiction with horror, but he is also layering it quite a bit in a way that I think the fact that he can speak to both audiences is really really impressive.

I think it's I think that there's a lot of horror movies look stupid, like like what's.

Like like.

The Black Black Phone or whatever.

I'm actually not sure.

Look at the image she sent in our in our chat, she's talking about Terrifier for and I saw this.

I was like, there's no.

Way this okay, I'm sending I sent them a image of Terrifier for and it's Terrifier in Space, which reminded me of what you said with Jason X in Space, I think, but I'm not sure because Terrifier subverts her expectations a lot. That's like a huge part of his character, so they might be fucking with me.

I'm not sure.

Yeah, I think some of them look really schlocky and dumb, like I think of that, like was that Ethan Hawk, like the Black Phone or something like that. These things a lot of them just look stupid. Maybe I'm just judging by the trailer, but.

Did you watch Meghan?

I like Megan fe is like stupid.

Meghan is stupid.

Yeah, and you're like kind of like it.

Yeah, it's I think there's a lot of those. Maybe I should give you some more like that are not traditional that I still think are worth seeing, even if they're like kind of bad.

But I like anyway, you told me about Barbarian and I adore.

I know, but it's hard to it's hard to hit that bar Like, have you seen a lot of the classics from our childhood? So like sounds like you've seen Scream, but like, I know what you did. I know what you did last summer, the original.

I would see parts of it on TV, never seen the whole thing.

No, it's pretty good.

Yeah, I guess I like with.

Action movies, I think, but part of what I like is I like watching people die in hilarious ways. And that sounds like what a lot of horror movies are. It's just like hilarious desks.

Yeah, I think a lot of Yeah, I would say a big one that came out in the last few years messes with that trope. Right at the very end, which is what made it, in part a great movie. I I spoil which one, but that could have been any of them the last five ten years.

Yeah, yeah, no, I love old school schlocky slasher stuff. But I'm also I've said it before. Nope.

I finished it, and that night I was like, I couldn't stand that movie. And then like the next morning I woke up and was still thinking deeply about it, Like that movie really affected me.

In a way that has not. It is it is a very interesting movie.

We should talk about those types of movies where like maybe at first you're like I didn't like it, and then the next day you're like, I liked it. That happened to me recently. I can think of one which was called I Saw the TV Glow.

Oh I heard about that, yeah.

Because it's a horror or horror scary, right, And then I was like, it's not scary enough, it's not doing what I want.

I don't like it.

And then I thought of it for about twenty four hours and then I was like, I love it.

But I don't know if I've ever gone from disliking to like it wasn't what I wanted.

I've definitely gone.

From appreciating more because I remember when like Bonk and I left Annihilation, I think I was like, oh, it's like a four out of five movie, and then I saw it again, I was like, that is a five out of five. Holy shit, and I loved it so much more. So, like I've gone from like a four to a five. I don't know if I've ever gone from like a two to a four or five.

Oh, that's happened to me so many times. I didn't like Sean of the Dead the.

First time I watched it, and that's a fun one. I didn't like.

It because I wanted to see a traditional zombie movie and they kept making it funny and I was like, you guys aren't taking me seriously enough. People are dying. And then it took me like an evening to get over myself and realize it was. It was brilliant, but I didn't process it at first because I thought it was supposed to be scary.

I actually now that I think. But I definitely have gone from like a I think this is the worst movie I've ever seen.

Too.

I love this movie, and that's a net and I can't remember i've told so many people about this movie.

Oh yeah, yeah, I can.

Have you seen it, either of you? Okay, Mary, of you and the move stop typing? Stop typing?

Do you recommend it because of you? Okay, don't don't. Don't look at anything more. Don't look at anymore? Okay, Okay, Adam.

Driver Okay, I'm gonna okay, and Marion co.

Tealyard Okay, our friends laugh.

You didn't expect me to pronounce it so barfing.

Yeah, Mary, I would love to give you a homework assignment, you know, as you did with me with Barbarians. The faces like, oh great, it's on Amazon.

You got the Amazon. Okay, what am I talking about? You've got the Amazon Amazon? Okay?

My dad, Mary sight unseen and I mean you've looked at like the poster, right, you.

Know, no cheating, Just just go watch it.

Yeah, yeah, I can do that.

And you do you not know anything about this? Oh Mary, I'm so excited to hear your thoughts on this. I've made so many people watch this movie. I've seen it like six times in the last few years.

Kayla loves it.

My dad, I don't know if I've ever seen him more mad than when he was watching it.

I can't imagine Paul ever even sitting through this whole thing.

Paul and I are pretty similar, so I am I expecting to hate it.

We had to pay him two hundred dollars to watch it. But I'm not kidding, Oh Mary, okay, okay, and anyone at home, I know I've talked about this on various podcasts and things like that, and watched it on the internet before check out a net on Amazon Prime Video and don't look up anything, and let's talk about it next time, okay, okay.

Yeah, And that was quite a ride. But yeah, it was a good year for movies.

I'd say, yes, yeah, I've flirted with the idea of like I watched the documentary about Movie Pass and it really brought me back to that time where it's like, man, we lived in New York City, we walked to this theater.

We would just like see all these movies we would never consider paying for a ticket to go see. And I was like looking up, like oh, they came back kind of, but it's like confusing how it works. And then like AMC's got the A list thing and it's like, well, we see two movies in the theaters a month then it's worth it. But it's like we're not guaranteed to do that, so I don't know. It's just I do pine for the days of Movie Past. That was a good time.

Yeah, I was in San Francisco all that was happening. I used to it quite a bit. Also, speaking of Robert Redford, he owned Sundance Theater, the Chant, and then there's several locations.

There was one right in Japan, Towan, near my apartment. Every single Sunday I went. That is where I saw Annihilation for the first time in twenty fifteen. I believe nice that summer or something like that.

No, no, no, no, I was living in New York. I know that it was at least seventeen.

Oh interesting, Okay, yeah, I think i'd remember. It's like my second favorite movie of all time.

I'd say it's seventeen or eighteen. Yeah, but I think that might have been during the movie.

Eighteen sounds right, Yeah, something like that. Yeah, we sat with Movie Past. Also fifteen, I just moved out. There wouldn't make sense.

Twenty eighteen. Yep, okay, yep, yep. I still got to.

Read those books. Oh yeah, you were asking me about that. Recently.

I intend to read the book. I'm working on the Lauren Mike Shark right now, but then I'll move on to that.

Yeah, the Southern Reach trilogy. They're all digestible, fairly short, very very different than the movie, but still similar. Idea that a group of people go into this weird anomaly and weird shit happens.

Nice. All right, you want to talk about video games? Sure? Yeah, all right, and we're back Dan.

Why do you have Star Wars Jedi Survivor on your list you're playing?

Did you read you.

Not say you were playing it, or did you not bring it up last time.

I brought it up.

I brought it up many times, saying I love that game. I think people should give it more of a chance and see later in the game what happens throughout.

But I didn't feel like.

In my head, the reason I started playing it was because I thought, in like the same week that both Jeff Grubb and you had been talking about playing it.

You mentioned that he was playing it, and I said, I love that game. I wish more people would give more chance because the PC launch had a lot of issues the beginning, and you guys have brought up valid issues with the beginning of the game, which I get, but like later on that game becomes awesome.

Yeah, I'm a few hours in now, and like the beginning, it's like, sure, it does the thing I don't like where it's like, Okay, we're just going to do this thing where it's like you kind of have control of this guy while he's walking handcuff through the thing and we're throwing a bunch of story at you, and I

It is. It is.

It's fun controlling this character and like jumping in the air, like flying through the air after a zip line and like hitting lb like the like you know, blaster shots and everything with your lightsaber in midair and then going down there and like for I am a sucker for

It is.

It's just super fun. It's just a very fun game to play. There is I you know, just being a few hours in, I don't have a great sense of like how good the upgrade tree is going to be. Like there's kind of a lot. It's like every time I go there, it's like you can be a billion different lightsaber things for all your different stances, and you can do you know, like your survival stuff. You can do the force upgrades and stuff like that. So it's

Yeah, I love It can get overwhelming with the different lightsaber stances and the different upgrades to each one. But I also appreciate that they continue throughout the entirety of the game to put I think I'm exaggerating if I say they put as much emphasis on the platforming and exploration as the fighting, But they put a lot of emphasis on the platforming, the exploration, the puzzle solving. There's some areas that feel Zelda esque in their environmental puzzle solving and whatnot.

And there's all.

Those meditation grounds or Jedi temples or something that feel almost like shrines in and of themselves.

That's interesting. I haven't seen that.

Yeah, how far are you?

I'm just like I did the whole opening thing on Coruscant and now I'm in like a kind of outdoor daytime. Okay, yeah, yeah, mountainous yeah yeah.

Okay, yeah.

I will say the structure of the game is not its strong point. Because can I for you a word of advice that I think would enhance your enjoyment of it?

Please?

I got. I got to that big planet.

There's one planet that's way bigger than the rest, and I didn't want to leave it until I did everything. I would strongly encourage you to leave it as soon as you can and come back at your own pace. You unlock way more impactful upgrades and evolutions by leaving and then coming back and mopping up. But you can spend a good like twenty hours on I don't know the exact hour count, but I think I spent a

Okay, awesome, Yeah yeah, then I do intend on continuing with this. I am really enjoying it. And actually I was just reminded I mentioned like from games, I think I want to play SEC euro Ooh.

Have you tried it at all before?

I think I played like ten hours of it or so. I just got my ass kicked and I really fell off because it's like and other from games, because like I've never taken the time to get really good at like perrying and stuff like that.

So I would have to parry. And that's the thing.

You can't.

You can't just you know, cheese it by like leveling up and grinding and grinding like okay, well now my HP is insane, so I'm not gonna die or like, so you have to get good. And so I actually I played through Mike Tyson's punch Out a couple times this weekend, and in playing that and remembering how satisfying it was to kind of learn like just the enemy patterns and just the very specific timing, it's like, well

Good at punch Out.

I'm very good at punch Out.

I think I can handle Secera.

That's the thing I I it's a crazy it's it's always intimidated me. Like that game and and and even playing from games in general has intimidated me because I've only beat two and those were both by like super over leveling myself. So like there is a world where it's like I kind of want to just like on my twitch just maybe like every week like have like a Secura day where it's I'm gonna play a couple hours of Securo and try to beat this game.

So what's the other one besides elden Ring. You've been Bloodborne?

Oh? Interesting?

Okay, I could absolutely see you. Yeah, it's intimidating as hell. There's a certain point in that game where I was intimidated by it, and then all of a sudden, I started feeling like I was actually on its level, and it became one of my top three from games.

I don't want to put words his mouth.

It might be Jake Decker's favorite from game and this isn't a bit I think I think he told me. Yeah, it's it's fucking unreal because there's a boss not four hours into that game that is probably one of my favorite boss fights of all time in any.

Genre, which one I probably got there?

The dude with the lightning?

Is he on a horse?

No?

Okay, on the rooftop of the lightning. I've watched Kayla do that, and yeah, crazy, I.

Could have worn that was early on. Maybe maybe I'm understanding past.

I mean I probably took my sweet time getting to yeah, maybe play ten hours, but didn't get that bar.

You know, I think that would be a very challenging game to play a few hours and then drop for a week at a time. Yeah, okay, I do think there's a rhythm to that game that once you get into it, you start to kind of just lock in. It's similar to Mike Tyson. Like if you fought one fighter at a time, Mike Tyson came back the next week, it would be very difficult.

Okay.

I mean, obviously play at your own pace, but I would say I could see you, yeah, because of your love of Tyson, like the pattern recognition of those different bosses and mini bosses and even everyday enemies. Once you start getting to a point where you're confidently pairing, these guys will run at you with spears and you'll just kind of laugh and then like step on the tip of the spear shove it into the ground so they can't do anything and they're just stabbing them in the face.

It's awesome.

It's really fun.

Yeah, it's the coolest I've felt in a game. Yeah, because I did beat the Armored Corps six too. But I don't know people consider that same conversation, you know.

Maybe, Yeah, it's not as it's not a Soul's Born game. But even though Fun made it, Yeah, I think I.

I think I do want to I do want to play that game. It seems like it's very very highly regarded and everything I've seen of it seems very cool.

It was my second favorite game of that year. It would have been my favorite if it wasn't for Outer Wilds.

Twenty nineteen.

GameSpot gave it Game of the Year.

Though.

Yeah, it's d I'm glad you're like a Jedi survivor. Though I've I've been wanting more people to play that just it had such a shitty PC launch and it was just in shape.

They had performance issues, right, And I think that's such a bummer because that's the type of thing that is really difficult to come back from, like even in the game, like if you if it's crashing and people are losing their progress, they're going to give it a shitty review.

That sucks.

Yeah, And I think I heard that, and it's like it was at a time where there were a lot of other games out and I was like, Okay, well, whatever, this is busted. I'm gonna move on to this and I'm probably just gonna forget about this one. Back here and now it's like, Okay, there's not a ton of releases right now, and towers that an evil, So maybe this is my game. Maybe now is the time to play it. And it runs super well on PC.

Now, not to shop on a game that we always shot on. But I went back to Jedi Survivor because I was so frustrated with Ragnarocks design choices like I want like sweeping three D adventure and Dragon Rock is just weighing me down every five minutes. I'm going to go back to that game at some point, but I really was just frustrated. Yeah, sure, I'll try it just before the next game comes out. Maybe I won't. Maybe you guys are right, maybe why who am I trying to please?

It's not good.

I'm giving you so much ship.

I think we started that it's not poop category because of that game.

I know that was for Horizon. I thought the game. Yeah.

Also also, yeah, such.

A bummer, like that poor game I can't catch a break.

Was good, but yeah, no, SEC is great, Jedi Survivor's awesome.

Yeah, the guys at Dork I don't like the dude. I don't either, He's just a dweeb.

But whatsoever. There's some there are some stuff.

They introduced the gameplay loop later on that I actually found strangely charming, like extremely extremely light farming and like base building kind of stuff.

I've been getting some like seeds and stuff like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's all about Okay, you don't have to interact with it if you get bored of it.

I'm excited to I like that stuff. Yeah. They give you like a.

Home base, which is nice because again, like Horizon did that. One of the games we're doing that. We were talking about that recently. Forget what game it was in regards to though, because like I didn't play enough of Horizon Forbidden West the first time to get to the point where you're starting to rebuild your bass with different characters. But I like when games do that. Uh, Mary, what have you been playing.

I've been playing a scary game called Routine.

This game is a sci fi horror in space. It kind of reminds me of BioShock and the.

Sense that I think it was meant to be like a utopia that came crumbling down. But I would say it's better connected to Alien the game because you are being hunted by robots. I think I'm still early on, but generally what I'm learning is is that these robots were like probably meant to help them, you know, and they went rogue and started killing people, and they are.

Absolutely terrifying. It's very scary. They've done an excellent job.

But also typical in these games, you don't have a weapon, so I can't defend myself.

There is a gun in the game, but it is not really for protecting yourself.

It is a gun that, oh god, my knowledge in this space is so limited, I'm going to embarrass myself.

It like scrambles.

The screens of things that aren't working properly.

So like let's say a door.

Isn't working and you see some tubes coming out of the door and they go to a mechanical box. You can use the device to reset the mechanical box, and thus the door should start working again, if that makes sense. The gun has three charges, so you can't just really nilly shoot your gun anytime you want. You need to be thoughtful about it. You can recharge the gun, but only at recharge stations or if you find a battery, so it's like something you have to consider, you know, like.

A one shot like take a robot down, like.

Pauses the robot for I think a rude amount of time. I'm gonna say one and a half seconds. Okay, So like you can use one of your precious shots to get around a robot. I have not successfully done it, but I think you can even like take down a robot if you shoot them enough. But it's like, who has that many shots in their gun? Like it's you got to be busy predominantly. This is like a puzzle game.

I was very I think it's very.

Fantastical and otherworldly to go into this ship that I think is like I think you're like on the moon or something. So it's definitely a space environment, and they're trying to recreate things that you would have in your house, sorry, your home life in Middletown, America.

There's a mall and.

So like in one of the areas, I'm walking around a mall and it has all these different shops, but if you look out the window, you'll see Earth. So it's just kind of like fascinating in that space. But something has gone wrong. Everything's like broken. The shops are all busted. You can't find any people anymore, probably because they're all dead.

I don't know.

I haven't gotten that far, but like I haven't seen one human that's alive. And these robots, if they catch you, are terrifying. They pick you up and they shake the shit out of you and they throw you and if they find you enough, they kill you.

I like the look of them.

I just googled and do they all have that like weird kind of cracked mask face, Like they look creepy.

Yeah, they are creepy.

And they've done a great job with the hiding mechanics of this game. So if you're into scary games like I am, like, you got to have a way to avoid them, but still look at them in this game, Crawling, leaning, and peeping are a huge mechanic of the game. So if you hear them coming, you can hear them. They're like cong kung clung. You can hear their little metal

Oh my god. It's pretty scary.

It sounds kind of like amnesia the way you're describing it.

I think it has amnesia elements to it. It absolutely has gotten progressively scarier. The gun also evolves, which I have really appreciated. So again I'm not super far in, but the gun has already gotten one evolution that's been really helpful. The first evolution of the gun is that you shoot it and it can read jiggers mechanics. I wish I could be better with my terminology, but you shoot it at mechanics and it's like you fixed it. You know, this screen wasn't working before, but.

Now it is. Whatever. The new gun adaptation that.

I got helps me see. It's like a blue light, and so it helps me see different liquids like blood. And so I don't want to give away the puzzle, but like you, all of a sudden, you'll be able to point it at the ground and be like, oh my god, somebody was like dragged through here. You could follow the blood trail and see what they did to get out of the situation, and you'll learn through that process how to get out of the mall. In this situation right now, I'm in these like home the home barracks.

Hell out of here. I think it's very well made.

My biggest issues with it is like, I'm not sure why they put such a strong limit on this gun. I feel like they could have put five or six charges on it, three charges ahead on your limiting, And it prevents me from like testing out theories because I'm like, oh, no, I have to put more charges.

God damn gun.

I will say, like, sometimes I feel like I could use more hints.

I've gotten, I have figured it out, but.

There are times where I feel like I need a guide or I just need like a little bit more support. Yeah, I wish I had like a like a younger kid who was like, what what if you just turned the wheel so that the water came.

To better idea? What if your character just talked all the time about what you're gonna do next? That'd be great.

I would rather I mean, actually, that's a really good question.

This kind of reminds me of the yellow paint thing that you know, gamers argue.

About a lot. But it's like, I would have liked more support.

I suspect if they had given me more support, gamers would have been like.

It's too easy. It is. It is a difficult game. It is difficult for two reasons.

One, the robots are relentless and they absolutely fuck you up, and they are terrifying, and they there's no way to attack them or do anything about it, so you're just constantly running.

So that is freaky like amnesia.

Two, the puzzles are just often obtuse and tactical. You know, you read a note that leads you to a path that leads you to the idea that maybe you should be doing it this way, and if you test around enough, you'll figure it out. You'll need a code to get you know, a bobble that'll get you, a key that'll get you lah blah blah. Like it's it's tough, but I love it. I think it's extremely well constructed. I

I think Raw Fury made blueprints, if the hell if that.

I think they published it so like they've made stuff that I've liked before. I think this is like a nice similar caliber of like quality, high high quality execution of a horror game that scares the p out of me. I The only reason I think I will not finish this is because I think it's a little it's kind of so scary, like amnesia.

I need a break. I don't want to feel this way all the time.

But very good, nice yead it looks it like, just looks good.

People who like Alien would like this game. It's got all the same vibes.

I went back overbreak to replay, retry a few games.

I played more.

I played Shadow Gambit again, that overhead stealth game from right.

I still love that game, did you?

It was just that time of year when I was like, I just I had ate most of what I wanted to from last year minus two. I still need to play Kingdom Cum Deliverance too, and I want to play Metrod Prime four Still. I just didn't have the energy to start a new game, so I was just kind of looking through Steam like, oh, Shadow game, I love that game. Got stucked into that for a few hours overbreak, and then the game I played the most over break was They Are Billions.

Went back to the Rats Zombies thee there's a rat one where it's like a tower not tower defense. It's like an RTS and a bunch of rats. No you're we talked about this. It was a PC game we first started the podcast. It was like you build a base and then a bunch of fucking rats come in and waves and you gotta like protect your base. Oh no, it's like an it's like a command of concer view. I could have sworn it was there billions.

They are billions. There's swarms of them. But they're zombies, not rats.

Are you sure they're not rats?

Positive?

I'm looking at it now. It's definitely their billions.

Yeah, yeah, okay, yeah, I replayed this game. But they're not rats.

Though, or you were talking about a game, so I just assumed it was rats. Oh yeah, very fair.

I mean, I mean it's it's such an easy like art exchange too, Like you could really replace zombies with rats at any point.

Yeah.

Yeah, things scrawling around.

Yeah.

I got sucked into that game for like twelve hours overbreak. I still love it. If we've talked about in the podcast before I wrote about it, or I talked about it at a game spot came out a while ago.

I want to say it was twenty seventeen, same year's Breath of the Wild nineteen.

That's seventeen was breath the will right. I think this came out in early access in twenty seventeen. Launched twenty nineteen. The campaign I don't fucking touch it sucked. The Survivor Survivor mode, which is just the OG mode, but yeah, it's if you are if you turtle in real time

I mean, I put a few games down on this list, but the reality of it is, I am still in the sectory hole, the likes of which I have not seen in years. It is I just got to nine million, So I'm at like nine million right now. Grub is it ten million? Jacob Geller is at like twelve million?

Is that a high score?

What do you mean?

What do you Is that your high score? Or you're okay, okay, gosh.

Yes, yeah, yeah, so I am. It is such a on a surface simple game that like I just keep playing, like I'm I've played sixty seventy hours of this now, and it's like I am still just like, oh, I just had the Eureka moment that like, I've been doing this wrong the entire time. I need to make it all about this or the strike combos or wait, here's a great way to extend the straight combos.

Or it's just have you done the thing I told you too? Or you fucked up your car, you mix up your cards.

I didn't mix up the card. I tried the chaos thing. That is interesting. The only thing I didn't. I think the reason I turned it off is because I like the stack shuffle thing, but you don't get scores for just normal enemy kills if you do that, I think.

Yeah, it's a huge differentiator.

Yeah, that's so.

It's like, if I'm going for score, it's like, well, okay, I love the idea of like blaster being the first upgrade or something, but like if it means I'm not kidding a score for everything else, I just can't do that.

It is really.

Interesting, though, let me find hold on my friend list. I was playing Sectory the other day at the bar. I beat it, by the way, Oh nice, nice, I finally like one on the experience. Yeah, but like my score wasn't even that high. I feel like if you're going for score, like who gives a shit if you win the games?

Were you buying shields?

I didn't buy shields, but I did the chaos mode, so my score wasn't as hot.

That's a problem.

That's a problem.

Yeah, I fucking hear you.

Where's unsolicited advice? Really rubs merry the right way?

I've already heard that's where you're sucking up.

That's right, it's stupid, classic classic fuck ups.

Where are your manamar on idiots?

Grub fucking messaged me to tell it to give you advice as well.

Hey Mary, by okay, I saw where you're going wrong. I just want to say, you're a fucking idiot. But also here's differently.

Grub never fucking dms me. I'm playing this game, I get a d M and I check it and it just says you'll never get ten million?

What a fuck?

All it says, fuck you, Grub, and I went back to the grind. I'm still stuck at three and a half million, but hard just dming me.

That is so rude, all right, Mary?

I I talked to Kime was on content or not this week, but I asked him, I was like, if I beat your score, would this be like a problem? For you, like, would you fixate on this? And he's like, oh, absolutely, would consume my life, And so we need one of us needs to top Jeff Grubb.

He's a ghoul. He'll never let it go. You have to kill him.

I don't know if I'm powerful enough, and he's He has sparked an anger within me so deep that I would like to destroy him. But I will admit privately in this podcast that I am afraid of him because every time shut up, every time there is a friend mode where you can compare your scores, Grub is like.

One in the world.

No, Geller's better than him, and I will beat him. I will be Grub.

He's just human. All humans can be killed.

I beat him in an astrobot. I can beat him at this Like all, okay, So here's my question.

You two played this game more than me. I love this game. It was high up my list last year. What and this might be a loaded question, so please tell me if it is. What is Geller doing? Does he understand mechanics better or is he just better at the game?

So there is a whole other ways to play that I probably played fifty hours before I realized and then Finally, I was like, because like, not a lot of people are playing this game, so there's not a lot of good guides or anything. There's like two Reddit threads I've looked at twenty times, and they don't help that much.

It's not even that impressive that Grub has the score that he has. I feel like if the world actually investigated it, it would have been beaten by now.

And we will and we will. And I was in the research, I know you do you tell me this privately always.

That's why I wanted to beat his.

In the privacy in this personal podcast.

I wanted to know that you have to destroy him.

Oh, I know, yes, And I was researching. I looked up there was a because I'm playing on challenging mode now, like medium difficulty, and that's the one that like all the top scorers are on challenging mode. So I looked up like a high score and it was like a twenty eight million dollars or eight million point run.

Man.

I watched and like immediately this guy was doing shit. I was like, what is I played so much in this game? What is he even doing? Why is he striking into nothing?

You know?

Why is he doing this?

And then I started realizing, like, oh fuck, he's just trying to get that strike combo up because I'm challenging. You can get it up to a ten times multiplier and you don't have to hit anything, you don't have to dash into a token. Just the act of striking will up your strike combo and keep it going.

So to just constantly be striking.

Oh yeah, but here's the thing, because you don't have enough time to recharge naturally an entire strike and do it again.

So here's how you do it.

You strike into nothing, Okay, that gives you one strike multiplier, and then you get a token. You get one of the selector tokens, and let's say it's speed or whatever. You know, you apply it and whenever you apply an upgrade, it instantly recharges your shield. Sure, so that's a way you can kind of keep that chain going. And so now I think it is all about just trying to get that strike combo up and keeping it up. And

Yeah, because it's obvious if you pay play it on a more difficult difficulty, you accrue more points.

Way more stuff to shoot, and that multiplier goes up to ten, whereas on the first difficulty he goes up to five.

Mmmm.

So I'm like, I want to say, I'm like sixty something in the world. Grub is like thirty something in the world, and Geller is in the top like twelve or something.

I'm like one than six hundred and twenty ninth, which I make good for Mary.

Let's keep working at it.

Grub.

It's it's just so fucking good.

But anyway, I didn't put it on my list this week because like, that's I mean, that is the main thing. Like I will sit down and be like, all right, I'm going to set a rule for myself. I'm gonna do three runs, and I'll do three runs. Well those those don't count. It's like, okay, next time I get a run where I at least go past the boss and don't die, And it's like and I'll die and it's like and then literally six hours later, I'm just like my eye out and.

I'm the same.

What I will say is like, there are all sorts of games that I like to sit down and play. We're talking about them right like, he's like, Oh, it's my Friday night, it's my day after work. I'm going to just sit and play this game. What I like about Sectory is I could be at a bar with my steam Deck, which is actually when I beat it, and I was like, I have time for a couple of runs. I'm just drinking a beer and I'm like, sitting here with my steam Deck. You can play this

What I have, What I have like ten minutes mine as well.

Yeah, I'm a Sectory snob. I got lunch with Ben Hansen this weekend and we're talking about this and he's like, oh, yeah, I love this, Yeah, I'll play it when it's like I've heard several people bring up like it's my treadmill game, where it's my workout game, where it's my he said something along those lines. I'm like, Oh, then you're not like really playing, you.

Know, like I gotta give it.

Wait yeah wait, I got to get his username and then dm M and say you'll never get my score.

Oh I cannot imagine. I don't am I not even Steam friends with Hanson. I might not be. I haven't seen him on the way.

It's just so funny.

I find that funny too, Like I've been friends with people for years and we've like at game Spot, we've like worked together, and I'll be like, oh my god, we're not friends on Steam, like not always because I used I used a work account sometimes for games, so it's.

Oh, I'm not Yeah, I don't play multiplayer games really, So like my best friends, I'm probably not you know, Steam friends with. And also Hanson is Hanson knows more about games than anyone I or the making of games anyone I've ever met. He's not good at them, so don't worry about his score. Like, Hanson is a non factor in terms of a score challenge. Focus on grub.

I always am focused.

On Hampson's not a serious person when it comes to this.

Hanson's not a serious No, he's not speaking of what are you?

Yeah?

I where's I saw you posted the who wants to be a grubby and Air? I never got my cutoff grubbers or whatever you want to call him.

Oh, I didn't either, God fucking grub Jesus Christ, Yeah, married.

Do you know what happened?

Grubby and Air?

And Dan was on who wants to be a grubbing Air? And on the final question for a million grubbers? He called me for the lifeline and I gave him the correct answer. And I haven't seen a red scent from.

I mean I haven't either, So I'll cut you in one scrub based Nati, We don't know the value called him Mike was what he was like bommed in the video that you didn't call him for that question? It seems like a mic question Mike Maharty, Oh, yeah, gotcha.

If I was going for a million dollars, even if I without knowing the question, I think Mike would be on my list.

Maharty, Yes, why naughty would Yeah? If I didn't know what color.

Mickey were in nineteen seventy two, I'll call Manati.

But extensive uh information about Disney. I am looking for someone who has a general knowledge about most things like.

History, A serious person yeah. Yeah, that's I don't know how to take that. Would rather be the weirdo who knows too much about one thing.

Then well a little bit.

You're the adult in the room, deal with it. But yeah, and you never talked to us about the games you actually were playing.

Oh yeah, yeah, which, by the way, real quick, what we're talking about Marty and Manati. I did say to someone in the last week. I said, at this point, and tell me, Mike if you think this is true. I said, at this point, Maharti is more wine than Manati is Disney Ooh, I think No, it's not a dig at all. I'm just saying in terms of just like absolute, like deep knowledge fixation.

That's where my focus is for sure. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know.

NAUGHTI has a fridge in his house that is perfectly temperature to shove all of the Disney characters into.

I have to.

No, definitely pretty laser focused on it. But I don't know how much he's into Doney. I know he's really into it, but oh, really interesting. I wonder if there's a way to test that.

Who's like to test your wine knowledge versus his Disney knowledge?

Yeah?

I think that would be interesting or like imagine that. Yeah, you wine, Minati Disney and like me wrestling, you know, like put that all against each other.

I will say competition.

I will say just because of how long it's been around.

I think there's more to know about wine, like I'm never going to ever know everything about it. Disney I think is maybe doable.

Wrestling Mike has done it. Yeah, I definitely don't know much. Like I know a very specific chunk of wrestling, but like I don't know anyth much jappening he's wrestling. There's so much I don't know.

So yeah, that's the thing too. It's like wrestling, Wine is global, Disney. Disney is Florida, true tendrils that went out. But it's not like people are making Disney movies in every country.

I mean, Walt Disney.

Just Disney products feel very Florida in nature, don't they.

Yeah? Yeah, it reeks of alligators and mosquitoes and yeah, old people, alcoholic slushies, the games.

I have been playing New Orleans. I can't wait. I can't wait. American we say that that we're going there. Okay, Mary and I are going to New Orleans soon, and I've been planning the trip, and it will be my sixth time, it'll be Mary's first. And oh my god, Mary's been, right, Mike, you had.

Not ten years ten years since I've gone.

Okay, I've gone six times in the last ten years.

So yeah, yeah, it's been ages since I've been. But I love it well, I can't wait.

So anyway, very excited about that. We'll have stories from there for sure. The games I have been playing the one thing it's been dabbling. It's been dabbling because again Sectory is taking up everything with big hops is a game about a.

Frog and he jumps around Mary already. Yep, yep.

It's a cute little frog that hops on.

Marry.

This seems prime for a Mary stream. H you're your frog that hops around. He's got a tongue that he uses to grapple, lot of things. He can wall run and.

You can a bar is a lily pad, get out.

It's an adorable game.

It is Mobby says, I got to get my frog on.

Oh, you can swim underwater.

It's a very cute game, for sure.

It is very much going in that Mario sixty four vane, you know, platforming, going around collecting these bits and stuff to unlock future levels and stuff like that.

It is so cute.

It is quite good for one of those. You know, it's a smaller team, so obviously it's like not fair to put it Tomorrio standards. That said, I do play a shiplottle Mario games, and I am just so used to a certain amount of like predictability with the motion and stuff. And there definitely is things in big hops where it's like, oh, the momentum or the angle you

I love games like this. I love the platforming elements and it looks like there's some light puzzling where you're like getting your tongue to solve a lock.

Like that's fun. Yeah, this looks very cute.

I think I think you would like it a lot, and I will play more of it. It's yeah, and like you have a backpack and every time you get like basically their equivalent of a star, it'll be like, choose one of these two upgrades. So there's perks and stuff. So it's like, oh, when you slide on your belly, you'll go further, or your backpack is bigger and can hold more trinkets, and you know, like it's it does

Yeah, that sounds like a lot of his games.

Yep, yep, yep, yep. They will not surprise anyone if you played pseudo games.

Wait, sudo is also is that Shadows of the Damned m I think that's my favorite? Was that Macammie and Suda?

It sounds yeah, yeah that I like that one.

I like Shadow a lot of phallic stuff, but like it felt like RESI before even within two in the same school.

Yeah, it wasn't your gun named Boner?

Oh yeah, everything everything is a thing.

Yeah, your name is hot Spur. Yeah, what's done?

Crawl? All right?

Dune Krawl is the best co op game so far in twenty twenty six. Guys, it's so cool. I know we're gonna get more of these like these.

Uh yeah, it's January eleven games.

Yeah, friend slop is everywhere.

This isn't really friend slop. I think this is like genuine couch co op type gameplay. Super fun. You are.

I don't even know what you are, but you ride a crab and one person is driving the crab and the other person is shooting the cannons to help like take down different towers and then.

You can upgrade your crab.

Guys, you like might find something in the world, like I found this steel plate in an area, and I attached it to my crab and it protects his little arm, and so while he's walking around, he's got steel plates.

You got to heal your crab. You gotta make sure your crab is healthy. And then you get off of the crab at these.

Different islands and do the excursions.

You bring back.

Treasures, and then you sell the treasures for upgrades for your giant crab and for yourselves. And there's even secrets on these islands, so you might be like, that's weird, Like what's up with this like.

Weird looking wall? And you bomb it.

You go through the wall and there's a whole fucking area in there with an extra secret treasure in there if you're paying attention. At first, I thought it was too easy. At first, I was like, this game is for babies, and I respect that, but it's too easy. But on like the it took a couple hours for it to get moving. There is a point where I was like, Okay, these guys are cooking and now I.

Need to have my shit together.

So it did get harder as the game progressed, but I appreciated the easiness of it because I think if you were going to like play this with a partner, like a you know, a sibling, and you're like, I don't want it to.

Be too hard. It starts very reasonably and then it builds over time.

So I've loving it. It has a couple issues, I think, Like I think aesthetically, it's like a little bland. You're in a desert every time, there's always a desert area. It's just brown town, you know, and I just you don't see a lot of change in the environment.

I think that's kind of exhausting. I feel like I.

Had like one other issue with it, but they're minor, like generally speaking, Like, I'm enjoying playing this game. I like riding my crab around town and upgrading her.

Oh, you could also find masks.

This was pretty cool. There's like lots of stuff you're kind of learning as I'm playing it. But at one of the excursions, I got a mask and nobody would accept it, no one would buy it, and so I put it on my.

Crab crab mask.

I like, I'm like upgrading my crab with like different Oh, I got a upgrade from one of my crab's claws. And when it's when it steps there, it creates a trap on the ground, and so I'm like constantly upgrading my crab. It goes up to four player co op playing it with I'm playing it.

What do you mean?

Who?

How many? Know? How many people are you playing it with?

Just one?

So it's just two of us right now. I'd love to play it with four. I think it'll be fun.

I wonder if that would make it too awkward.

Ye, the way you're describing it first, it reminded me of did you ever play Lovers in a Dangerous Space time? Yeah, but that was way more challenging right off the bat than this is. And that wasn't explorating it. That was more like Housemark Arcadie kind of vibes.

Yeah, what's that other game with four people where you're like doing challenging platforming.

Things and everyone and it's just like Castle Crushers.

This kind of has a castle that's that's a beat them off. Yeah, it has.

Some like schmuppy type things. There's a lot of different weapons in the space. You're constantly finding new weapons, I mean the upgrades. Oh, and there's environmental kills and stuff too. It's just pretty fun. So I think you find like little red barrels and shoot them and they like pop off and everyone will explode. And oh and there's beatle as well, and so you're constantly like you find a beetle in the environment, you can ride it.

It's so fun.

I found a beetle that had two side cars were like sidecaring it up.

If you find like random.

People you can take their stuff. I think it's really cute and well done. It's not perfect. One of the other issues we came across was I think the camera follows like the main person this is couch co op, and if I died, it goes the camera goes back to me, so the person who was progressing like loses their progress.

There was like a couple janky things as well.

When I was like trying to get off my crab and it like didn't know if I was trying to get on the ladder or not. I like floated in the air and kind of like janked away.

So it's not perfect.

I think this is a small indie team. In fact, I know it is because I've played their games before. This is Alien Trap they made Kryptarc I played that and Capsize. I don't know if you guys played that. This group has been around for a really long time, but they make their They've got to be a small team. This has got to be like a twenty little group of devs making this, and I think they've done an excellent job.

Nice cool.

Yeah, I hope more people like play this like in groups, especially as like co op is becoming more appealing.

I just think this has got It's got the.

Sauce, guys, sounds of mili.

I think we should play it. I would love to play it with you, guys. I've loved I loved.

It when I was like figuring out and every time I like learned something all the again. The weapons are so I just found a boomerang, which is such a funny weapon because it's like that comes back at you. And the different exploding weapons, and my favorite is just simply like a bo like a bow that does acid damage.

Cool?

All right, do you wanna do some emails sure, okay. As usual, you can write into Fireescape Casts at gmail dot com with questions for the show, comments, concerns. Maybe we'll read your questions on the show. Fill up the inbox for twenty twenty six. We got a bunch of new ones since the last episode. Thank you so much, Mary. Do you want to read this first one from Stephanie?

Hello?

Wait, nope?

Congratulations?

Yeah, your real selves have inherited farms in Stardow Valley?

Would you drop everything and move there?

I think we'd all say yeah, a sosolutely?

Can I like stream and stuff from the farm?

Sure? Why not? Yeah? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, that's not a fun job the premise.

If yes, how would you spend most of your time in Stardo? Who would have had the most successful farm after three years? Who would sell out to Jojo mart first? Cheers Stephanie from Vancouver Island, Canada. Yeah, I agree, I think we'd all do it.

Yeah?

Who was actually my corporo life? And just starting a farm.

Is so cool?

It does sound great, sounds nice.

I don't take offense to this, Dan, I think the best farm would probably be between Mary and.

Me, But my whole family is farmers.

Yeah, but it doesn't mean you know how to do anything.

It's not in your blood.

I might awaken something in my jeans, you know, might like it's like the devil gene and techan like something like something activates and I'm a fucking.

Sleeper sell inside. Yeah. My grandparents were all farmers as well.

I mean it's like my extended family is all farmers and my direct family is all grocers.

You know, so I feel like there's generation is all eaters.

I don't know what about circle yeah.

Dan, like it sets foot in the in the on the farms, like I could do this with a channel like Grandpa, and the crops are just dead on daytime.

Here was a grocer, I'd right, I'd run the store in town where they sold the stuff Joe.

I would have.

People you're the Jojo tending to the farm part of it, and then I would work the store and then stream at night.

The general store or the high pay the grocery store. Okay, gotcha.

Well, because that thing is like Jojo.

Mart, that's basically we'll put the family business out of business. Is like ninety three Records market clothes because Walmart Target, you know, they all started doing grocery stuff and everything, and all the big box stores put us out of business. So like I feel like it would be in my DNA to like, well, no, I got to run the mom and pop shop.

You know, this isn't answering the question properly, but I did used to have dreams about being in Stardew Valley and like existing in that town, like probably so many people who've played that game. But it wasn't being a farmer. It was owning the local bar because the part the pub is always poppin'. It's very busy, especially on Friday and Saturday night. They have like a good crew, there's arcade games. It just feels so awesome. If I was a Stardoo Valley person who stayed in that town.

I would own the bar, dude, and I would like give people their beers and just enjoy that life.

Mary, I could one hundred percent see you, just like retiring young and just like running a bar in Portland.

I think sometimes it's my dream.

I don't know a lot about it, so would probably destroy it and it wouldn't go well to death in there. But the concept to me of opening a simple bar and what I mean by that, is is like if you go in there and you order some fucking fancy schmancy fandangled drink, I'm gonna be like, do you want a beer or not?

Do you want a.

Shot of whiskey or get out? I would order I would like have a bar.

Would you be the bartender who's taking the shots with the people where it's like, oh, they order three shots of whiskey. I do like that, Like that that's fun at bars when like a bartender will take a shot with you or something. I like that.

I think I would enjoy that life. I do think it would probably lose its luster.

I was a bartender, so like it's not like I don't know that world, but like I think owning the bar is a different vibe, right, and like caring about it and like enjoying your locals, your regulars that come all the time. You know their name and you're like, just like I go to the same goddamn bar almost every weekend.

I have.

The bartender is the owner. We know each other. Every time I see him. He has my order ready to go, two cores lights and he puts in and ordered chili cheese fres like I've.

Got it on lock and it's like that guy's cool.

I want to be that guy that is like the coolest feeling when it's just like like when I lived in Northeast Minneapolis, I used to I lived right across in the Vegas Lounge, and I would just walk in there and Frank the bartender, would just walk up and just give me an ordies without me saying a word, and it's like, ah, hell yeah. Like it's it's fun to just have like your haunt, your place.

It's good to have someone where everybody knows your name.

You know. It feels a fire escape bar logo that would be the logical progression.

Giant neon sign of a logo. That's sweet logo like the I love it and.

It's just a little escape from our our lives.

Anyway, I've completely avoided the question, but that's what I would like to do in Stardy Valley. I think if I was in Stardo, I would spend most of my time.

At the bar.

So you did answer the question.

I think that I would actually like to see our farms before answering this question. It depends on if this question is like are you actually a farmer or who can game a five Stardy Valley the best because while I had a very good and successful farm, by the end, it wasn't super organized because that's not my jam.

My jam isn't have.

Like the perfect bins that are in succession in mid max every square ounce of my farm. That's not how I play. So I'd like to see your guys's farms before I make my answer.

I had a lot of beer going on in my farm, like in the winters is when you could do the beer. And like I just my whole operation.

Was just a really good in my bar.

Let's just buy a town.

Let's just do the like Dave Chappelle thing and buy a town and we'll just run everything.

We'll have a farm.

What would you do?

I would actually do all the adult stuff that requires that, Like running a bar requires that you two don't think about.

Yeah, you do the stuff.

No, like everything like distribution cogs. Do you guys know what cogs stands for? No, that's your fucking deal. You need to hit thirty percent and you're good and you're making the right You deal with that.

Exactly, you guys, Mary's taking shots. Let's know, you guys want me to run a bar, you too, Just want to drink. I'm playing with the dog.

Mary's taken shots with the customers, like yeah, all yeah.

Every day, she's the only She just keeps saying she's the owner, but she's actually not awesome.

Yeah, we cannot get her to leave.

That's the romance. I don't fucking know her. She's just here every day.

She keeps saying I'll.

Have the usual, but we don't know what that means because we have never served her the same thing twice.

Uh yeah, talking all the dogs.

He says he's a brewer, but I'm pretty sure he just makes enough beer for himself to trip.

I just pay people to make the beer. Yeah, fair drinking.

Uh Dan, you want to read this? Thank you, Stephanie. Dan, you want to read this one from Alex.

Sure Mike was having a big old winge. Boy, you can just there's some words you can just tell someone in a different country, the big old winge about the hoops he had to jump through to watch Search party, and it reminded me of my most boomer take that broadcast TV, whilst not perfect, was the best content delivery platform. What is your boomer take? You won't move from? That is Alex in Australia. I mean mine that I just keep going deeper and deeper into is just hating social

Over social media too.

For the record, TikTok like crazy, right.

I think that they are consuming TikTok. But I think.

The the trend that I am seeing is that there's no trust with social media with any generation right now because of AI or it should not be yeah yeah, And so it just doesn't feel honest.

It's like, yeah, it's it's concerns about the content. It's also but like my thing is more just like mental health. I just think it's just like every here's the thing that I've I've gone back to, going back to like two thousand and nine when I started the game Informer, and it's always the people. And in this industry, there's so many people that are so tied to social media and their followings and they're back in the day their

People you've ever met.

So it's like, there's it just seems like a very clear thing to me where it's like, engage in that stuff and make it your whole deal, and you're just gonna be a mess. And I just pull back all the time from it and want to pull back further and further and further, and it's only been good to pull back. So that's I know that makes me sound ancient, but like that's wair.

We talked about that before and I won't belabor it.

We we did dig into like how young people coming up in certain spaces and like as journalists sometimes need that's it's helpful to get their name out there and get work if you're a freelancer. It was pretty cool, yeah, but like one percent I went cold turkey. I think all three of us here are fortunate and we worked hard to get to where we were and we were able to just kind of well, at least again, i'd like pulled the bandit off and just except for Instagram,

It's just wine and food and uh like my cat yeah and cats.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I one thousand percent agree with that. My my other this isn't really a boomer take. I don't think this is like I think people would agree. I think the movie theater is still the best way to watch a movie.

Provider you.

I will say, though, my boomer take is that I think one out of every five movies I go to actually has a good audience.

Oh it's rare to have it, or just fucking yeah.

People are just no. I mean, like I've maybe it's just because there's so many fucking people here. I've been to.

Let's say I've seen twenty movies in the last five years in theaters. Well, that's obviously COVID happened. But like you know what I'm saying, just for the percent and wise, I'd say five of those there wasn't like extremely rude people somewhere in the theater.

That might be depending on locate, because like we've seen more than that in the last five years, and like don't at least in Minnesota. I don't think we've ever had a bad experience in me.

Every once in a while, we had a really bad one where we saw Mean Girls the musical.

I don't know why we saw the theaters. I don't know why I did, but the people in front of us were making out the whole movie.

On fine with that, I would like, I like that.

Like full on in each other's throat. I understand that, Like I understand.

That you can kiss. Like I'm not like the kiss Police.

I'm just saying, like the whole time, it was like you could hear them making out, start fucking going say something.

It was awkward.

Like at some point I just had to just tap them on the shoulder and I said, this movie is almost over.

You guys can go to town. Yeah, but it was ten more minutes.

I've gone to a.

Bunch of different theaters and I feel like, I just I think there's people who did not come up going to movie theaters once they like got old enough. Because they were either in quarantine or just like streaming services were allowing them to watch whatever they wanted at home. I think there's just not an etiquette there that we

Yeah, I mean there are certain movies that are fine if it's just some like kind of chilocky. Like if I'm seeing like a fast and furious movie in the theaters, I don't really give a shit of some But if I'm seeing like Bogonia or something, I'm not gonna want someone trying to like get their shit over and get some jokes in during the thing. It's like I hate that shit or exactly a completely unrelated conversation, so just.

Just chatting loudly and their phones bright in front of us, Like.

I mean that that was when I was in New York during that movie past era, Like that's when I remember seeing that frequently. And yeah, I don't know if it's just a New York thing.

I try.

I try to go to the theaters where I know people are gonna be cool, like The Angelica. Generally speaking, I'd say people who are going to The Angelica are really into movies and thus are cool in theaters then they're like the bigger AMCs and whatnot, where it's just like no holds barred.

You don't know what you're gonna get.

If you're seeing like a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, I doubt like would.

Like, yeahoo's in there.

Then I saw Alien that was the Romulus two years ago, and that was the worst I had to literally I had.

It was a bunch of n YU students.

I think I had to turn around be like shut the fuck up because they were shot. They were treading it at this volume in the intro and it's quiet and like building suspense and like shut the fuck up. And they were babies, so they didn't say anything back to me. And then like that that. At that point, it's like you're having a full on conversation. Go to the bar around the corner. Why did you pay to come in here?

Mike?

Were we that during Rainbow Last Blood in New York?

No, like we were we were just a front row.

We were in the front row, like go like getting really excited when things were happening.

We were punching each other when we were excited.

That was rocky. That was a creed. We've had several very drunk theaters.

Yeah, but that was when the music was flaring and Christian like we're just getting.

Yeah, no, no, no.

These people are having full on conversation like loudly in the middle of the theater with their and oh oh flashing like the flashes on their phone, taking a photo the screen to post on social media. That's when I was like, I was, yeah, the theater, Oh yeah, I was. And that was the the what was the name of the theater. That was a theater that like again they show like Stalker every few months, like like Tarkowski movies like that. That is a theater that cares about movies.

Fully agree, very what's yours.

I'll never go back to low rise jeans.

You can't make me high rise jeans for life.

So is low rise because I don't know anything. My passion is low rise. Okay, so there's like the belly.

Button and then you go down.

Like two inches. Wait, so if if if the line of the jeans or the pants or whatever is at the belly button, that's midrise.

Hollister, think Hollister jeans. That means Fitz jeans.

I just went jeans.

If you're looking at an ad for like a clothing store in two thousand and six, I guarantee.

The women are all wearing low rise jeans.

Just look up low like Christina Aguilera in the early two thousands were like her jeans are like above her.

Like barely cuban that to come out that low.

Rise high went under the clip to show the clip. Oh god, love.

Set settle down Like so high rise is more of a Is that like a mom Jean thing?

No?

Oh high rise Yeah, No, high rise are back, like gen Z loves them.

The nineties fashions are back now.

Mary loves the soundboard.

I love that.

If you were just listening, you the thing I said for real was as weird as the thing that was on the soundboard.

Kind of Oh my god. M yeah, you know, low rise jeans when you see him. So what is the current trend? Is it higher? But I think what I'm just.

Saying is is like my boomer tank take is like I don't care what's in fashion.

I'll never wear that. Uh it might be a millennial take, so I'll try and think of an older take than that.

But like my boomer take is like I ain't going back, like I'll never I won't do it.

I don't want to do Are they coming back ever again? Oh? The kids are changing it up all over the place.

I Oh, yeah, I didn't talk about plants.

Yeah, I'm still talking about pants down. I'll let you know when we're when we've moved on.

We're still in pants town.

Okay, Yeah, we're in crotch City. Yeah, I know.

I I also, I really really make no effort to chase trends with how I dress.

I think in general, Yeah, I struggle with that. I will try, but I can't try with low rise.

Uh.

Sometimes I say, uh, when I mean to search something, I say google it, And I think that's kind of a boom boom.

Do kids not boom google?

No?

I mean I think they google things, but I don't think they say I'm going to go google it like work.

Huh. I guess I never like even paid attention. They oh they say to I TBT.

Probably they probably say like go look it up or something, But I say google it because I've been trained to google things since I was fourteen, and now I don't know any better.

I am starting to come around on like what Alex from TROYA says. Here, we're the whole thing of like broadcast TV like it. There was the heyday of like oh we got Netflix, we got Hulu.

This is great.

It's got all this stuff, like you know, all this stuff. I want to see it on these couple of things like nowadays it is like, look, I'm never gonna fucking get Paramount. Plus I'm never gonna get Disney whatever. I'm not going like. And so it does suck when there's just things that you don't know how to watch.

I am an NBA fan. It's the one sport I still truly care about. I try to watch as many Warriors games as possible. I know I was winging about Search Party. I being an NBA viewer on any given night, and these are eighty five game seasons you need to one night it's on Peacock. The other night, it is on ESPN the other night, it's on HBO. Another night it's on You need Fubo or Sling or.

Which are all Like.

All they're doing is giving you the same packages broadcast like satellite TV. They're just eighty dollars a month for this for everything you could ever want to watch. However, then NBC Sports Bay Area has the exclusive rights to some of these Warriors games. And this is my fault for being a fan of a West Coast team when I live in New York. But I can't watch those

I mean, I will say.

The thing that is universally positive is the idea of being able to just on demand, you know, like easily, Like you don't have to You're not programming a fucking VCR to record your show or whatever. You can just load it up and you can play it. But the beauty of a like cable subscription back in the day was like, Okay, you're gonna pay a lot, you're gonna pay one hundred plus dollars a month probably, but you'll

There's some misowning things, like I hate that when I want to watch a movie, I'm renting it for forty eight hours. Like I liked buying things and having them.

Or if you buy it, you own like a digital version of it that if in some worst case scenario something goes wrong, you could just lose it and not it's not in your house.

Is this a boomer thing that? Like I still buy a ton of four K Blu rays, Like do you guys do?

Yes?

Okay, I do every once in a while for ones I really like. I just collector's aspect.

Yeah, not even just collector's aspect, Like if I'm going to watch something like the quality is better off going off of streaming, and it's like going up and down depending on the bandwidth or whatever, Like, Okay, I've got a disc I'm putting in my PS five. It's going to be the best possible quality. It's gonna have the at most, it's gonna have all that stuff. Like any movie I really like, I try to buy on four K.

I would do that more often if I have more space, But yes, I do that when I really I see a movie on streaming them, I really fucking like that. I know we're going to rewatch it. I want to get the Blu ray as like a collector's item or something like that.

Yeah.

I probably have more that are not come to mind right now, but I think we've sufficiently covered the question.

I mean, that's so many boomer things.

I probably have a lot.

I have a lot of boomer stuff.

Yeah, thank you Alex again. Uh okay, so this one I didn't read the whole thing. Basically, there's a character on Survivor Australia named Mark Wales that Caitlin, who wrote in claims I.

Look a lot alike.

Look him up.

It's it's Mark Wales, Australia Survivor.

Mark Wales, like the country I believe, so Survivor. I don't see if it looks like you. Let's see. Oh, this guy's way more Jack than you, Mark Wales. Yeah, this guy is Oh my god, this is like a Pokemon evolution of Mike Marty.

Yeah. I think they showed a photo of his face. Yeah, oh this is crazy.

Yeah, this is a way more Jack to Mike Maarty.

Oh man did he win?

Uh?

Oh in the face? I could I see it sort of see.

It even there.

This guy's chin is like as big as his body, Like it.

Is so the like this is like a bj Blaskawitz like Olfenstein guy.

This guy is sort of saying he does look like a video game character.

He looks like they ran out of polygons to make him and so they just made his head a square.

But anyway, they use that as a preface to ask this question. They explain the rules of Australia Survivor. I think it's the same as the normal one, but here's the question. There are three main elements that production claims are essential to win Survivor a lot of times the popularity contest. However, the three main elements are outplay and outlast. Kind of self explanatory, but basically, outwit means you strategically

When you're the most strategic of us.

But Mike, yeah, but video would be better the physical stuff. I think, like I couldn't necessarily do the physical stuff. I think the social element I could do very well.

Have you seen the physical stuff? Sometimes it's like, who's gonna stand on this pole the longest?

Hmmm, maybe that's outlast, but it's like that was one of the challenges I saw, and it was just like, here's a pole, it's not very wide, you have to stand on it, and if you fall into the water, you're out.

And then they made them stand there for like fucking six hours.

I've done a lot of fifty turned Mario Parties.

This does sound like Mario Party because they're talking about out playing someone in challenges while you outlast them, and also there is the social element of Mario Party.

Did Mario Party? Did Survivor just copy Mario Party? Or vice versa? Should I watch Survivor? You probably love it? On season like sixty, I think.

No, No.

I think Mary would be the one to.

Charm her way through, which would be out witting Dan, I think more than Mary.

The fact you say that show we're assuming.

There's other people, right, Like, it's not just.

Us, there's like twelve people or whatever.

I think I could rally people to make Dan the victim quite easily.

The way the way Bank always puts it is that like my speechcraft skill is just like at a million out of ten, you know, So it's like I think that is where I would do very well.

And I disagree vehemently on this.

I never disagree with and loves you in so many circumstances, like maybe here I would be really good to the outwit the social element, but yeah, any of the physical stuff, I think I would be the least of us three.

You imagine a fucking Survivor challenge where it's a spelling bee and Dan's just like fuck yeah yeah, But most of the time it's like hang from this bar and you're like.

Uh oh, I'm not doing it? Is that how play?

Would be the challenges I think I could outlast, which I guess both of those would be kind of a physical element, but m.

For each of us, Yeah, I would think.

I would be out last I think Mary would be out play and I'd be out wit.

I think Mary be outwit. I think you'd be out play.

I think you'd be out like you'd get out d.

Yeah. Now, Dan, you're very lucky.

I think you could pick up your very You play so many games that you're good at picking up rules really quickly and figuring out how to maneuver through them and exploit them. I think you would understand the challenges really quickly and see where the seams are, like they all be a mini sexuality.

The challenges are puzzles, like you'd be able to like figure out like how you just get all the really should have told you, guys, I say, puzzles, puzzles.

Now you have to of the puzzle around. I could always say, I think.

You would see the meta of the challenge really quickly because you play so many games and are really well versed in just OK.

I agree, we also got to give you something.

I think, thank you, I've had the boring.

There you go, Dan, We're proud of you.

But I've never had a problem lasting really long.

I actually my problem too.

I don't think I could outlast if like bugs came after me, I'd be I think I would.

Like want to leave. I don't like bugs. I don't like get eaten alive.

Yeah, I don't think any of us would win. To be clear, I would. I would say my wine fridge is on day two.

No, I'm Joe.

That's just me being a caricature. I don't think you could win Survivor, Dan. I don't think you truly understand what they do on the show.

I don't know what the show is, so I've not really seen it.

But I do generally think I could win anything.

Sure, win.

You get voted off basically, and you with you win challenges, you get immunity. Your only hope would be winning the challenges and getting immunity, because I do feel like.

I wouldn't be like a heel to people on the island like I would. I would understand that was an element and it's not be a ship unlikable.

I think someone they would recognize because you have to be a helper, you like, help other people set up the camp or are you going to set up your own camp.

I don't not do any of that ship exactly to help me.

I don't yeah over here.

And then and then they'd all be sitting around the fire starving because they don't give you any fucking food unless you win the challenge. So if you lose the challenge, everyone's hungry and miserable, and you'd be there being like I did my part.

I'd sneak in and steal the food to the other camp. Yeah, it's huge, and then I'd bring it back and I'd be the hero in my camp and no one's voted me. I would.

Then there are.

Evil people that have done well. They have like succeeded. I don't watch too much Survivor, but I have seen the first season. I remember it vividly that like the lady who made it, everybody will.

A couple ladies hated.

Her at the end because she, you know, sacrificed them and so they were like basically like if you were thirsty and I had water and we were in a desert, I wouldn't give you a drink. Like they're so mad at her for what she did because she like crossed them.

You have to cross people in the game. You have to like trick them and.

Be like we have an ally, and I'd be like, I'd go to you and I'd be like you and I we are in like cahoots and we won't vote each other off, right, And you'd be like yes, and I'd shake your hand.

I'd look you in the eye and then I to Mike and I'd be like, we gotta get Dan.

Out, man, I'm talking about this. I feel like I got to start a campaign to get me on Survivor for real.

Yeah, I think that would be good. Forever challenge Dan belly flops into a shark pool and just.

Get he doesn't deserve to win.

I do think there is a I'm not going to get about your silver tongue, but I will say that there is a damn factor in which you have like slip slopped your way into success so many times that sometimes I'm like, maybe he will just fan dangle himself to like win a couple of challenges at the right time and get pretty far.

I'm going to look into this. I want to be on Survivor.

You have to send in audition tapes and whatnot. I could do that.

Yeah, I know it's I had to make a video for Taco Bell. That's what I'm saying you Taylor made for it. I would just use the zip line. That would be my entire motive. I don't think I'll go far in this Survivor again. I think I would maybe make it past a couple of days, but then by that day there I would I don't want to be around humans to begin with that much in close quarters, let alone on an island where we don't have that much food.

And I'm grumpy.

God, I I am now just thinking about this, and I super want this.

Dance. I want.

I want to be on Survitor.

You should watch some Survivor first, you should watch some Yeah, it feels strategy.

Is that I've never seen an episode of Survivor.

Let's go Sudden Rock and you have to fight a lion.

That happened nothing, who ever died on all the time they do the first I don't think they have with food.

They starve you.

They starve you and you're so hungry. You have as a whole table of fried chicken, and you only get it if you like win the challenge, and then you get to pick one Like let's say you don't win, and so there's like ten people who are starving and one person who won, and then they'll say you get to pick one friend. And the way they do it is they like pit people against each other. She'll be like, I told you to pick me. I told you I was hungry.

I know I would be friends some like grips on the crew and then they would like, I want some of that chicken in the in the middle of the night.

Give me yeah on the ground, just one.

Yeah.

This is why I think I can get out of prison. This is how I would be out of prison. It's just befriending people and stuff like that. And help me out here, you know.

First to be shanked on Survivor.

And then thrown over the ray into the end of the yard.

I want this.

I want this.

Uh.

Well, thank you, Caitlin. I think we settled. I think we all arrived at the logical conclusions there. Uh that is our episode. That's fire Escape Cast at gmail dot com. Get more questions in load up that inbox for twenty twenty six. Thank you, Caitlin, Thank you. Alex has written in many times, Thank you, Stephanie.

Uh.

We will be back in a couple of weeks. But in the meantime, a couple housekeeping things. If you're not a patron of any type, you can go just become a follower so you know when the bonus episodes are going up on our YouTube. You should also go subscribe to that for similar reasons if you haven't already. If you want to get ad free episodes, or you want to get the video versions, become a patron of either tier.

Giant Bomb and giant bomb dot com. Check out the site, Chuck Chuck Tawski. Rebuild the site. It is fantastic now. It's doing a lot of fun stuff there. Also, like I said earlier, I think I am gonna maybe try to start streaming more on my personal twitch doing sick. I keep wanting to say Sectory.

See I can't want to say Secura every time we're talking about it.

Yeah, yeah, I do want to play Securo. So maybe by the time this episode comes out. Maybe I've already started, so keep an eye on those VODs and stuff like that. But I think I want to play securo.

Let me let me know when you do. I might tune in to just check in every once in a while.

It'll be Dan Reiker to own twitch.

Mary, what do you have going on?

Same thing as always.

I stream most of the time when I can on Mondays on Twitch.

I bowl on Tuesdays. I podcast on Wednesdays. I'm a busy girl.

Nice, where can we watch you bowl? I'm just kidding, don't know.

Yeah, I wish, I maybe I should. I would like actually to stream one of our balls. I will admit to everyone though I'm not very good, but my average has slowly climbed from one hundred to one hundred and twenty five.

Oh you weren't kidding, you suck, I'm joking. I don't know bowling scores.

Actually, if you bowl in a league, you should be at one sixty for sure.

I think it's weird to bowl lower than one fifty.

We are probably the worst league team in the league, but we don't care.

Because double penetration to That's what I've wanted. The name. Oh wait, no, it's the pensy low hands.

Right, Yeah, we're not.

Double penetration is really good.

Double penetration was the name I wanted it to be, but that was denied.

So we are the pensy low hands.

That's good.

That's good, thank you. And I think it would have been called full penetration.

Oh, full penetration is good. I don't know which ones more A.

Little bit far down the goon hole, but yeah, it's pretty.

Bad turkey penetration.

I have only bowled a few times. I don't know how the scoring works. I know I got like a two hundred and ninety, but that's all I know. But that's about no. I actually am weirdly. I'm decent at bowling for not bowling much.

I can score by hand. That's the one college class I went to.

Score by hand? How else ye throw the fucking ball, you weirdo? In between you right, a little pencil a X or asparea. Yeah, how does it work? Isn't it?

Well?

We didn't know? This is boring thing to get into now.

It's like you add if you get a strike, you add ten to the previous one. If you get another strike, you had ten to get a strike. Let's say you get a strike on the first frame. Very first roll, you get a strike, you were getting ten guaranteed, and then you were adding the next two frames, so that can be a two to in a seven. But then you also get that two and a seven from the second frame. But let's say you get that's where like

What is it fifteen frames? It's ten frames, ten frames. I don't think four turkeys as possible.

No, not in one game unless you get all strikes and then you just count like that's just overlapping turkeys.

That's just a three turkey. Yeah, what is a group? What is a group of turkeys called?

There's always a weird name for gaggles, a gaggle, So I would get like a gaggle is all strikes as a gaggle I've done a gaggle before. I went three hundred and people were freaking out and congratulating me.

I just didn't understand it. I was like, that was easy.

We'll be back in a couple of weeks with episode one hundred and twenty five, quarter of away to our two hundredth episode. That's a long ways out. I don't want to do the math. That's like three years from now.

We'll be back with.

That one, Dana, Mary, thanks for joining. Everybody.

It was listening and watching. Thanks for joining as always, We'll see in a couple of weeks.

Bye bye s