Suggestible - The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

Episode Date: February 23, 2023

Suggestible things to watch, read and listen to. Hosted by James Clement @mrsundaymovies and Claire Tonti @clairetonti.New music, merch, live show info and much more available at https://www.clairetonti.com/This week’s Suggestibles:04:15 The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker14:19 Songs for a New World25:25 Sifu35:08 ShrinkingSend your recommendations to [e-mail], we’d love to hear them.You can also follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @suggestiblepod and join our ‘Planet Broadcasting Great Mates OFFICIAL’ Facebook Group. So many things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi, I'm Jessi Cruikshank from the number one comedy podcast, Phone a Friend, which I strongly advise you listen to. You know what else I suggest you look into? Becoming a host on Airbnb. Did you like that segue? Thank you. I recently started putting my guest house on Airbnb when I'm out of town, and I didn't realize how easy it would be until I did it. If you have a spare room, you could Airbnb it, or your whole place could be an Airbnb. It's a great way to make a little extra money by doing not a lot, which frankly is my mantra in 2024. To learn more, go to airbnb.ca slash host. Bingity bong, bing bing bong. Hong. Hong. Hong? I don't know. It's supposed to be bong. Who knows? Anyway, I know. It's suggestible time. Oh. The time when we recommend you things to watch, read, and listen to.

My name is Claire Tonti. James Clement is there also. We are married. And that's the show. And we're bragging about it. Yeah. You said to me just before that I get enthusiastic about things and I feel seen.

It's true because you're going to go down to visit your brother. I am. In the beach. And you cause you, you're going to go down the, uh, to visit your brother. I am. In the beach. And you're like, I'm not going to stay the night. And I'm like, you'll stay the night cause you get excited. And then you were like, and you got excited by the prospect of just being excited by something. I just like being in things and doing things and going to places. Hey, nothing wrong with that, man.

Yeah. As opposed to you, what is it? man. Yeah, as opposed to you. What is it? Charlie Brooker, who says to you that nothing is worth doing? Most things aren't worth doing. Yeah, which is the exact opposite of how I feel. No, it's true. It is very rare that I do something and I think, oh, that wasn't worth it.

The problem with that is though. Actually, it almost never happens to me. Yeah, but the problem with that is though you don't know until you do it. Then you're like, ah. Because you won't really know unless you try i exactly and i actually would suggest that most of the things that i make you do you actually enjoy no or i fake enthusiasm because i know i can see through you otherwise you'd be like wouldn't you like anything and i'm like i don't know no you often go this is actually really good yeah sure except we all know that really you want to be home with all your stuff

and your little slippers watching TV. It's true. Making my way through the Scream franchise, Claire, because Scream 6 is out next week. What I don't understand, for the ten minutes that I was watching, the main characters all had what appeared to be red texta all over their faces. What was that about?

I don't know what you're talking about. Was it fake blood? It might have been fake blood. But I'm watching Scream 3, which is the worst Scream, which isn't even that bad because they're all pretty solid. Can I ask, so is the premise of this one they're making a movie about the Scream incident? Well, okay, so there's original Scream, which became the movie Stab,

which we see in the start of Scream 2. And then when you get up to Scream 3, they're making Stab 3, which is not based on any of the events. So the Stab series within the Scream franchise is the events from Scream. Right. Does that make sense? Yes. So they dramatise them.

They get someone who plays Neve Campbell and whoever in it. Right. And they're making them within the universe. And there's some good things like in Scream 3, like Courtney Cox has the actor who plays her in the movie and they run around and they do some like investigations together and whatever. There's like it's none of the Scream movies are terrible.

They're all like they're either good or like very good. And the last one, which came out last year, great, really terrific. Yeah, I remember you saying that. I never watched it. I'm surprised. Yeah, I've always liked them. They've always been like really solid. And there's a bunch of them from that era. There's like Urban Legend and I Know What You Did Last Summer

and whatever. There's heaps. But Scream is the best. There's a reason why they're so iconic. Yeah, and Wes Craven who created them, he's – this is not what I'm talking about today, but he did like, he reinvented like horror in the 80s with like Nightmare on Elm Street and like Freddy Krueger and all of that, which is also like a meta commentary on slashes and whatever.

And well, it also became more of that as it went along. But, and then. Or Stabby Stabbersons as I like to call them. And then he did it like again in the 90s with Scream. And then he died in like 2015. Oh no. There's also a TV series, which I've never seen, which is not canonical. like again in the 90s with Scream and then he died in like 2015. There's also a TV series which I've never seen which is not canonical. It's in a different Screamiverse.

And then is there the Scary Movie franchise? Are they a spoof of Scream? They are but they're also anything. So it's also like whatever's happening. Often it's like it's Britney Spears and she's shaving her head or whatever. You know, it's whatever's happening. I think that franchise really ruined Scream for me. Okay, yeah.

Also, I will say that of the Scary Movie franchise, it's not that bad. There's some pretty okay jokes in it. All right. But it's also very dated and whatever and all those things as well. I see, I see, I see. I see there, Jim Bob. Just so you know. But enough of that. Tell us why you're really here.

It's a loose history of Scream. Oh, well, we've suggested things, and this is my suggestion, speaking of Screams and murders. That's what marriage is, Amarat. Oh, my God. Don't brag about it. But I watched something, a little documentary called The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker.

Right. Here's the synopsis. Here he goes. Caleb Lawrence McGilvery, also known as Kai, is a Canadian man who first became known from the internet via a viral video called Kai, The Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker. That whole sentence seems incredibly difficult for you to get through. Okay, so it featured him.

It featured. I'm still sick, Claire, and I can't hear properly, which featured him recounting a crime he witnessed while hitchhiking. Kai subsequently received national attention in the press. So this is a true story. It happened in the 2010s. So this guy, he was picked up by a guy in a car because he was a hitchhiker and they were traveling along and then there was a traffic altercation and the guy he was with attacked and nearly like killed or seriously injured this woman so kai hit him in the back of the head with a hatchet and then yeah but that wasn't why and then he became famous because he was interviewed and he's like really funny and like charismatic and almost sort of like inspiring

interview about it and like being yourself and looking after people and we're all humans and all this kind of thing. And then this dude just fucking disappeared. And so there was this like virality surrounding this guy of like, who is this guy? Like, where did he come from? Where did he go? How do you contact him? Because like all the major news networks wanted to speak to him, you know, get a get a piece of him and, and he was just like uncontactable because he obviously had no address. So eventually like they tracked down this guy and this is some of the documentary, I should say, it's not all of it. And if you know anything about this, like you'd probably be familiar, but he ends up going on like Jimmy Kimmel and he is in a number of like viral videos and other posts and whatever. He's got a band, which he tours and all this kind of stuff.

And so he becomes this, this celebrity and he's just going around different towns, you know, and people loving this dude and they're buying him drinks and whatever, whatever, et cetera. Anyways, it turns out that maybe the thing that happened with the hitchhiking, maybe that was maybe not true or a half truth, this particular event. And when you find more about Kai, he maybe is not this free, like wielding happy-go-lucky guy that you'd initially think

and then he's got this past and maybe he has these violent tendencies and all these different things about this guy. Like maybe he's got substance abuse problems and all these other kind of things begin to unfold and it kind of culminates in various different outcomes, which I will not spoil here. It's what I like about this also is it's not a six episode series that goes forever and nowhere and drags out all the information.

It's like an hour 25. You get all the information that you could possibly need and then it's finished and you never have to think about it ever again, right? It's on Netflix. It's well worth a look if you like, you know, like murder documentaries or whatever, you know what I mean, true crime, et cetera. You know, it's all that kind of fits in that category and it's just a very interesting and sad kind of tale but interesting

and it's also like it's the pitfalls of like social media and going viral and fame and what that does to a person and how people maybe pursue that without thinking what the wider aspects of this, you know, could end up being on a person or a society, you know, makes you think, makes you go, maybe we are on our phones too much, you know, that's what I thought. Wowza, James. And then I didn't go outside and I felt better for it. You didn't go hug a tree? No.

But I've been encouraging you to do. Spend more time with trees, mate. They're really good for you. I look out the window, I fucking see a tree. I went on a tree meditation and it was so amazing at the Botanical Gardens in Melbourne. I can't remember if I've talked about it on the show before. But it was so powerful and, like, some of us cried.

We are designed to be around trees and lean against trees and they emit some kind of, like, hormones that are really good for us. Laser. Laser. As well as, obviously, air and other things. They're really good. Anyway, that sounds very fascinating. What you're saying is trees are good.

That is my promise. Also, like, if you're, you know, if you're like, oh no, are you going to see this guy, like, bash someone's head in with a hatchet or whatever? Yeah, exactly. That's what I'm worried about. No, you don't see it. Like, you see people, like, talk about it, but you don't, because you don't see any of it. It's wild that that stuff actually happens. Yeah, it is wild.

And then when you watch this and you find out, like, why it happened, you're like, oh, whoa, okay. It's a lot. And where can we find that? That's on Netflix. It's a popular streaming service. It's brand new. It's called Netaflix.

Spell it. N-E-T-A-F-L-E-X. That seems correct. Netaflix. Excellent. Netaflix. Yeah. Netaportia, but Netaflix.

Also, they're doing a I Know What You Did Last Summer. I Know What You Did. Reboot. No, they did that, but I think they're doing a sequel because Freddie You Did Last Summer. I Know What You Did. Reboot. No, they bring in – they did that but I think they're doing a sequel because Freddie Prinze Jr. is still around. Ooh. As is Jennifer Love Hewitt. I loved him at that time.

Still around. Still around. He retired to like be a dad and like do Wing Chun and whatever. I think you like really respected him for it. I did. I never respected him before he retired. I respect him immensely. He's always seemed all right. I did. I never respected him before he retired. I respect him immensely. He's always seemed alright.

I like him. Well, I had a massive crush on him in the movie She's All That which actually in the rewatch is incredibly problematic but I still loved it at the time. There's a new She's All That and it stars the girl from She's All That and she's the mother of a girl

who's She's All That a boy. she's all that, a boy. She's all that as a boy. But she's not the same woman from the first movie. She's not the same character but she's still in it. What? So it's the actor but playing a different character. It's the actor playing a different character.

She's the one, you know, she wears the glasses and whatever. Oh, yes, yes, yes. I've seen not another teen movie like way more times than I've seen She's All That. So that's why I'm probably going to get confused. But I can't believe that they didn't take the opportunity to like have her be the same character and then she has a daughter who she's she's all that's a guy and she's like are you she's all thatting that poor boy I was she's all that and when I was in high school you should know

better yeah that would no daughter of mine's gonna she's all that somebody or as a feminist commentary she should be able to she's all that some dude you shouldn't she's all that anybody i'm gonna say it's not cool it's to do that i know it's so problematic that movie it's like oh she has glasses and overalls oh she's so ugly and suddenly she's like oh she's so beautiful it's so stupid but i loved it love, as I've previously discussed, a makeover. Yeah. I don't as much anymore because it bugs me, but I used to be obsessed with makeover shows. And I think it's not like the reality ones as in like in the movie kind of vibe.

Yeah, absolutely. Like a pretty woman-esque kind of thing happening. And I love that. I feel like it's because it's this eternal idea that as a woman. Oh, there you go. I feel like it's this eternal idea that I really like absorbed as a kid that if you're awkward and nerdy and have glasses and a bit like, you know, whatever, that you'll have this like hero arc

where one day you'll just be like, look at me, I'm beautiful and everyone will be like, ooh, clap, clap, clap. And that's the bullshit thing that the patriarchy has really instilled in clap, clap, clap. And that's the bullshit thing that the patriarchy has really instilled in women. Yeah, exactly. It's this whole idea that your worth is then based around how attractive you are.

Yep, and it's true. And that one day maybe you can aspire to shock everyone with your giant amazing beauty, you know, and then your smarts won't even matter. Like, I don't know, it's so stupid. However, I also loved it. Anyway. Do you want to see the guy who gets he's all that?

Yes, I do. So this is the guy. What I'm staring at is someone who's like kind of weirdly muscular. Yeah, he looks like a marble statue. Yeah. He's from Karate Kid. But how does he get hazel battered? Is he like nerdy but secretly muscly?

They cut his hair and they take his shirt off or something. Oh, and so he's like secretly muscly? And he loves horses. I've seen the trailer. I haven't seen it. But he loves horses. Yeah. And they're like, what kind of nerd loves horses?

It's like, don't girls love horses? Isn't that like a terrible cliche? Yeah, they do love horses. I don't like horses. No, you really don't trust them at all. I'm not weird. It's so strange. Imagine something.

They're beautiful. Imagine something dumber than a dog. They're not though, but this is what bugs me so much, and I know people who are listening to this podcast who will love horses and ride horses and understand horses. When you say that, it hurts my soul because horses are incredibly intelligent and empathetic creatures. Hurts my soul because horses are incredibly intelligent and empathetic creatures.

They are majestic and glorious and people use them as therapy because they're so intuitive. So take that back. No. And I'm on the side of anyone who works in equine therapy. It's really fascinating. The studies that have come out about equine therapy. I'm not arguing that like it can be a very calming and soothing presence,

but I also, and all that is fine. And, you know, they're probably not dumber than dogs. They're not. Well, there is, the science is still out. I have looked into it. All right. And I'm sure it depends dog to horse and horse to dog. It depends, whatever.

Okay. See, the dogs agree. The dogs would know because they're smarter than a horse. But my point is that a horse like freaking out to me is're smarter than a horse. But my point is that a horse, like, freaking out, to me, is scarier than a dog. Well, yeah, but that's like they absorb your energy. Any horse can kill me but not every dog can kill me. Well, I don't know.

Maybe they could. I don't know. Get thrown from a horse, kicks you in the head, whatever. All right. I would actually suggest that more people get killed by dogs than horses. What? Well, that's because horses are a rich person's thing. Okay.

There's just so many layers to this. It's true. All right. Fine. Yeah, you're probably right about that. Can we move along now? Sure. Anyway, what did you think of He's All That?

Because I know you did watch it this week. I didn't watch He's All That. He was not all that. And he's not actually all that in that photo. I mean, good on him. I thought he was all that. Good on him. Anyway, moving right along.

Turns out that he was. That's the point. My first recommendation is actually a musical, which is cool. And I haven't actually seen the actual thing live. This is just the soundtrack that I've been listening to. I'm learning one of the songs. But I got really into understanding the premise of it. So I'll explain what it's called.

It's a very famous one. What do I have to do? Just listen. Okay, cool. That's the whole, this is the way this show is supposed to work. It's true. So Songs for a New World is a work of musical theatre written and composed by Jason Robert Brown and it's his first produced show,

originally produced off Broadway at the WPA Theatre in 1995. Oh, it's an oldie. Brown and director Daisy Prince put together songs he had written for other venues and events resulting in neither musical play nor review. It is closer to a theatrical song cycle. So a very theatrical. What does that mean, a song cycle? So a song cycle is just kind of what it sounds like.

It's a sequence of songs rather than being a complete kind of musical with, you know, all of the scripting and the story arc. It's more like a group of songs that are based around a theme. So this is kind of in between that. Okay. So what's really interesting, I think about it is that they decided to make it an abstract musical based around the moment of decision. So it's a series of songs with a whole lot of different characters that aren't connected but each song is based around a particular moment. So it's about hitting the wall in that moment and having to make a choice or take a stand or turn around and go back.

And so the cast will play multiple characters when they do this and it's often quite popular with like schools and, you know, small theatre groups because it doesn't have an extraordinarily big budget or a big cast. Yeah, you can do it. The music itself is incredibly complex and it comes from lots of different genres as well, including jazz. Yeah.

But I want to just read through some of the songs to kind of explain a bit more. Like the lyrics or like the names of? No, no, just the concepts because this is what I find so fascinating and what I think you will find interesting about it. Where did you get onto this? Where did you find it? My singing teacher because I'm learning one of the songs. I'm learning a song called I'm Not Afraid of Anything.

But so in the opening sequence, it's called The New World and this is by the whole company that sings it. Right. And it sings of the evening central theme that even when everything seems stable and certain, there is one moment that can upend and change anyone's life at any point. So that's kind of the premise. It sets up. Now I'm going to go through and tell you some of the different situations the characters are in. And what do I have to do? Just listen. Okay. But I just think it's interesting. Yeah. And what do I have to do?

Just listen. Okay. But I just think it's interesting. Yeah, yeah. That idea that there's just one moment that can change everything. So the title of the song is On the Deck of a Spanish Sailing Ship, 1492. And basically the song revolves around a ship's captain who's praying for the safety of the souls aboard his ship as they're going on a voyage to an undiscovered country.

Okay, gotcha. So that's kind of the premise of that song. And then it will jump to another song called Just One Step, on a voyage to an undiscovered country. Okay, gotcha. So that's kind of the premise of that song. And then it will jump to another song called Just One Step, which is a wealthy wife who climbs out onto the window ledge of her 57-story apartment in an attempt to get her neglectful husband's attention. Does he? Does she? Well, you'll have to listen to the song.

So there's that. Is he in the room? No. How's he going to know? What do you mean? I mean if she's out there and she's like, look at me. Oh, actually, no in is he in the room no how's he gonna no what what do you mean i mean if she's out there and she's like look at me oh actually no he's in the room oh he is yes it's not like yes darling i see you very good i'm very scared for you anyway the next one is the one i'm learning it's called i'm not afraid of anything and it's a young woman who's reflecting on the fears of the people she loves and comes to realise how they have held her back. And so

she's kind of talking about how fear can really kind of freeze you and that she's actually not afraid of anything. And it's this beautiful, it's such a beautiful song. And it talks about how like her father, for example, is afraid of babies or like another woman that she knows is afraid of water. It's just a really famous song and it's hard to explain. Is anyone afraid of horses? James. Yeah, they're good. That's the line in it.

Yeah, that famous line. James is afraid of horses. I'm so afraid of horses. He doesn't even know that he's afraid of horses. No, I know I'm afraid of horses. I do know. So he's afraid of horses. No, I know I'm afraid of horses. I do know. So he won't go to the farm. If anyone knows that lyric, that is the same melody at the beginning of it.

Anyway, another example of one is the river that won't flow. So a pair of derelicts swap stories of woe and ill luck, concluding that for some bad luck is just fate. So, you know, that kind of vibe. You might have mentioned this, but is it a day, is it a musical all the way through? Is it people stopping and going, man, I tell you what, I'm afraid of luck or whatever.

No, it's a musical. And then they go into the song? No, it's a musical. Gotcha. Okay. Yeah. Stars and the Moon is recounting the stories of two poor suitors and the rich man she eventually marries.

A woman comes to realise what she has sacrificed in exchange for wealth and comfort. And there's another song called She Cries. A man describes the power the woman he's in love with holds over him. There's the last one from the first act. It's called The Steam Train. A teenager from a poor neighbourhood in New York boasts of his future as a basketball star.

His bravado is undercut with a spoken monologue revealing the disadvantages he is determined to overcome. They're like tiny vignettes within each song. And I just love that idea that there are moments in time that everything comes to a head and they're like pivotal decisions and the way that you move or go in that particular moment changes everything. Do you agree with that?

I absolutely do, yeah. Do you think you can walk that back? I think depending on the situation, yeah, sometimes you can walk it back and then sometimes, no, sometimes things happen and that's it. The course of your life is just forever changed. Have you had a moment like that? Yeah, probably. Have you?

You're so annoying. I don't know if you know how this show works. Well, it's literally like every thing that you do affects something. So you come across it and you don't even know. That at the time it's really pivotal. Or didn't. Anyway, what's yours? Well, I want to know what yours is first.

Like is there one in particular that you think. Like a decision. Yeah, a decision or a moment in time where you know that that really changed the course of a lot of things. I mean, I guess starting to do like this definitely because I would be probably teaching or I would have burnt out and quit and done something else. But, yeah, probably that.

I mean, my life would have been completely different. I would have had to keep growing as a person as opposed to remaining emotionally stunted and just watching the Scream movies for no reason. You know, things like that. Yeah, what about you? Oh, yeah, look, there's lots of different moments, isn't there? It's hard to just pick one.

I mean, when we met, you know. Yeah, well, there's lots of different moments, isn't there? It's hard to just pick one. I mean, when we met, you know? Yeah, well, that's very true. And, you know, it's like I guess any relationship, you know, you make decisions along the way of like, you know, that you're going to continue forward. Yeah, but there's sort of, I guess the premise of this musical is that things come to a head like there's, yes, we make decisions all the time in our life but then there are some things

that then end up making, you know, they're like really pivotal moments. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know. I mean I guess there are other parts in life like when my dad passed away that then change the course of the way that your life looks when you lose someone like that. So that's not really a decision.

It's more just like something that happens to you, which is something as well in that kind of grief. And I guess for, yeah, getting COVID, I actually reckon one of the things about the album that I've done, which is where my head is at. Oh, you wrote an album, did you? I know it's on. You've never mentioned it before.

Anyway, it's on. Deciding to put one song. So before I put the song that I'd written on Instagram, for some reason, I was in this really dark headspace. I did a cover of a Leonard Cohen song. Yeah. And I spent ages recording it. And I don't really even understand exactly why I decided to do it, but I put it on Instagram. Was that even your initial plan? No, I don't know. No exactly why I decided to do it but I put it on Instagram. Was that even your initial plan? No, I don't know. No, I think I was just, I don't even know really why I was recording because I spent like a whole day just like learning this song

and then filming it and wanting to get it perfect. And then I decided to put it on Instagram and I thought, oh, I wasn't even sure exactly why I did it. But then the response I got from people was so beautiful. And I reckon that changed the course of a lot of things after that, because then I had the confidence to then put a song I'd written on Instagram and then my teacher saw it and then she was like, well, you should do something with it and then domino, domino, domino effect. But if I hadn't made that or even maybe even making the decision to go and get singing lessons again, you know, for the first time in like 15 years

or something, like even that step. And I do think about that a lot. Because at that point it was also like you were just doing it for you as well. Yeah, and because I had a cough. I developed a cough when I was having breathing problems. And so I thought maybe singing lessons will help and doing something just for me and, you know. But it's just so interesting how you don't know when that,

you're right what you said about sometimes you don't know until you look back what decision has been the most monumental in shaping the way the course of your life will go. But that was probably deciding to go in and get singing lessons. Yeah. And so I always say that to people that you just, what an adventure. You don't know, but you have to just start. You have to just start something.

Otherwise you just get, when you're stuck in a rut, you know. Anyway, so the songs from New World, the music is beautiful and I would highly recommend going to listen to it on Spotify. Is it coming to Melbourne at some point? I'm sure it will be around. It's always around because it's one of those things that's really easy for groups to put on. I don't think it's on anywhere at the moment.

But it's a beautiful soundtrack just to listen to and my favourite song that I'm learning, I'm not afraid of anything. Stunning. Stunning. What about your version? Really bloody hard to sing. Do you reckon I could do it though? Definitely.

Thanks. But I prefer the James is afraid of horses. I am afraid of horses. And I'm not afraid to admit it. He doesn't really know, but he's afraid of horses. I like them. I know people have been thrown from horses. I know people have been trampled by horses.

Yeah, like multiple people. Who's been trampled by horses. Yeah, like multiple people. Who's been trampled by horses? Yeah, Hollywood P. He grew up on a farm, yeah. Bloody hell. He agrees with me with horses. He had a storied life. Fascinating life.

He has had a fascinating life back then. Yeah, he told me the story. He was a kid. He was fucking trampled by a horse. And he was like, because I think he might have even heard us talking about it. And he was like, you're right, they are dumb. So that's all I'm saying. All right.

These aren't even my words. These are Pete. Give me your other recommendation. And I know another woman who was thrown from a horse and broke her fucking coccyx bone. All right. Yeah. And like her spine and shit. Anyways.

Hi, this is Katnett Unfiltered. If you know us, then you know that we do almost everything together, so accommodating seven kids and seven adults on vacation can be challenging. So, we Airbnb it. And if you have a spare room in your house, you can Airbnb it. It's that simple. You can even Airbnb your whole house while you are away. You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it.

Whether you could use extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun, your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.ca slash host. Claire, I don't know if you know this, but I'm on the Sifu diet. I Sifu and I play it. Now, what I mean by that is, there's a video game. It's called Sifu. It's from last year, right? Okay. It's a beat-em-up style video game developed and published by the French studio Slow Clap and it's set in modern-day China

and players control the child of a martial arts school, Sifu, who's like a master who seeks revenge on those responsible for her father's death. So basically it's a beat-em-up game. You move through a 3D environment and you're like you can pick, you can be a guy or a girl and you beat up your way through. I wish that the listeners could see you punching right now. You're really punching away there.

That's right. And so you have to master like all these various combat moves to move through these different environments and like you start off and you go through like a slum area and then you go into a nightclub and then you go into it whatever okay all of these different things so and you beat up a variety of villains you got your standard kind of you know guys that you beat up who are just like cannon fodder you just like slap them aside you got bigger guys you got guys with more skills you've got people with weapons and all this kind of stuff so you do things like you dodge and you parry and you block and you got a light attack and a heavy attack you use combos

weapons you utilize utilize the environment and you level up as you go. Like you can level up your character to get more moves and et cetera. But here's the thing. It's five levels long and there's a boss at the end of every level. So you think, oh, that's five levels long. That doesn't seem too difficult. But here's the thing, Claire. Here's the thing about the game Seafood.

I don't know if you know this. I'm on the Seafood diet. When I see who I play. Every time you die. How many times are you going to make that joke? That was the last time. But every time you die, you age. So you start at age 20. You die, you age one year.

You become 21. Right. If you die again like pretty quickly after that, you age an additional two years. You're 23. Oh, good. If you die again, you age an additional four years. And you age really quickly. And there's

consequences to every time that you die. So as you get older, you can kind of get caught in a loop of dying. So you age really, really quickly. And then if you die above the age of 70, that's it, the end of the game. And at the end of every level, you don't get your life back. So if you make it to the end of the first level and you're 60 years old, you have to beat the rest of the game as a 60-year-old person. Does that make sense? Yeah. Or you have to restart. So it sounds complicated to you because you look lost.

It sounds very complicated. It basically means that. I'm still stuck on the seafood diet. I'm on the seafood diet, Claire. But it's not called seafood. It's called seafood. S-I-F-U. I'm on the seafood diet. God, I it's not called seafood. It's called S-I-F-U. I'm on the seafood diet.

God, I find this incredibly confusing. Also, I was right. You were going to make that joke again. You made me make it. But basically the thing about it is like you would blitz through this game normally because, you know, you get lives and your health comes back and whatever. This game isn't like that.

So you have to basically beat it in one go like to make it through. Okay. So it's kind of like the game of life. It's kind of like the game isn't like that. So you have to basically beat it in one go, like to make it through. Okay. So it's kind of like the game of life. It's kind of like the game of life. Yeah. And the thing about it is it's incredibly challenging. I bought it last year and I'm like, I'm never going to like put the time into this. And recently I picked it up because I'm on the seafood diet. I see food when I play it. And I've got to the point where I'm like, you know what? I fucking hate this game again and I'm putting it down because it's hard. But it is like if I had the time, like if I was younger, I'd dedicate much more time to it.

But it's really good and interesting and there's a real rhythm to it. When you get in the rhythm of it, like it is, it feels good to kind of like it's almost like puzzle solving and rhythm to like clear a room of people. Does that make sense? Yeah. So you can't just like just randomly tap and you'll hit people. You have to wait to see when they attack you and then you respond to what they're doing. And if you attack at the wrong time, they'll block it and hit you or whatever. If you see a weapon on

the ground, you can pick it up and hit someone with it, or you can just kick it into their face and stun them. So there's like, it's very kind of, and this is an uncommon for fighting games, but it's very, you can't just spam buttons and just kind of you'll make it through. You'll just get killed. Like the easiest person would just obliterate you immediately. Anyway, I'm not currently on the seafood diet because I've stopped playing it because it frustrates me and then you kind of, because you kind of have to stick with it for a while to kind of get better

and I've stopped. But it's good. It's a good game and I like it and I'll return to it again. I am proud of you for sticking with something that is very challenging. No, but I didn't stick with it. Just to clarify, I quit. What do you mean? But you said you liked it.

No, I like it but I've stopped playing at the moment because it's made me frustrated and I put it down. Okay, well, I'm not proud of you then. Thanks. And I'm also at the point in my life where with a lot of like video games and things or whatever or even shows and books that I don't like, I'll play it or pick it up and read and I'm just like, nah, and I'll just chuck it away.

Is that phones? I feel like that's the phone. No, it's just like I don't want to do it. I don't want to like put the time into something I'm not interested in. Yeah, actually that is the same with books. And I used to like push through on like everything. If I look at like video games or books or movies or whatever that I used to do, I'd stick to it, like literally anything.

And look at all like my old games, I've like beaten like most of them and the new ones I'm like maybe beaten like a handful with that. But is that just the limited time? There's also limited time. Yeah, well, that's also part of it. I feel like that with books as well. I'm going to dedicate myself to literally anything else other than this. Yeah, I just end up getting recommendations for books

and then really deep diving into the ones that I really, really love. Yeah. Because I've just got such limited time. Well, I was speaking to your musical partner, Zeke, at your live show, Claire. Correct. Where you released your album. Oh, did I release an album?

Yeah, you did. Uh-huh. You did, Claire, and it was okay. But anyway, he was saying, because he loves video games. Oh, did I release an album? Yeah, you did. You did, Claire, and it was okay. But anyway, he was saying, because he loves video games. Yeah, yeah. And we were talking about it and I was saying, and I think he, you know, in the same wavelength where I feel like I've played most games, like I play a game and I'm like I've played this game like 40 fucking times,

like previous versions of this. Yeah. And it's like it's a first-person shooter or it's a third-person shooter or it's a particular type of puzzle game or whatever. It's Assassin's Creed, open world, go forever, climate tower shit and whatever. And I'm just like this is boring. And what I like about this is it's mechanically like similar

to a bunch of other stuff, sure, but it's packaged in a unique way and that's the kind of stuff that I tend to gravitate towards now. Because the format is more unique. And also they've designed games, though this is falling apart, which I love, they've designed them to be live services now a lot of the time, which means they basically go forever and they incentivise you to keep putting time and money in so the game never ends.

I fucking hate that. Like I like games that are like five to 12 hours and then you're done. It's like a story and a whatever or an experience and then like I don't like, I don't want to play something forever and level up with crystals and shoot a laser at a lizard or whatever the fuck happens in video games. I don't like any of that shit. Shoot a laser at a lizard.

Yeah. Yep. I will never understand your love of video games. Well, you've seen Untitled Goose Game, which our son is playing at the moment. Yeah, I know. It's like a fun little storybook. I'd rather just go and hang out with a goose. No, goose are terrible.

What are you talking about? I like geese. I like watching them. I like the way their necks move. They're fucking awful creatures. No, you just don't. I love all creatures, great and small. Really?

Yes. I like to watch them like a creep. Okay, creep. I just do. That's what I do now. This is as I've got older. I just like to watch things. Video games are art and you might not recognise that, Claire.

Yes, I recognise it. I agree and there's so much in them and they're complex and I get they're cerebrally challenging and they're storytelling and they're amazing and wonderful. I get it. Yeah. I just don't like them. Yeah challenging and they're storytelling and they're amazing and wonderful. I get it. I just don't like them. And also. I don't have to like them.

I don't like them. No, you don't. I don't like playing them. They give me a headache. What I also think is really interesting about video games as opposed to books and radio and film and even television, video games are a very young medium. Like they only really started in well they really

kicked off in the 80s but there are various incarnations you can find before that so a lot of the stuff is still being worked out about how about storytelling in video games and how to make them creative and how to put engagement in it where like movies there's like a hundred plus years of people perfecting that and video games it's a much shorter timeframe. Books, even longer than that, you know. And so I think video games, they do get bogged down in a bunch of like microtransactions and the shit I was saying about, you know, ongoing services or whatever. But there's so much stuff that we haven't seen from video games yet

because it is such a new medium. Like it's within our lifetime. And so I think it's going to be – I hope so at least. It's going to become more interesting. Because there already is like a bunch of really interesting like indie games and stuff that you can get that like push the envelope in different ways, even if there's not necessarily money and something like that. Anyway, that's all I'm saying.

I think that's really interesting. It's a new medium, Claire. Yes, it is. something like that. Anyway, that's all I'm saying. I think that's really interesting. It's a new medium, Claire. Yes, it is. Just like TikTok. Who knows what TikTok will be in a year's time. Anyway, do you know what I love? What do you love? I love being on the seafood diet, but I also love when people,

they leave a review for the show, which you can do in-app, in-app. Just in-app. Whatever app you're apping us in right now. Just like Gay Guy, that's G-A-Y-E. Thanks, mate. Who says, yay, I just ate a piece. It's a P-I-C-E of cake. I'm presuming they spelt piece wrong.

But either way, I hope you enjoyed the cake. And thank you so much for the review. I just want to point out also I've only got one more review to read out after this for next week and then we're out of reviews. So I'm going to need some more reviews if people could go some other way. That would be terrific. Otherwise, I'm going to be forced to stop. Anyway, Claire, what are you doing?

All right. Well, I would like some recommendations from listeners, please. We would love to hear from you. You can write to suggestapod at gmail.com just like Josh Biggs has. Josh Biggs. Hey, Claire and James. I wanted to reach out and suggest the TV show Shrinking on Apple TV+. Oh, yeah, I've been watching this.

Basic plot is a struggling single father whose wife died a year ago. Really good cast and Harrison Ford plays the perfect grumpy old man and he's delightful. I think you'd both really like it. It's funny but it's also heartwarming. Only three episodes so room for all to go terribly but let's hope it doesn't. Love the pod and Claire, I love that your name is spelt, as my mum Claire would say, the right way.

Thanks for all the great content, Joshua. You're welcome, Joshua. What a legend, Josh. What a legend, Josh. Yeah, I've been watching that. It's good and it made me look at Harrison Ford and go, God, this guy's so old. That's why we had that discussion where you used to show me pictures of Harrison Ford like a year ago and then now.

And you were having a full-on existential crisis about how old Harrison Ford was. No, I showed you the trailer for Indiana Jones. Oh, yeah. And you were like, damn, he looks so old. But I was also really excited. And you were like, the thing that looks old about him, and I thought this was really funny, is he's got that fluffy tuft of hair at the crown of his head, like an old man kind of like,

you can't really fix that. It's just like he's had a hat on for too long. It's just like a little fluffy back. That is exactly, that is what makes him look so old. What is with that? Why does that happen to people? I don't know. Because that is the signature sign that things are coming to the end.

Wow. It's the fluffy duck. Take that, Harrison Ford. When you see the fluffy duck, you know. You know. Impending. Yeah. I don't know what that is.

That's so funny to me. But also you went into this like I know you showed me the trailer and you were really excited, but then you went into this weird deep dive where you were just like googling pictures of harrison ford at like 60 yeah you were like 70 and you were like and it was like where does it turn where did it turn look at him look and then you're like showing me pictures of him on the beach at like 72 and you're like look at him there yeah so i was like look at him there and now look at this i'm like what happened it was like five years ago that there. And now look at this. I'm like, what happened? It was like five years ago.

That's what I mean. You were just saying you went into this like full-blown existential crisis about like aging. I just think that's fascinating and like it gets you. Like you can be fucking Harrison Ford and it will get you. The floppy duck will get you. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, to be fair.

I mean, he's a great 80. He looks great. He looks amazing. He's a great 80. 80, fucking hell. Yeah, but I mean, the only person it's probably not going to get is, what's his face, Tom, what's his face, Cruz. No.

Tom, what's his face, Cruz. No, it'll get him. It gets everybody. I don't know. He's on some serious, like whatever, horse stuff. I know you don't like horses. All right. Here we go.

See, that's Tom Cruise relatively recently. Oh, yeah, but that's just like a bad photo. It gets you, man, but I'm telling you. Do you think that? Like no matter what you take and all of that stuff. Yeah. But at a certain point it actually also makes you look worse. Yeah, I mean I think he's, look at his weird centre tooth.

He's got a tooth in the centre of his head face. Look at that. I love it. He's normal. That's what I like about him too. Was it you that showed me that video of him jumping off a plane? Yeah, where he comes in on the whatever. And he's got zero fear.

He's just chatting. He's like literally on the wing of a plane. Yeah. And he's just not even batting an eyelid. He's clearly, he's got, there's some devoid of human fear. Yeah, he doesn't have that like fear centre of his brain or whatever or he's like trained it to not, I don't know, respond or something. I mean, I guess maybe it's because he's short.

He has a low centre of gravity so he doesn't mind. He's not as worried. Maybe that is it. I feel like if you're taller, you'd be more worried. There's further to fall. I don't know. I mean, I guess maybe it's because he's short. He has a low center of gravity, so he doesn't mind. He's not as worried. Maybe that is it. I feel like if you're taller, you'd be more worried. There's further to fall. I don't know. Does that make sense? Do you see what I mean?

Like, he's aging. I mean, he's an amazing, he's nearly 60. Yeah, but he looks bloody great. Yeah. But, like, if you put, like, grey, because he would have, like, grey hair. Oh, yeah. If he didn't have his tan and whatever. Like, it's a different outcome.

Yeah, okay. I'm not saying, no, again, he looks amazing. You're going to be walking in Googling Tom Cruise. No, he'll be dead. And showing me the fluffy duck. He'll be dead. No, but, yeah, I don't know. He's just like, it's interesting because, like, you can,

if you ever watch any interview with him, he's all, like, smiles and laughter and anecdotes and whatever and i did this and i love this guy and whatever but there's no there's nothing like personal about him does that make sense yeah like you can't imagine him getting up and just being like i'm gonna have some boats or whatever i'm gonna make some eggs like there's nothing about him that's like this is a normal person. It's like a person. Impersonating a person. Yeah.

Like, yeah. Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Yeah. Which is fascinating in itself. Yeah. Like he loves movies and he's like, I watch all movies. And that's like, you don't. Like I know you don't.

Like what do you mean you watch all movies? Name some movies that you watched recently, you know. Nobody's ever, like, pressing him on it, you know. Yeah. Maybe he does, though. Maybe he fucking does. Yeah. I don't know.

I actually don't know if he's a very nice person. Well, there is that article that him and Katie Holmes in The Divorce, which is not very positive. And that's some like scientology shit and whatever as well. There's a lot of things. Yeah. Look, who knows? Is he a lizard man?

Possibly. Yes. But also so charismatic. So charismatic. Yeah, but is he? I don't know. I would never. No, interestingly.

Okay, yes. I think he's magnetic. Okay. I wouldn't say he's like charismatic. No, that's true. Because like when I think about a Tom Cruise movie, I'm not really like four. Four, look at this guy.

Well, I also have a theory. We've got to stop this, but, and I've talked about this before, that there was an era where Tom Cruise stopped kissing women in movies. You've told me this before. Yes, yes. Explain again. And people who may not have heard it, but basically it's around like 2006-ish, around the couch jumping thing where everybody was like, hang on a minute,

is this guy like, is this a real odd duck? Like what's going on here? And so he stopped kissing women in movies. It happened a few times. It was like day and night and a few other bits and pieces. Or he'll have like romantic like tension but he won't like kiss somebody and only until recently in the new Top Gun where he has like a love scene with Jennifer Connelly or whatever.

But there's like a 10-year window where anything he does. Like even in like Mission Impossible, the movie, it's like he has a wife and he has to abandon her because he's like he's the best guy in the world and it's the best thing for her and whatever and he's just this single lonely man running around the world, stopping zeppelins from flying into nuclear bombs or whatever. Rocks and these things. Yeah, but he doesn't have time for romance because he's like the best guy

in the world and whatever. And I think it's literally just like an image thing. I think they probably assessed like what kind of person he is and what people want to see from him. It's like have you ever seen like The Rock kiss anybody? Oh, yeah, no. It's fucking awful. Yeah.

Oh, he's like a big. No, I don't know. Why is that that you wouldn't want to see that? Because they're weird like sexless like kind of. This is why like, yeah, they're too muscular. I don't even think it's that. Not for me. Yeah.

Not for me. And for some people, that. Not for me. Yeah. Not for me. And for some people, great. Not for me. So, yeah, he's interesting because then like a Harrison Ford, one of his massive appeals is that he's incredibly good looking and charismatic but he also feels like a regular person. He feels normal, right? Yeah.

He feels like a regular normal person, like a grouchy, disgruntled, regular person that also happens to be extraordinarily handsome. Yeah. But in a way that's like personable and normal. Yeah, you feel like you've seen him. Yeah. Even though you wouldn't have ever.

Yeah, no, because, yeah, because, I mean, you look at him in the original Star Wars and it's ridiculous how good looking he is. It's ridiculous. But he's also kind of grouchy and that's like also very appealing to me. It's very cool how grouchy he is. Anyway, we've got to go. We really do. Anyway.

Thank you, Colin. The other one that has, this is why you see him kissing people all the time in movies, Tom Hanks. You do see him or you don't? No, you do. Yeah, because he's like a guy, right? Because he's like a guy and he's very attractive but he's not. Is he though? Yeah. Yeah, he's like normal guy attractive. But he's like a guy, right? Because he's like a guy, but he's like – and he's very attractive, but he's not – Is he, though?

Yeah. Yeah, he's like normal guy attractive. But he's normal guy attractive. But he's not like – because there's also like – there's normal guy attractive, which is like baseline, average-looking Hollywood guy. Does that make sense? Yes, I know what you mean. Yeah.

But Tom Hanks is like – He's very attractive for like a normal person, but for Hollywood he's like – he just looks like a fucking guy. Does that make sense? No, I think what I'm trying to say is like Tom Hanks has the same thing that Harrison Ford has, even though obviously Tom Hanks is a totally different looking person, in that he's incredibly attractive and charismatic, but he feels like someone that you would know.

Yeah. And so he's also non-threatening. So you'll watch him kiss Meg Ryan. He's funny. Yeah. And so he's also non-threatening. So you'll watch him kiss Meg Ryan. And he's funny. Yeah. But so like you would, yeah, he has like, yeah, you would watch him kiss lots of different women on the screen because he's got this as well as like, I don't know,

a soccer ball or whatever he does. Tom Hanks kissing compilation. 2023. But there's a reason why he's so, you know, well-loved and plays love interests all the time even though he's not like a Fabio. I think he's also like transitioned into like dad mode though. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, completely.

So I don't know whether the kisses are coming hot and fast. Oh, not anymore. No, no, no. I'm talking about him at like, you know, Sleeps in Seattle vibes. Yeah. Yeah, there's just something about him. He's very adorable. I think that's what it is. He's adorable. And he's lonely. He looks lonely. He's got Seattle vibes. Yeah. Yeah, there's just something about him. He's very adorable. I think that's what it is.

He's adorable. And he's lonely. He looks lonely. He's got sad eyes. Yeah, he's got sad eyes. Even though he lives a rich Hollywood lifestyle. Anyways, thanks everyone. And he got COVID and lived in Australia.

He certainly did. Thanks for listening. Thanks for listening. We've been just a podcast. Thank you, Colleen, for editing the show. And we will see you next Thursday. Email the show. Bye.

Bye. Introducing Uber Teen Accounts, editing the show and we will see you next Thursday. Email the show. Bye.