[MUSIC] Hello and welcome to the movie podcast review of The Penguin. My name is Daniel, I'm one of your hosts today, and joining alongside me in the iceberg lounge. It is Shabazz. Hey, what's the matter with you? Is that offensive? I don't know, Anthony, am I okay to do that? Yeah, this is no problem. I don't have no issues with stereotypes. Ain't got no problem. Anthony has no issues with stereotypes. Okay, that's good. I got no problem. [LAUGHTER] Done. [INTERPOSING VOICES] Hey, I ain't got no problems. [LAUGHTER] We should have all done this review with cigars. We should have really made it authentic and had some cigars. But then are we promoting smoking? We don't want to be that guy, right? We don't want to be that show. Well, here's the thing. I think as cool as we may think, we'll look with cigars. As soon as we all carry one, I'll be like, those guys look like big losers. Let's be honest. Hold on for a minute. They don't wait. The bigger issue here is we should have been putting eyedrops in the whole time. We should have-- Like saline drops. The saline drops. [LAUGHTER] Yeah. Just really clean and clear eyes. Just like, yeah, I need more people to comment or like, this guy looks like an owl, just like doing that. Oh my gosh. The other lovely voice that you are hearing today in the iceberg lounge-- It is Anthony. Hello, Anthony. What are you showing me? [LAUGHTER] God. I'm not going to do that voice. I can't do that voice. I can't do it. So one of my favorite memories was doing that Batman review, because we didn't even do it on camera. So if you want to rewind the clocks back, if you want to go back to our Batman review from 2022, we were some of the few press that got to see that press greeting in Toronto. And we were just-- I remember us being there and being like, oh my god, this is such a big deal that we're here. And just being blown away. The amount of quotes we had from Colin Farrell from that, like, yeah, go. What are you showing me? Come on. We're like, no spin, no, no, fellas. Like, this, like, is so good. What a great movie. And I know you can't see it too well now, but it's like, I have a poster behind me of the Batman. I have a poster over here of the Batman by Jay Kontu. Like, Jay's wearing the Batman shirt right now. This is a film that I think for the last two and a half years has been such a big part of us in that score by Michael Chikino. I'm so excited to finally be returning to this world. We're going to talk all about our review of the Penguin. This is the movie podcast. You can catch brand new episodes all throughout the week. We've been at TIFF, what feels like the last three years. But we have lots of great reviews. Lots of great interviews coming your way. A lot of them were banks that we have to release for the official releases of the film in theaters. But stay tuned. We have lots of amazing stuff coming your way. If you want to follow us, the best place to do it is on Instagram, on TikTok, on Letterbox, on X, wherever you are, the movie podcast is there. And you could see our lovely faces here on YouTube. You could hear our lovely voices on all podcast feeds. And if you want to continue the conversation, join us on Discord. We will be opening up a Penguin Room. We should just call it the iceberg lounge, really. And we'll just have people every week talking about the show because we really want to hear your thoughts. We want to know what you're thinking of the show. And I think it's going to be a really fun one to talk about week to week. We also have some interviews for the show coming up very soon. Next week on the movie podcast, I am so excited to announce that we will have Chris Molotti joining us. The incredible force behind Sofia Falcone in the show. So stay tuned for that. We have lots more coming your way. Before we get into the Penguin for both of you, I just want to know, first off, how you guys doing? Shay, how you doing? - I think I'm okay. It's Tif Week, so I'm a little all over the place mentally. Like, I feel like, you know, we're spending our time in theaters, we're watching shows. There's stuff that's happening within Tif and then stuff like, you know, the Penguin happening right outside of Tif. So, I don't know, I think I'm okay. I think I'm good. - Okay. - If I'm on here, I'm alive. - Okay, all right. You know, I don't fully believe you, but I'll take your word for it. Anthony, how are you doing? - I'm as good as the Penguin after meeting Batman. So, Bruce beat up a little bit, a little bit, you know, scared and yeah, that's how I feel. - I'd love it. So, before we get to our thoughts on the show, I just want to remind you that this is going to be a review for the series. We have seen, you know, for myself, I've seen the full series, I know Anthony's seen the full series. Shay, you are just on the precipice of being completed. - Almost done. - Almost there. We will not be revealing any spoilers, so do not worry, we're not going to be spoiling any events. Happening's in the show, characters, anything like that. We are just giving you our thoughts on the series as a whole and what you could kind of expect mentally going in, but we won't be revealing anything. The other thing I wanted to ask both of you is that the Batman is a film that came out in early 2022. It was a very interesting time for that movie to come out because we were waiting so long for it. The release date jumped around a lot. Obviously, there was a lot of different things happening with the pandemic, but I'd love to know how has that movie stayed with both of you? The last two and a half years. How has it shaped the way you look at, not just superhero movies, but other films? Because I think for myself, the Batman was that it was a landmark movie for me, where I planted a flag in the ground and it's like there's a before this movie and there's an after this movie. And when you have a movie of that scale, that blockbuster, telling the story that it did with these characters, for me, when anyone always asks us like, what's your favorite movie of all time? The Dark Knight is always my default. But the Batman, I think, does something so incredible that I don't think any other Batman movie has been able to do up to this point. So I'm so excited that we get to continue this world in The Penguin, but I'd love to know for both of you and Anthony, we could start with you this time. How has the Batman changed superhero films for you and how you look at other blockbuster films? - Yeah, it definitely is a landmark in my eyes when it comes to the movie, 'cause it just encompassed everything that I envisioned for a Batman film. And it really focused on that detective noir feel that I've read in the comic books. And I think Greg Frazier, who captured that movie in such a way that I still can't believe it wasn't nominated and it didn't win for Best Cinematography. - Yeah, he was able to capture the Batman like no other person has ever captured the Batman or captured anything. I think it's one of the most beautiful looking films. There's a scene in the Batman that really, it just showcases how good it is and the chase on the highway and The Penguin looks at the Batman and through the cracked window, you see like the anguish on The Penguin's face as he's trying to escape and you see the Batman's face as he tries to grab him and get him and you just, you can't, and this was all done in the dark and it's like grittiness and you're just like, "Wow, like this film is something special." So yeah, it's been on my mind for the past two years and it's been on my mind. I think it'll be on my mind for the next 100 years. I don't know how I'm gonna live, but it is definitely a film that I will look back and say that that's one of my favorite movies of all time. - Yeah, and I remember when we were doing our favorite movie list at the end of that year and again, it's that thing where it's like, I cannot believe this movie exists. It is so gorgeous looking, what they were able to do with the lenses of that movie with Greg Frazier has done creating that world with Matt Reeves, it's simply stunning and it's very interesting and I know we're gonna be talking a lot about the look of the penguin in our review, but it's so fascinating to see that it wasn't nominated for at all. And you know, Roger Deakins even shouted that out saying that that was the best shot film of that year and it wasn't there simply for Snobbery which wild it wasn't. Shay, thoughts on the Batman, how has it been living with you these last two and a half years? - It's that movie that I always wanted for Batman. Growing up, my Batman movies were the ones with Val Kilmer and George Clooney at that time because, you know, '89 was just before my time and it felt like a very adult film to watch and so was Batman Returns. Obviously, I watched them, but I was still such a kid when I watched them that they grew on me as I got older and looking at one of my favorite directors, David Fincher who Matt Reeves really channeled with making the Batman, it's what I always wanted with that character, something so dark, something so grounded and gritty and just, it has like a gross like texture to it which works because the world that Batman lives in Gotham City, it's a pretty dirty and disgusting place and he's got to clean it up. And what Matt Reeves was able to do, Greg Fraser, Robert Pattinson, Zoey, Cravitz, just all of them created this really hyper-realistic get also still fantastical version of Batman that I loved and it was a shame that it's been so long now and I say so long, it's only been like what, two years really but it just feels like it's been forever so I'm happy that we're kind of stepping back into that world in some form we are and the Batman just, it's left an impression, it's what I look at now and I'm happy that it kind of exists in its own world because the DC world is going through its own changes but I'm happy that Matt Reeves still gets to continue his vision because I don't really don't think that world belongs in a expanded universe by any means. - Yeah, it's very much like Nolan's just like these work really well on their own but yeah, it's going to be an interesting go because we know the sequel is going to be coming out now in 2026, that's four years in between a sequel the last time we had something like that was between the dark night and the dark night rises and Nolan even said the benefit he had back then when making those movies was having time to crack that story. So it's interesting to see now that Matt Reeves is taking that time. Obviously, the pandemic threw things off too with the release for the first movie and shooting that and it's shutting down but now we have a series to fill in the gap a little bit to pad that time a little bit. So let's get right into the Penguin. This is an HBO original series that started off as a Mac series but is now an HBO original. It's going to be premiering on September 19th at 9 p.m. Eastern on HBO and will be available to stream on Macs. In Canada, it will be available to stream on Crave and we want to say a huge thank you to them and to HBO for working with us on getting the episodes to review and obviously for working with us on the interviews that you'll be able to see very, very soon. What's really interesting though is that HBO is going to re-air the series premiere over the weekend. So that's on September 22nd at 9 p.m. that is a Sunday night and then every single week from there it's getting the classic HBO treatment of a Sunday night 9 p.m. series appointment viewing. I love that they are treating the show with that type of caliber. And hopefully starting to use that HBO branding because I think that branding is so powerful and you wanted to use that. The Penguin is from executive producer Matt Reeves and from showrunner Laura Lefronk and it's directed by Craig Zobel. So you have a great team behind this obviously Matt Reeves coming back from working on the Batman big part of this and Colin Farrell being an executive producer on it who we were really lucky to talk to earlier this year for Sugar and we spoke a little bit about the Penguin. So we have a lot of people around the world of the Batman. We had Peter Sarsgaard and we had Mike Breeno and we had a lot of people part of this world but let's get right to it. Shabazz, kick us off with your first reactions to the Penguin. - The Penguin is a fantastic continuation of the world that we were just left with in the Batman. There's so much that I really, really love about this show and there are some things that maybe didn't always hit for me. And we're definitely gonna get into that because I know that there's a lot of discussion to be had. And when it comes to the performances in this show, I mean, it's a no brainer. We're getting so much more of a beloved character like Oz Cobb or Oz Cobb, I believe he's called in the show. Yeah. So we're getting Oz Cobb here who is played by the absolutely fantastic Mr. Colin Farrell and he gives up performance that is like unlike any other, there's like this level of caricature to it that is so well regarded. And you don't know if you feel pity for him sometimes or if you just are afraid of him and it's a great line to kind of balance the character like that because the penguin is always like the butt of the joke, right? I mean, he's not well respected when it comes to the other villains. They're kind of scared of him, but he's kind of like, oh, I'm the short guy with the big beak nose. I walk kind of funny. And the way Colin Farrell brings his character in his performance is really damn scary. I never know why they're supposed to be scared of him or if I'm supposed to gravitate towards him because we're getting really a villain story with this show. There's a lot more depth to the world of Gotham. There are a lot of great characters. And of course, the standout for me has to be Sophia Falcone played by the lovely Chris Similati, who right when we heard that she was casting this, we loved her in Wolf of Wall Street in Palm Springs. I never really watched Have Make Your Mother, but all I've heard are fantastic things about her performance there. To see her in a show like this, it was I guess that works because she has that look where she looks innocent right when you look at her. But then I think if you spend enough time with her, you can like, oh, I'm afraid of you a little bit. I'm a little scared of what you're going to do next. And Chris Similati just crushes it every performance. When you get to episode four, which I think for me right now is the highlight episode for me, I was just blown away by her performances, by her story, by everything that kind of comes out of her character. She really gets her time to shine. And I think this show is going to give her her flowers because not enough people are talking about her. She's done some amazing roles, amazing movies, but this is a show that everyone's going to be like, yes, put her in everything from now on. There's a really, really good storyline here too. I love this, you know, gangster vibe that we're kind of getting from this series that's very like Sopranos like. Obviously, the world of Gotham is already sketchy and gross and dangerous enough. And of course, we have other characters joining in, like Renzi Feliz, who's playing Victor Aguilar, who's kind of like the little, he's involved in this somehow by twist of fate and he's going to hang on to Oz, learn from him, but he's also got his own story and his story, how it was impacted from the Batman events. So there's a lot of really cool things that are happening in this show, but the things that maybe didn't work for me as much is kind of like the look of it. I feel at certain points, it isn't up to the standard or the caliber of what we saw with the Batman. Of course, that's a very expensive movie with a big crew behind it that, you know, you have Greg Frazier as your DP. I'm not saying that the show doesn't look good, but I don't think fully matches the look in the visuals that I remember from seeing in the Batman. This isn't a game breaker for me at all. This isn't something that I'm like, "Oh, okay, now I can't watch the show." But it is a thing that kind of makes me remember this is the show, this is not the movie. And that's where things can kind of kind of feel a little broken for me, but in terms of story, in terms of performances, in terms of my enjoyment, I'm loving this show, and I think people are going to have a really good time with it. - Fantastic, we're going to dive a lot more into the look of the show, because I think there's a lot to impact from that. But one thing I did want to call out that you did mention, Shay, and then someone that we're going to think, I think, talk about Alon in this review, is Chris Mulati. She has like these big, beautiful, saintly looking eyes that could be very like disarming, but also truly scary when you start to see that more wild side to her. And I think it's so refreshing to have these characters that don't, or never would have the time to shine in a movie like The Batman or any of the Batman legacy films, because the Falcones, the Moronies, these are characters that are so present in Batman or in comics, and I think it makes this story work for me. Where it grounds it into these families, these people, these characters, of like, we don't get to see them. They're not, you know, cartoon villains are not dressing up. These are like real people, real families, real kind of feeling like blue collar criminals, some of them. And it's really interesting dynamic to see how the show works with Colin Farrell, who we got in The Batman and seeing him in a very different light now. Where in The Batman, he felt like he was a little bit more of a presence, where here you're seeing a lot more of a vulnerable side to him, but we're going to pack a lot more of it. Anthony, please jump on and give us your thoughts on The Penguin Series. - I think for all of us, The Penguin is one of our most anticipated shows this year. I think we've all been waiting. You know, it's like, oh, this is the segue to Batman II or whatever they call it. And this story is kind of going to lead us into that movie. And after watching all eight episodes, I found myself conflicted with how I feel about the series. You know, was I blown away by it? No, I was a story equivalent to what we got from The Batman. No, but there are a lot of things I like about this series. You know, on our show, we've said it many times where we talked about actors were born to play a role and Colin Farrell was born to play The Penguin from his mannerisms, to his walk, to his accent. Colin can just bring you into this world and really captivate you with his performance. He is remarkable to watch. And it's amazing to see like underneath all that prosthetic that Mike, or friend Mike Marino put on him is like this guy who doesn't even come close to looking like this character. And Colin Farrell's a good looking dude. And to see him like this is wild. It's wild, criminal. And it's actually the first time we really see him, you know, we see him walk, we see him talk. He is a big part of the show, his name is on this, but you see a lot of him. And that's a lot of work for Colin, like just to be the showrunner for all eight episodes to put on this performance, to put on the makeup, to be, you know, The Penguin all the time. It's a lot of work. It's because it's something that when you see it, you just pulls it from, you know, that inner, inner, you know, penguin that he probably has inside of them. And another great character that we've added is Krista Milady, who as Sophia Falcone is another born to play character. Like she was born to play this character. I don't know much about Sophia. If she is a staple in the comics, I think I've heard of her once or twice, or maybe I haven't, maybe it's just a different character, but how they crafted her and what they do with her throughout these eight episodes, you see like this fragile, calculating, ruthless person, like be born. And Sophia, whenever she's on screen, you just can't help but like look at her. Like you're just like, again, it's her eyes. She has these big eyes. And there's a little bit of like innocence to them, but you're so scared of what she's going to do after she, she has a conversation or what she, she plans to do. She has a very, very calculating mind throughout these episodes. And I really, really enjoy the chemistry between the penguin and Sophia, 'cause there's a lot of history between the two. But where I, where my conflict lies is the story and overall production. And when I say overall production, I mean like the way it's shot, the way this world looks. And Gotham is a big part of the Batman. The Gotham is the character. Without Gotham, there is no Batman, there is no Penguin, there's no, there's none of that. And when I went into the series, I felt it in the first 10 minutes when the Penguin has his conversation, he goes back to the iceberg lounge, you feel it. But as you slowly get through these episodes, you feel that this Gotham is not the same Gotham Matt Reeves created. It's, it almost feels, and a lot of it is because the sequences that are shot take place during the day. And that doesn't work for me personally. It just, I think that Gotham is always something that has to look dark and gritty and criminal-ridden and crime-ridden. And I didn't get that feeling in this series. And it really was more of a backdrop than it was how it felt in the Batman, where it felt scare, I was scared to be in that world. I was like, "Hold, I turned a--" - It felt like a character, right? - I turned a corner, something's gonna happen to be, I ever felt that. And maybe because it was shot during the day and a lot of it takes place during the day, but the Gotham that we do get in the backdrop looks totally different than what we experienced in the Batman. It's bigger, even though it didn't look like that in Matt Reeves' version, which is interesting to me. And I don't know if you guys noticed it. It was just like, well, this feels like such a disconnect from how we experience this world to what we get in this series. - When you look at the world that Matt Reeves portrays, and you think of that opening sequence on Halloween, October 31st, I am the shadows type thing, right? It's a very gothic feeling world, obviously, with Gotham. And there's a mix of London in there, there's obviously a mix of New York and this just decaying city. And yeah, when you're watching the Penguin, it feels a lot more like a city, it feels a lot more like a New Jersey or New York City. And I think a big feeling, a big tunnel shift, is like you're right, Anthony. When you have something set during the day, the Batman felt like such a curated look to the Batman, where you're looking at that sequence outside the iceberg lounge, and you have the Riddler's apartments, and you see that light, and you see him there, and you're like, this guy's been watching the whole time, and we didn't notice 'cause nobody ever sees him. When there's lights, it's hard to really have like those perfect moments. I mean, look at us right now, all in our lighting setups, like this is a very different look to our show at nighttime than when you versus when you see it during the day. And I think that's honestly my biggest criticism of the show too, is that when you have a bar set so high by people like Matt Reeves and Greg Frazier, you definitely feel a visual shift in this, and it definitely feels more like a TV-scale story. Not to say like there are moments where the show is gorgeous and there's some incredible moments, but when there are moments that maybe cut back to footage of the Batman or cut to something else that we've seen before, you're like, you feel the difference, right? And it almost reminds me of like, you know, growing up, watching Smallville, sometimes Smallville would reuse shots from Batman Begins where it's like, oh, it's the narrows from Batman Begins, which again felt very Batman. And then you compare that to like the city and Dark Knight Rises. Like this doesn't feel like the same place. Like I know it's a different part of the city, but it's like, this is so clean looking. And I think there's definitely moments of that in Penguin, but there are some really impressive sets in this too, which you will see as the weeks go on, we're not gonna reveal anything. But yeah, I think that's the biggest thing too. And Anthony, before I get to my reaction, and I know you mentioned the story itself. What was it about the story as much as you could say without spoilers, worked for you? And what aspect of the story wasn't working for you as much? - I think for me that there's a lot of, you know, no one's safe in this world. - Right. - And the way things happen, and as the episodes go, you go through these episodes. As people are offed or removed from the story, a lot of it never really feels earned. And I think for me, the way the Penguin, what I got from the Batman and how he is represented in this world now, it doesn't feel the same. And mate, like again, Matt Reeves is part of this, so he knows what he's created here. But I feel like the Penguin, when I saw him in the Batman, he was like fucking copple. Like he was next in line. He had a crew, he ran the iceberg lounge. He was someone with somewhat respect. Again, we didn't really get a lot of interactions. Like the Batman had a meeting with him. Like these are things that you're just like, oh, this guy's on a hold on their level. When we're introduced to the Penguin after the events of the Batman in this series, he feels like this, like an aunt. And I just couldn't believe it. I was just like, no way that this guy would be such like so disrespected after having a huge moment, like these huge moments in the Batman, especially when he tells everyone like Carmine Falcone is a rat. And he was the one who says it. I just couldn't believe that this character that we are going to go through these eight episodes with starts off from the bottom. And I don't know if that was the right storyline for him. There are some interesting things that they incorporate with the Penguin. And like I said, I like things, I don't like things. This is not a perfect series like The Last of Us, which I think The Last of Us did everyone just like everything that we got from The Last of Us, from production to performances to the way it transcribes on screen and just was perfect. I don't think the series is there yet. And I don't know if they'll have a second season. I don't know what the plans are. But at the end of it, when you get to that ending episode, I was just like, yeah, man, I don't know how I feel about what happened in this whole series. - I got you. And you know, it's interesting because the way I always saw Penguin in The Bad Man is like we're seeing him through the perspective of how Bad Man's really seeing him. So what's interesting in the Penguin is that we're getting almost like the reality of the world that he's in. Because even in The Bad Man, you see Penguin is just like, they're like opening the door for Carmine and like holding his code. And like he's kind of like his- - He's lackey almost. - His lackey, right? - Yeah, no, definitely he's lackey. But he also, he's running his business. - He's skimming off the top. - And he's skimming off the top. And when Vengeance finds you, you are at top of that list, you know? - Vengeance! - This like back and forth in and out around creating this plot circle that just circles around and around and around where it never really has that focus and direction where The Bad Man did. Like it's like that story from beginning to end had such a drive to get to the end. For this, there's a lot of skimming and fumbling. And I was just like, I don't believe that this guy is who he, who we got from The Bad Man. - Yeah, I get you. And it's, and it's, I totally agree because you're also telling a story that Bad Man's not in it, right? Like this is a series where you're telling these stories and like as obviously when this is connected to the world of The Bad Man, you're just like, yeah, but what's Bad Man doing? I wanna know what Bad Man's up to too. 'Cause like, we're also a little hungry to see this next chapter of what Matt Reeves is gonna tell us. But you know, like I'll be honest with you guys. Like this series, like I was really surprised and of how much I enjoy the series. And you know, I'm definitely biased because of how much I love The Bad Man. But I also just really love the story that it was telling. And I think this three strongest components of the show are what it leans on the most. It's Colin Farrell as Oz. It's Chris and Muladi as Sofia. And it's Renzi Feliz as Victor. I think they're such a great pair together. And I love their relationships with each other, especially their relationships with Oz. And you really get to see a different side of Oz and like Anthony said, it's an interesting twist of fate to see how, you know, Vic, Renzi's character gets tied into all of this. But what the series does so well, it really is telling the stories of Ozcob, Ozworld, Cobble Potties, we know him. And really getting under the skin of a character like that. And I found it fascinating every single episode where we're learning more and more about the sky and how, yeah, how he was in The Bad Man really felt like a facade of who his character is. Because at the end of the day, this is somebody who is very just emotionally, you know, compromised and weak and small. And at the end of the day, he feels like he's a little boy who's never really, you know, he's obviously an adult, but he's still, I think, does ever come, you know, to terms with like the life that he's kind of laid out for himself. And there's some incredible moments with Colin in this where I'm just like, you look at the sky. And again, it's a testament to Mike Moreno and his team. You're like, this is not an actor who exists. There's no one who looks like this. And it's so funny that you're watching a series and you're just like, I believe who this character is. And I'm feeling like empathy for this character. And then I'm so frustrated by his actions because when you're telling a story about a character who's like evil or bad, it's like, I almost feel like I get more upset at the decisions they make because it's like, don't you see you could have this so easily. You could have everything you want if you weren't so selfish. And I found myself getting angry watching it because you start to really connect who he is. And it really is The Bad Man meets The Sopranos. And there's really moments where we already knew that Colin Farrow was very much channeling Tony Soprano in a lot of ways, James Gandolfini. And I think you really get to see his performance shine through that, shine through the makeup. It never feels like a caricature. This feels like a real person. And there's truly moments that I was shocked at where this series goes. Then you're introducing this whole other side of this with Chris and Milady's character with Sophia who as soon as they meet one another, you see that they have history. They share this glance with one another where you instantly just know like, these characters share history and it makes such a great power dynamic between the two. And I really liked how it always felt like no matter where things started at the beginning of the episode, they were always find a way to undo any good will they had no matter which characters were with by the end of it. So it's really fascinating to see what this series has, what it does in these eight episodes. And I really do think for myself, this might be like my favorite show this year. And again, I know how much I love the Batman. I think X197 is still like the top of the top for like animation and for shows. I'm curious to see where things go at the end of the year 'cause we've had such a great year of TV. But for someone who I've just been wanting a story like this in the Batman world and I know we got a taste of it in the Batman and it still doesn't reach the heights of Batman obviously, that's just another level. But for me, what this show does so well is that I think it treats its characters like they are real. And I think the moves that they make in this series feel like what would come next in this world. And I think there's some really incredible performances. There's some really great surprises in it. But I think what people are really gonna fall in love with are Colin, it's Renzi, it's Sophia. There's an incredible cast that are doing some amazing things in this series. And I did want to call out obviously the score. Michael Giacchino's score for the Batman is one of the best. I think the last two years it's been my number one album other than I guess Oppenheimer was up there last year too was probably number two. But Mick Giacchino, so Michael's son has taken over the conducting and the composing duties for this show. And he does an incredible job obviously. That's a very talented family. But it's incredible to see the work continue and how the themes have evolved, how intense the music feels at some moments. But yeah, those are some of the big highlights from the obviously performances in music. I truly do love the series. But obviously there's so much to talk about and we will check in towards the end of this season when it comes to giving our full spoiler discussions on everything. So stay tuned for that. We'll also have like I said, a lot of interviews coming your way week to week. So I'm assuming on those interviews that we drop, we will probably talk spoilers up to whatever episode we are on. So stay tuned. There's lots of great stuff coming. But let's get to our final recommendations. Shabazz, I'm gonna get you to start us off. The Penguin, final thoughts. Give that final suggestion for our listeners and our watchers. What do you think they should do? - I'm really enjoying the Penguin. And I love what both yourself and Anthony and I have brought up. I agree with a lot of Anthony's points about the visuals of this show. They aren't up to the caliber that I was expecting or hoping for, but they didn't break the show from me. I'm enjoying the story. I'm enjoying the character. So based on that, I say definitely go and watch the show when it comes out. 'Cause I think you're gonna have a really good time with it. It's not a long show. It's about eight episodes. So you can kind of get in it, fall in love with some Batman and it hopefully will tide you over until we get the Batman too. - I love it. I'm right there with you. Go check it out. I think it's a fantastic show. If somehow you've never seen the Batman and you're fans of the movie podcast and you haven't heard us bring up this movie, somehow over the last two and a half years, go watch that movie because this series literally picks up as soon as that film is wrapping up. So go check it out. I think it's a great crime drama with some incredible performances and it just makes me more hungry to see what is coming next in this Gotham city with Matt Reeves. Definitely watch it. Anthony takes on home. - I've had issues with this series, but I still think it's something that if you're a Batman fan or the Batman fan, or you really want something gangster related that you've been missing out of your life, the Penguin is that series for you. Yes, it's not that for me, that thing that I hoped it would be. I think there are glimpses of it. There's little hints of wow, but I think the biggest takeaway for me is the performances. Seeing Colin play the Penguin for eight episodes and just living in that world. And I don't know if we mentioned it or not. This is not a PG-13 series. - Yes, that's great. That's great. You mentioned that. It is not and it's very rated R. - Very rated R. There's F words left, right in the center. - And blood. - I was surprised the Batman does a show up and say, "Hey guys, you need to relax and a lot of blood." - Stop swearing, please. - We're just gonna make it in this world. - Yeah. - We gotta swear in the next Batman. - It's gonna, sorry, I know we're wrapping up, but that's also another thing that I kinda had with this show where I'm like, what? The Batman world is PG-13. This is the way it are. It almost feels like a weird curve in the road where it feels even more disconnected. So that was another thing as well. - I wonder what if the next Batman movie is rated R. - I wonder if they would do that. - You know, DC can do R-rated movies. They've done R-rated movies with Joker, Joker 2, the Suicide Squad. We just had Deadpool and Wolverine break every record. I think Batman could pull off an R-rated movie, especially in the Matt Reeves worlds and it won't suffer at the box office for it because the Batman 2022 film is not a kids movie by any means. So I'm curious to see if they would adapt and maybe go down a darker route for what comes next. - Yeah, I hope so. I think the rated R version of this story works well within the Batman world. But getting back to my reaction or my ending reaction, I think it's a watch it. I think I do, again, I had issues with it but I still think it's a worthy show to watch even though there are some things that I don't agree with or I wish it was something else or better. - Yeah, I'm there with you. And I'm so excited for everyone to watch it when it does premiere on September 19th. Please let us know what you think. We have our Discord channel open. Show notes below have everything you need to know to join us there. Let's talk about this show every week 'cause I think it's one of those shows that we'll do so well when we really deconstructed and figure out what's going on together. Obviously we're not gonna spoil anything for you but I would love to talk with all of you in our Discord channel in the comments below. Let us know what you think about the show, what you're looking forward to, what you think is going to happen. 'Cause there's lots to deconstruct. It's gonna be a really interesting year for DC. So I'm really excited to see what is coming from them. We still have, you know, creature commandos later this year in December. We have Superman next year and then hopefully we hear some news on what's happening with the BAM in part two. Until then, make sure you follow us on all social media, Instagram, X, TikTok, Letterbox, wherever you are, the movie podcast is there. Thank you again to our friends at HBO and Crave Canada for working with us on our interviews in this review. Lots of great interview content coming your way. You do not want to miss any of it. Until then, that was this time with the movie podcast and we'll see you next. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)
