Hello, kitties. It's your old pal John Kucier, the voice of the cryptkeeper, and you're listening to the bottom shelf. Hey, guys. Celeste, where have you been? Wait. Where is, where's Branson? Due to space time conflict, I have removed him from this reality. In order to offset the imbalance, I have deleted my boy John from the Gundam Universe as well. You're welcome. Also, Westside. Glix? Glix? You're not like us. Not like us.
Glix. Ma'am, take a take a day, Prepare yourself to discover a world of terrible movies. See you, boo, over. On the bottom shelf. Welcome, movie lovers and movie haters. A little bit of awkwardness there for you, What What was that? I'm so confused by Glix. Why is Glix a man? Anyway, hello, everybody. We are nearing the end of the wormhole. We have 3. But no one box left. Just Unmas. So it I we're hoping it's my turn because so far, boy, have I lost this game of roulette. And I lost the game.
Oh, man. And you know who else lost the game? Everybody out there who's participating in that nonsense. I, however, have chosen not to play the game. You're always part of the game, John. I I refuse. Simply by With that being said, let me open this box here and oh, bro. Mhmm. Okay. So well, we'll we'll get into this when we get to the expectations, but check it out. Check it out. Check it out. Check out here. When is this bad times at Battle Royale? No. No. No. No. No. There's
no bad. That would be amazing. Oh, bad times at the El Royale. Wait. Why is it called the El Royale or or El Royale? That's kinda redundant. It's because because El Royale is the name of a hotel. And so the would be appropriate because it's in reference to the title of a specific place. It still translates weird. Only if you're translating it instead of seeing it as a proper noun. Yeah. Okay. What is this? Well, the computer
over here says this. Bad Times at the El Royale is a 2018 thriller written by The Lost Martian director, Drew Goddard. It stars the original fighter for the user, the dude himself, Jeff Bridges, the soulful voice of Cynthia Evereaux, Dakota Johnson before got lost before she got lost in the web of lies in Madame Web, mad man himself, John Hamm, and Lewis Pullman before he decided to be a bull rider in on the outer range.
It's the 20th Century Fox movie that takes place over a single night and leaves you wondering if you spent your night wisely as the dead characters. Okay. That sounds exciting. Let's see. Let me read the back of the box. It was 1969, and the lull at a once trendy hotel on the California, Nevada border ended with a rush of clientele, including an aging priest, Jeff Bridges, a vacuum salesman, Jon Hamm, a drifter, Dakota Johnson, and then the soul singer, Cynthia Erivo.
However, agendas and identities Erevio. Oh, Erevio. However, agendas and identities aren't all what they seem. In between a hunt for the hidden banked loot in between the hunt for the hidden bank loot and the cultists arriving at the door, no one should expect a good night's rest. Stylish contemporary noir costars Chris Helmsworth, Lewis Pullman, and Kylie Spany. Yep. Alright. Alright. Yeah. That that kinda covers it. That intro sounds like the beginning of a joke.
A priest, a salesman, and a drifter walking through a bar. Alright. So let's crank some trivia out on this because I'm assuming we got, again because we're in this black hole. There's no access to help or possibly Apparently not. Alright. The El Royale was built from scratch on a soundstage, with much of the furniture and decor being custom made, including branded matchboxes and coasters reals.
The color scheme was meticulously set out so that the California side was mostly yellows and oranges, while the Nevada side was purples and blues. Red was was reserved for the borderline jukebox and chandelier, while green is almost entirely absent until the end. The El Royale is based on the famous Cal Nevada Resort and Casino that was once owned by Frank Sinatra.
And assuming the Richard Nixon press coverage shown on the TV in this movie is happening live or earlier that day, This film takes place specifically on January 27, 1969. Oh, wow. This movie was shot on actual film without traditional light setting. The hotel was specifically designed to allow enough light to shoot by, And all the all the cast and the writer or director Drew Goddard took a pay cut in order to get this film made. Oh, wow. That's Because they
all believed in it that much. I appreciate that. So those are my trivia tidbits for this film. Let's break it down to expectations. I'll jump in on this one because this is apparently my movie. I finally get one to go my way. I'm so excited. I'm gonna tell you, I have seen this movie a lot. Lot. Like, the year it came out, I saw it like 5 times. Oh, wow. It's a really good movie. Every time I see it, I I have the same thought every time. It's like, wow. This is like Tarantino meets Hitchcock.
And it yeah. I'm very much expecting more of that. I'm expecting a blown out color palette with a heady plot. And, yeah, I'm I'm very excited. I'm going to like this. Cool. I'm not sure what to expect because, all I know is the title. You know that I like it. I mean yeah. But you you like a range of things, Everything from The Exorcist to Dora the Explorer. So Fair. That doesn't give me a good gauge of what I'm walking into.
I I will say this, although this is kind of trivia, although it's not so much trivia. But when I first started listening to Geek Devotions, there was one movie I was hampering on you guys to do a devotion about back when you guys were like, oh, make a donation, and you'll maybe we'll do a devotion on a movie if you like. Which is Sullivan. Why why sound like Ernie? It's just that's just how I do third person voices. But
but, yeah, this this was that movie. I've I've I've been trying to make you guys watch this movie, the almost the entirety of our relationship. So this is an exciting moment for me. I hear some of the making? About yeah. That's that's about right. Cool. So, anyways, Celeste, you said just okay. Just the title. How about you Dallas? So I'm looking at the box and I'm having memories of seeing a commercial for this. Like, when it first came out. Of course, 2018 was a start of, like, just some
wild times for us. And so I never got just to watch it, but I feel like I wanted to watch it. Like, I seem to have members that are going, oh, this will be a a pretty nifty movie to watch. Oh, yeah. 2018 would not have been a good movie good time for me to watch a movie like this. No. Not a good time for you at all. Yeah. But, I thought it looked like a pretty cool movie to watch, and, we just never have a time to. And, so I'm excited to check it out.
I have a fascination with films that pull off this 19 sixties feel to it. I'm just you know, because sometimes they do it and it's super stylized and interesting, and sometimes it's just not. So I'm intrigued to see what happens. Yeah. I think that's about the by contrast to last week's or the last episode, that was about as I feel like we just rushed through that. Do we have anything else to I don't think so. I mean, we're just Celeste has never seen I've never seen it.
You're hyped about it. That's right. I I'm intrigued by it because it looks gonna look at the box. I I remember going, oh, this might be a fun movie. I just don't know anything about it. K. Alright. Well, let's go watch a movie. Let's go. Can I get popcorn? Dear listeners, this is your opportunity to escape. Our crew has just entered into the media projection chamber. What horrors and madness that they consume are unknown? Their mental state upon their return is unknown. You have been warned.
Squee. Squee. I'll tell you what. The music was kinda kinda jammed. Yeah. Bro. Okay. So That soundtrack? For real. For real. That that's, like, one of my favorite things about this movie, and I'm so excited about is, like, they use music to tell so much of the story in this movie. Yeah. I noticed that. I genuinely did. I thought it was I thought it was and I appreciate again, fact of the matter is the music they played is a lot of the music I grew
up on. And I'm not old. And so, but, like, I grew up listening to the 4 tops, the 4th, 4 seasons, all those fans. Sound bit. Yeah. That was my whole that was my my whole vibe as a as a young man. So I was I was jamming to the music pretty hard during the entire time. When homegirl was singing, that's a not a spoiler, but there was a point where she sang by herself acapella. I was like, come on, girl. Do it. Singing the Isley Brothers, this whole heart of
mine? She sang that a lot. They they definitely did a lot of foreshadowing with the music. Mhmm. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. It's I I think when I was watching this movie, I think what I realized I realized something about myself. I think I just like movies where you have a very small cast that are trapped in a secluded place. Mhmm. And something happens, and it turns out everybody in the secluded place isn't who they say they are, like those
types of movies. Yeah. I don't know I don't know, like, have I don't know if you guys has have ever seen the movie identity. Man. I don't know. That sounds familiar. It's a it's a John Cusack movie. I remember seeing the box. Yeah. I have seen this. Yeah. That that's another great example of the type of movie that like, just the strangers trapped in a hotel sort of scenario. And there's so many different plots you can play out that way. Yeah. It's or murder on the Orient Express is
another one that Yeah. See Murder on the Orient Express. Yeah. So, yeah, the storytelling was definitely interesting. I'm trying to figure I don't want to get into spoiled stuff, but the storytelling It's so hard because, like, you just don't wanna step on anything in this movie because there is so much that unfolds over such a short what feels like a short period of time. Mhmm. I'll say this. The, the set design was beautiful. I really liked how how they did it.
It feels like the luxurious, quote, unquote, luxurious motels that were that littered the countryside, at one point in time. Mhmm. And, this the world felt felt real at the same time, and it felt like out of place. Like, you knew this was, like, back then, but you because sometimes when you watch films that take place, like, back in time, back in the sixties, back there's a there's a feeling to you. Like, man, this is foreign. You don't feel like you're connected to the world. It wasn't that
way. It was super stylized, but it was also like yeah. This could be a place you could see in real life at some point in time. It felt very well thought out. Mhmm. Yeah. Absolutely. I will say there was one one one singular thing that I was like, really? We couldn't have have fixed that, where it they were highlighting the singer, and they showed her hand trying to do something. I think she was starting a car, which I feel like is not a too big of a spoiler.
Mhmm. And she had modern day press on nails. I'm like, y'all couldn't have gone somewhere other than Target to get them nails. I will say, and I may I may just be trying to be the devil's advocate here, but I think I think back in the day, like, Lee, press on nails were still a thing back in the day It's not. In 1969. They were, but they didn't look like that. Okay. I'll I'll take your word for it. I'd me being who I am, I wouldn't know
that. So Right. The the press on nails have come a long way from from just from the nineties to now. Uh-huh. And those looked like modern press on nails to me. Gotcha. Gotcha. Now I'm not not an expert, but just from press on nails I grew up with to now, there is a difference. Yeah. I I will tell you this much. In fact, did not take me out of the movie at all. It did me a little bit. So I did appreciate the, the details that like, you you know, we had that, the details of it. It it
felt good. I mean, I was little like, that's that's a minor thing, but for the most part, you're like, yeah. This is pretty cool. Like, the rooms, I liked how every room was different. Oh, yeah. And, like, everyone's room and it had different color tone and everything. Like, it was really neat how they played all that out. Well, the the use of color in the movie was interesting to me because not only did you have
California and Nevada being different shades Mhmm. They themed the rooms to fit the characters. Not only that, but I think that with each room looking similar but different Mhmm. It enhances the feeling of unease because not you don't expect that at a like a hotel. You know, you expect everything to be pretty much stock. Mhmm. And so when you see that between the rooms, it creates a certain sense of
unease in the mind. And I almost am willing to bet that that was intentional by the set by the, set designer. Yeah. Quite likely. But, like, for the, for the singer, everything with her, when it was her, was all very purple. Like, her room was purple. They always almost always showed her with the Nevada side in the background. It was very intentional. Now why? I don't know. But it was an interesting effect, except for at one point, her dress was yellow.
And while the Nevada was in the background, her dress matched the tones Mhmm. In California, the California side of the lobby. The the use of color in this movie was 100% intentional. Mhmm. It feel it it really feels like, you know, the here comes the geek in me. It feels like Ghost of Tsushima. How the use of color in that, how, you know, the palette changes basis based off of where you're at and to increase certain feelings first for a scene or whatever. Right.
And so it kind of has that old 19 seventies samurai film feel to it where the colors are there for a reason, but Right. The reason may not necessarily be known to the viewer. Mhmm. Yeah. Definitely. Definitely feels that way. I don't the whole thing the fact that they they took a pay cut to do this film tells me that they they were really there was passion to it. And you could tell, like, the shots themselves were very
intentional. The the framing of it, there there's a portion that I'll talk about. We'll get to our spoiler section that I was like, that's really intentional on how they pull that off. But I appreciate that there was there's a lot of detail from the music selection to the camera angles to the coloring. Mhmm. That that tells me that there's talent and passion in this whole thing.
And one thing I do wanna tap on here, just because if somebody does make the decision not to listen to the spoiler section, I I I want them to to hear this before they click off the episode. But there was there is an overarching spiritual themes that go throughout this movie. Mhmm. That just shake me every time I see it and even this time. So I want to put that out there. This this this movie is a R rated movie and it needs to be an R rated movie.
But that this is going to be one of the ones that I would recommend to people to see just because of certain messages that are in it, you know? So Mhmm. Yeah. Cool beans. Anybody else got anything you wanna say before we hit the spoiler section? Because I don't need to hit the spoiler section because there's a lot to talk about. Ladies and gentlemen, the spoiler section.
We are at that point of the show where it's like at Thanksgiving where you can undo your belt a little bit, may maybe pop open a few shirt buttons to let it out because, boy, does this movie beg to be talked about? Boy, can you not talk about this movie in front of people who haven't seen this movie. And and I will say if you have not seen this movie, please do not listen to this part. Go see the movie and then come back because It's really a really a movie you need
to see it. You have to go in blank. Yeah. You really do. Like, literally, to give you a peek behind the curtain when when I we brought this movie to the forefront, and I made a joke to when to Celeste, I said my, excitement is like diarrhea. It can't be contained. She goes, oh, no. Does that mean this one's gonna stink too? And I said, no. But I'm gonna make you feel a lot of things very fast, and that's all I'm gonna say on it because it's best that you guys go in blank. Yes. Absolutely.
So with that being said, are you guys happy that you went in blank on this movie? I did. The the preview that I saw almost gives away certain details. I was like, I wish they I didn't know about that. Mhmm. But the the detail that they give in the preview, which is simply that there are there is a viewing windows into every room, wasn't too much. It kinda misled me a little bit actually to who the actual villain was. But it was I'm glad that it I did not know too much going into it.
Yeah. I actually knew that about the windows into the rooms before the preview because I didn't go in completely blind. I mean, I did, but I didn't because I look up, every movie, just to make sure that there's nothing that's gonna freak me out in it. Mhmm. Basically, no. You're you're checking for triggers this week. Yeah. Yeah. I'm checking for my triggers to make sure that I'll be okay
watching it. And so it said something about I don't know what what it said specifically, but I when I clicked on it, I was like, what is what what does it mean by this? Oh, voyeurism. Maybe. I don't know. Probably didn't use that word, but it was it said that there were it it was revealed that there were windows behind every room Mhmm. That people could see. What is this? Some kind of curvy hotel?
Jeff Bridges does so good at that. That That that was that was the running joke throughout the movie. Every time someone found out that there was observation windows into all the rooms, that was the first thing that someone's was it some kind of pervert hotel? That's a fairly fair assumption. Yeah. They all say it. They all say it. Oh my gosh. That's funny. Oh, man. Alright. We need to get into
the back conversation about the film. I I would point like, this is one of the things you could not get into is that the structure of everyone's backstory was so well told Oh, yeah. And understanding. Like, you open up and I was still I'm very curious. I didn't get an answer, but it opens up with a man getting shot. Like, he's he gets a hotel room, and I love the I love the shot itself. Yeah. It's like, on the back end, you realize it's
going through that window. Mhmm. And it's it's almost like a stage performance, and he's, like, rolling away the carpet. He's bearing the bag, and he's putting it back and everything else. And I'm just like, man, what's happening? You know? And he's waiting, and all of a sudden, he opens the door and somebody shoots him. Who shot him? It was the rest of the team. Jeff Bridges says that later on in the movie. He said the rest of my team killed my brother. Yeah. See, I I miss I
must be that the other kid. The the rest of it was a small kid. The one that they were like, do you not know how to drive? Right. Right. Right. That one. Gotcha. I missed that. But you can start with the Oh, no. Go ahead. No. You start off with that, and then you had Jeff Bridges' character. And then you realize at the scene where he's, like, in the floor trying to find it, you're like, oh, he's connected somehow to this ordeal. Mhmm. So I I appreciate the way and then they tell his story.
It was it was fascinating to see that play out. And almost heartbreaking also when you realize that he genuinely has a a mental issue going on. He has It's suggesting that he has Alzheimer's is what's going on. Yeah. So So I appreciate it. I thought it was interesting with that whole whole storyline that weaves into this the bigger storyline that he and his brother both when they were hammering the Mhmm. The the floor that they were doing it to the beat of whatever song was Yeah. I didn't catch
that. Yeah. And I've seen this movie many times, so that's super weird. To the the beat that was on the radio that he had cranked up Mhmm. Before he died, and then Jeff Broges did it when she was clapping. Mhmm. I really that was one of the things I noticed throughout the battle. I was like, oh, that's that's smart. He's doing it to the beat. I will I will say this to go with your, catching just minor
intentional things. There there are so many intentional details that are throughout this movie that I promise if you go back and watch this movie, you're going to catch other things that you didn't notice. I think this is probably about the 7th time I've seen this movie. Mhmm. And I literally am still catching things I haven't noticed. Like, I finally figured out I figured out who's on the film. Who's on the film? JFK. That's Kennedy.
Yeah. And the reason why I got this is because, the guy on the the guy the FBI guy who was proposing as the vacuum cleaner salesman. Mhmm. He was there to collect their own wiretaps. Mhmm. And he found other people's. And so and so there was that. Plus, Nixon was taking office. And of course, we know Nixon was accused of the Watergate Hotel wiretaps.
Mhmm. So it's it's also and then at the very end, when they're looking at that and the little girl the little girl who's looking at the film goes, oh, he's our yeah. It was the the thing where he said, yeah, I lied to them and told them that there wasn't a woman in there with him because he was nice to me Mhmm. Was what made me go, I bet it's JFK because he was very well known for being very charismatic and very kind to most people.
But there there's a lot of there's a lot of little breadcrumb trails in there that aren't important to the movie. Mhmm. But it's just if you've seen the movie before, you're a bit more receptive to catching other details of questions that you're left with, and you go back. You're like, oh, no. They explain it here by this detail and they look
and it's just minor stuff. And so every time you go, there's a lot of replay value to it just for that very thing where you can just go back and pick up on the details that you missed that you missed the first time. Right. Oh, God. I love this movie so much. Oh, my gosh. It was really good. And just I'm I'm trying to find the version of it. The the prayer that he does at the beginning of the movie where they redo Now I Lay Myself Down to Sleep.
Mhmm. Oh, yeah. They even the rewrite that was a foreshadowing of Mhmm. Of how the movie's gonna end. And I appreciate that that book in detail that they did there. Again, this is part of where I was like, I the fact that they gave up their income just to do the movie, it tells you how much passion they had behind every aspect. It was the whole thing was super, intentional. So good. Oh my gosh. There was something else too. It's gone. It'll
be back, but it's gone. I'm sorry. This talking about this movie makes me feel manic. Like, I'm like, I need to proselytize or something or give a hallelujah because this movie just gets me excited. Oh, here we go. This is this is the, the, the, the rewrite that prayer goes. Now lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord, my soul to keep. And when I wake in the morning light, teach me
to do what's right. Amen. And that's what happens at the end is that you have this, the priest, air quote, Jeff Bridges character. In the morning light, he learns to do what is right. And I really appreciate how they played that whole thing out. I I can dig that. I remember what I was gonna say now. This movie is about dichotomies. I mean, if you wanna break it down to the themes. Mhmm. It's, it this movie talks about everything, and it talks about nothing at all all at the same time.
Right. There it makes points on many different topics, but it doesn't try to say anything about those points at all. Like you tap on the racism of the late sixties and during that era, you tap on the way women were treated. You start talking, you know, you talk about all these different aspects of what life was like, but they don't try to make a point. They're like, Hey, this is a thing. Yeah. And they just leave it there. And I love that because they don't try to spoon feed the audience.
They give you a good glazing on the culture without making the culture a thing. The the Yeah. The point is the story they're telling, not they it doesn't look like they're trying to make a a cultural point about what was taking place there. Like, this is the setting. Let's move on with the story. Holy crap. Drew Goddard, was part of Lost. Doesn't show me. That's why that's why I'm interested as the lost martian because he did the martian and he did the lost. I didn't know that. Right.
I'm late to the party. The other the other thing that's that that's very stark in this movie is its core message that goes through each and every individual story, which is two things. Nobody is innocent and everybody needs redemption. Mhmm. That's the theme through every for every character in the story. And people who are earnestly looking for redemption find it in this movie, and people who aren't don't. I mean, there are so many low key, there are so many different sermons you can pull out
of this movie that just it. Oh, yeah. Definitely. I'm I'm just gonna shut up so everybody else can talk because I could take this whole podcast by myself. No. It's all good. You're right, though. And it's the the the there's a lot of depth to this I wasn't expecting, just through and through. And appreciated the way they handled the storytelling by flipping back and forth. I know for some people, that would have been confusing. But for me, it made me more engaged
with the story Mhmm. By getting the multiple POVs. Mhmm. And then the backstory of each person to explain why they saw things the way they saw them. Mhmm. Yep. There was a speaking with the Doug Connor things, you had the, you had, Jeff Bridges' character, Flynn, and then you had Chris Hemsworth, Billy Lee. Was that his name? Yeah.
Yeah. And, it was there's a moment in Billy's, like, in his his grand staging, making himself seem like he's this person, like, where he's standing and, like, there's, like, this artificial halo that they've made around him using the lighting in the background. Like, he really saw himself as this divine figure even though he, at the same time,
was saying there was no God. But then you have a man who's who's pretending to be a priest who lived a terrible life himself, and he's having to be godly in this moment for the person at the very end. I really appreciate that dichotomy between the 2 ego, 2 personalities there. Okay. So how many people when this movie really started getting into it, you started wondering if this was actually all happening in purgatory? I did not ask that question. Couldn't go
that. That's interesting. Just me? Yeah. Just you. The first time I saw this movie, I'm like, this is an allegory for purgatory. Oh my goodness. Apparently, I I I apparently, I'm getting too deep here. A little bit. A little bit. So it was I don't know. Again, it was it was a good movie. Like, it but it happened so fast, like, the entirety of the film. Okay. I mean, it was it was booking. Do you know how long this movie is? It's like 2 hours. 2 hours and 20
minutes, my man. Yeah. It's not fast. It just feels like it because you are processing so much as you're watching it. Mhmm. Well and because, again, the way they did the storytelling by the jumping back and forth. You it didn't feel like it was that long. Because had they told that same story linearly instead of going back and and forth, then it wouldn't have been that long. Well, it's like the scene where Homebrew smashes, Jeff Bridges in the head. I was just about to talk about that scene.
And then and then they cut back to it, and you see, like, you're like they as they're zooming in and you see, him waking up Jeff Bridges, and you see her heels there, and I'm like, oh, that's smart. She probably took him off to run up and do that. And then they cut back and they show her jumping off her heels to running and take him out. And it was that's that there was this constant overlap of storytelling. And sometimes when they do that, when people tell us tell stories that way, it can
get confusing. It didn't. Everything kinda really made sense. I'm almost wondering because of how they design excuse me. How they designed the whole hotel Mhmm. On a sound stage. I almost wonder if, like, all the camera is it like this? If this was filmed, like, mostly Hell's Kitchen style on on just stationary cameras, And they just did this all in, like, 1 or 2 takes. Maybe. I don't know. There there was so much overlap that they showed from different perspectives. Mhmm. As certain so.
It's just a thought I have every time I watch this movie because the the way they overlap it is so precise. Mhmm. Yeah. It is. And I think they might have have done all the different story trails that took place in the same spots. Mhmm. I think that they did them all at the same time. Is that what you're saying? Yeah. Am I just not I am I just okay. Okay. It's just it's just you would
have to be thinking about those shots. If you don't have stationary cameras hidden in the, in the interior, so to speak, then then you're gonna have to be fit you're gonna have to be planning all those shots all at the same time, which if that's what happens, then bravo, sir, because Well, and the reason I said that I don't think they were stationary cameras is because some of the shots they did with Billy Lee in
the l No. No. No. I wasn't suggesting that every single shot was stationary, but it's, like, the majority of a you know? Gotcha. Okay. But going back to the champagne bottle, okay, how many people were caught off guard when Homeboy took that bottle to the dome? Right? Man, I was like, what happened? Because I'm I'm I'm still watching her. I'm going, man, I hope she doesn't see him, like, spiking her drink, and all of a sudden, crash. I'm and I was sitting there
going, how did she even see that? That was the one thing I was like, at that angle's off. Like, she she was not looking at him doing that, and she was like, I'm gonna take you out. She had something Sherry saw something bad about him. Well, she says that later on that she had just had a feeling. Mhmm. And then he said, well, if your feeling would have been wrong, you would have you would have smacked a bottle, hit a priest with a
bottle. And she goes, well, I could've find a way to forgive myself. Well and it it also that also speaks to the world that she's lived in because she's lived in a world where she has to be constantly aware of what's being said around her, what's being done. Mhmm. And in her backstory, we see that she almost fell victim to some of that. And so just the amount of it fit her character that she would be
like, you know what? This guy's sus and grabs a champagne bottle and knocks him out and then runs. Homegirl didn't even get her shoes. She said, I don't need them. So I had a I was thinking about the film, the talking about the nobody talking about nobody was who they who we thought they were. Like, the the salesman, he, you know, he's a jerk and he's foul, and then you find out he's this loving father and he's a secret agent also
or CIA agent. And then, of course, you have the priest who's supposed to be this, you know, very pious individual. Turns out he's a criminal. The girl, she was hiding her skill and her abilities. Mhmm. And then you had the, the hippie, and she comes off front. The front end is very brash, very, like, I don't care, blah blah blah. But then it turned out she's actually very loving. She's just concerned about her her sister. Trying to get her sister out of some kind of a cult. Yeah.
Exactly. And so, like, everyone had this thing on the inside that they were they were masking something else, about themselves. And I found that very interesting. Well, it goes back to the whole dichotomy thing where Mhmm. Where people are every if you look at each of the characters that you said and the how there are two sides to them. Mhmm. It's the perspective is is constantly a dark and a light. A dark and a light. And and there it goes back to the whole nobody's innocent.
Everybody needs redemption. And you'll notice as people choose the dark or the light dichotomy that each character is, that's what dictates the fate of each character. Mhmm. Yeah. Definitely. And and who who who who got at least a little bit misty when Miles died? Oh, yeah. Yeah. That was that was sad watching that take place. It was it was sweet watching it happen, but it was it was genuinely like, oh, man. This guy.
Oh, dude. I was having more of an issue with, when he was going, I don't wanna kill anybody else because that is to me, that was a bit more relevant, I guess. I don't know how to say it. It it made more sense to me because of the time frame. Mhmm. And then we got his back story, and it went, oh, that explains why he's a drug addict because that is very common amongst specifically Vietnam vets. Like, that that is a thing. Those are statistics we know. Mhmm. And so I was like, oh, that tracks
this poor kid. No wonder he wants to confess to this priest. Yeah. This I I y'all. I I know I'm telegraphing, but, I mean, there's there's so much depth you could go into in this movie. And I'm, like, we have spoiled so much in this movie, but just with the basic scenes that we've talked about, there's still gonna be people people who did not listen to us and say when we told them to turn it off and go watch the movie, that are gonna be, like, you know what? Wait. What?
Yeah. It it was genuinely an interesting experience watching it. And we keep saying this or whatever. It was just good storytelling, which honestly is something that I I miss in cinema sometimes is it's just it's a really interesting story that kept you going. What's happening next? What's happening next? And they did a great job with it. And I appreciate that, you know, it was so contained. You're talking about the front end, about those movies that are, like, like, it's just a small cast and a
small space like that. When you can do that and do that well, it it comes off great. Now some people try doing that, and it's not good, and you could just tell it was cheap. But they did a really great job of making that happen. Yeah. Now I might have done a bit of a history search while we were watching the movie. Mhmm. And the hotel that this is based off of has a lot of fun conspiracy theory things surrounding it. One of which and I'll I'll I won't
mention the rest of them. I'll just mention this one. The hotel that this is based off of actually burned down right before opening season of, like, the Tahoe area, the day before they were gonna put in the sprinkler system. Oh. Considering it was also owned by the mob, that makes you go, what was in there? What what were they hiding? Right. I mean well, cool. Does anybody have anything else to say before we get to the, ratings? No. I think it's I'm gonna give a
rating on it. Alright. Celeste, you look like you're about to say something and just didn't. No. I was thinking. Okay. Alright. Well, why don't you, Dallas, go ahead and introduce the ratings, and then I'll go first because this was my movie, and I don't think mine's a surprise. So Yeah. We know you're gonna put it in an upsurfire. Anyways, so the rating system we have here is, kind of a 4 tier system. We have top shelf, which means I need to own this right now.
I need this on DVD. I need to have this DRM so I can stream it on everything. I need the cellophoid, like, printed out and on my wall and possibly tattooed to my left butt cheek. That's what top shelf means. 2nd shelf is middle shelf, and it means maybe if it's streaming, I might watch it. You know, it's it's a good film. It's not a terrible film at all. I enjoy it. I just don't feel the need to go out and buy it right now. Bottom shelf means I probably won't watch this again.
Good, bad, or different. I'm just like, nah. And then we have dumpster fire, which means I will actively try to keep people from watching this film, and it's terrible. It is trash. And to our understanding. When things go in here, they disappear, and nothing's ever gone in there before. Right? Right. Right. There is no Avatar movie. What? What's Avatar? Right. So I'll go first. Yeah. Mine's like mine's the toppest of top
shelves. Like, if I could institute this as mandatory high school watching, I would. Just just just just in creative writing classes alone to show how to write a character. Mhmm. I I've I've not veiled anything that I feel about this movie. I could gush about this movie all day. So, yeah, mandatory watching, toppest of top shelf, however you wanna put it. 10 out of 10. Dig it. Dig it. Dallas. I'm gonna put this I'm I'm kind of torn. I'm probably gonna put it on a high middle shelf.
Like, I don't wanna like, it was a good movie. I would definitely watch it with streaming. I don't feel the need to go out and buy it. But like you, I'm like, this is good storytelling. Like and I would wreck if somebody is like, hey. What's a movie that would be great for tell me for to show me how it's a good do good storytelling character development. I would point this movie out, because it keeps you guessing and it keeps you, the story flowing as we talked about
before, and it just it felt quick. It wasn't quick, but it felt quick. And, so I'm gonna put it on as a high middle shelf. And the music bops, y'all. It does. Really does. Genuinely does. Celeste. So I'm going to rate this based on the fact that I really want to go and rewatch it right now. So I'm gonna put it in the top shelf because, like, I there's so many small things that I feel like I missed. Like, it's been niggling me in the back of my head going,
wasn't there something there? But I really love good storytelling, and I love a good mystery. And so if you put a good mystery in the midst of really good storytelling with all of the attention to detail that they have, then it's it's gonna be something I enjoy as long as it doesn't cross boundaries. So there you have it, everybody. This movie is a disputed top shelf. I am so excited because I love this movie so so so much. So if how do you how do you guys feel out there in listener line? Do
you agree with this or not? Shoot us a message. Let's know what you think. Interact with us. In the meantime, it is time to do the weak connections. I had to look for my my, bumper here. Welcome to the weak connection. This is the part of the podcast where we go line by line verse by no. Wait. That's a different podcast.
Where podcast. Where we break down, what we just watched and try to glean some message of hope, some spiritual context, anything good or redemptive that we can find in this movie. And as per usual, we will open it up to pastor Dallas, please. Yeah. So one of the, like, prevailing themes I think it is a conversation about, have has somebody done too much to be redeemed?
And, specifically, with the one character, the, kind of the the bellhop manager of it, who, like Celeste mentioned in the episode, the the kid's dealing with some serious level of PTSD coming out of Vietnam. And then at the same time, dealing with the guilt of everything he's been doing at this hotel. And, the entire time he's wanting to confess his sins. And while we hear, at the bombshell, we're not saying you need to go see a priest to, be redeemed, to have confess your sins.
There is a need to confess things that is in our spirits that, you know, our sin. And there are some people and I've talked to people who have said, I've done too much to be forgiven. I've gone too far to be forgiven. I have, you know, I've done x y z thing. God can never love me. God would never care for me. If I walk into a church, a whole building will fall on top of me. And that is a lie. That is flat out a
lie. And there's a verse Romans chapter 5 verse 8 says this, but God showed his love for us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Christ knew knows what you've done, what you will do, and he doesn't care. He died so you could be redeemed. Doesn't matter what you have done or will not do or will, what you have done or will will do. He died so you could be redeemed, and all we have to do
is ask for that forgiveness. And there's this really touching scene at the movie where where the kid is giving his confession to the the priest, to the father. And there's this this genuine thing where the kid's like, I've done too much. He's like, no. Like, will you give yourself to the Lord in this day? Live out for the rest of your days. And he's like, I've it's too late for me. He's like, it's not too
late. And so for whoever's listening, no matter what's happening in your life, no matter where you've gone, it's not too late to give your life to Christ and to live out the rest of your days. You may have done some horrific things. And I'm telling you that while those things may not have been okay, Christ forgives, and he forgives perfectly. And he redeems our lives, and he can redeem the moment you in this moment if you are willing to surrender your life to him
and live this out with him. And that's my, weak connection.
I wanna point out a line that was said in this movie, and I I know it's I'm this isn't my weak connection, and I'm kinda stepping in on this, but it it it it kinda it kinda rides with that a little bit when Billy Lee was talking to the kid when the kid was trying to confess to the priest when he said, well, if you're so concerned about all if you're so concerned about the state of your soul, then you probably shouldn't have been doing all that wicked stuff to begin with. I'm like that.
You know, I know he's a bad guy, but he's not wrong. Well, that just plays into the whole even if you were a Christian and you've left the faith and you think you've done something, you think that that God doesn't love you anymore, that that's not true. You just have to seek. You have to look for the redemption. You have to to look for the forgiveness. You have to look for the opening strike. What? Come on, Dallas. What?
Oh, goodness gracious. But Celeste is wrong. Like, she's, like, you know, The opening thread. So but she's right. I mean, it you know, you may have messed up. And that's the thing is there are a lot of people that, you know, they were certainly walk with Christ and maybe they they had a a a failure and they they walked away from him And
they did some stuff. And there's a lot of people that they hold that judgment on their heads, and they feel like they can't we we just talked about this in church actually today, and there are some people that they feel like they're second class Christians because they know God's forgiven them, but God's just disappointed to them. And that's not who God is. That's not the father that we have in heaven. When he forgives, he forgives totally and completely, and you may have made mistakes.
You may have genuinely messed up and done some terrible things, but God's love and grace is so perfect that if you repent, he'll restore you. We just talked about on Geek Devotions, a little bit about this, last week. And when we were we were talking about the, the suicide squad, isekai.
And, I brought the fact that if we the way that we treat people today, if we treated king David the way we treat people today with his mistakes, with his, his, affair, and some people think possible rape of, the the the woman and then the murder of her husband. If we were to treat him the way we treat people today, we would have completely deleted those chapters about him, every good thing, every Psalm he ever wrote, every proverb. Well, he didn't do any proverbs, but everything
that he's ever did, everything good. Jesus wouldn't be called Jesus, the son of David. That would have been wiped out completely, but God is gracious. Yeah. And he when he forgives, he forgives fully. Doesn't mean there's, like, consequences of things. Doesn't mean people need to be restored in an appropriate manner, but he does forgive. Celeste, did you have a weak connection? I did. So Oh, we're got a full house because I got one loaded too. Alright. Go ahead,
Celeste. Go ahead and do yours because I've lost track of mine because I was going yeah. That's good. So I need to circle my brain back around. No worries. Alright. Well, mine, I do have a scriptural reference. I'm not gonna read it because it's long. Mine is from the book of Judges. That's it. The book of Judges. And, the point is and it's a it's a theme that happens throughout this movie is that God has called you to be who you are in that moment regardless of what your current planning is.
And you see this throughout the movie. Jeff Bridges' character was not in fact a Catholic priest, although in that moment, God needed him to be that for that kid, so he could be at peace in his final moments. You know, in in the same way, got you know, they needed that kid to be the soldier again despite the fact that he did not want to. Yeah. You know, and it's all about doing being the being who God wants you to be when it's timely, not when it's convenient.
Mhmm. And that happens so many times throughout the book of Judges. Best example I can think of off the top of my head is Gideon in that he was from the least what was it? The the lowest clan of the lowest tribe. Mhmm. And God still rose him up to be a conquering judge over Israel.
Or you could even go to Moses when God approached him in the burning bush in Exodus, or rather when he approached the burning bush in Exodus rather, where Moses said, you know, I'm not the guy and God says, I just told you you're the guy. Do it. So maybe there's somebody out there right now. You know, Dallas's appeal was to people, you know, there's time for you to repent now, but it may be you're out there and you're already
a Christian or already a believer. And but there's there's, you know, there's things, you know, there's excuse me. I'm getting a little bit congested in my throat. There's things that, you know, it feels uncomfortable. Like, you know, this isn't what I was planning for with my Christian walk and God's like, so I wanna encourage you to lean into that because that can that can take you into places you weren't expecting.
I could testify to that, but I'm not gonna right now because this isn't the place. So, I just wanna encourage you to live out your live out what God's calling in you and lean not so much onto your own ideas as far as what you think you're supposed to be. So mine kind of plays into that ish. Mine also plays into what we talked about today at church. And I was thinking it anyway while we were watching it, but Jeff Bridges because he's has a memory loss.
He doesn't he doesn't remember things that he should. He and at one point, he says, I've been a little bit of everything, and I don't it wasn't exactly that. But, basically, he was a master of pretending to be someone he's not. And Billy Lee goes, well, what's your name? What's your real name? And he can't remember. And he looks at the singer, and he goes, did I ever tell you my name? And she goes, no. You didn't. There are people out there who have forgotten who they are in God.
They have forgotten that they are a child of God and that they're not just doing this Christian thing just because. They're that there that there is a an actual god out there who they are worshiping. They're doing things out of habit rather than out of worship or out of desire, or that they've attached their identity to something else. Mhmm. And that's a dangerous thing to do.
Because if you attach your identity to something else, to another part that you're playing, to a role that you're fulfilling, to a job you're doing, then you run the risk of your identity being taken away because nothing but God is permanent. Mhmm. And so what happens if you're no longer mom? What happens if you're no longer, you know, the team lead? What happens if you're no longer whatever it is that you have put
your identity in? Well, then you've lost your identity, and you don't know that you are a child of God, that you are all of these things that we are told in scriptures that we are. Yeah. And it was a it it did not necessarily get resolved in the movie. I don't know if he ever remembered his name. Sorry. Of you shouting it at the screen too? No. Oh. Sorry. I was taking too many breaths in, and I wasn't breathing out. Sorry. I I was trying to fill that. I'm sorry. I'll I'll shut up. You're good.
You're good. But there can be resolution for us. If we forget who our identity is found in, there is grace for us to remember. There is a God who's willing to tell us. And assuming that you are in a healthy church, there are people around you who are there to remind you or a healthy community, either way. Yeah. That's that's my thing. Cool. Well, alright, everybody. I wanna thank everybody so much for swinging by and hanging out with us on this space station. Oh, Admiral?
Yeah. This, this screen here says we there's a split in the wormhole. We have to choose a direction. Oh, no. It, don't touch anything. Well, there's a decision that needs to be made. Do do we want more mixed, more of a mix of movies or go back to just straight bad movies? Red pill or blue pill? What do we think? Oh, let's ask the listeners what they think. We're we're go check out the Geek Devotions Facebook group.
We're gonna put a we're gonna put a poll out there, and we'll put one out on our Discord and actually all the socials rather, and, go vote for what you want more. If you want more varied movies or if you just want us to be digging up the stinkers, let us know, because we wanted I wanted to give you guys a sampling of what it would taste like if we were if we did movies that weren't necessarily so bad. So let us know, and we'll see where this where are these, two wormholes
go. So until next time, stay devoted. Peace and love.