Summer Movies 2023
Show Notes:
Movies with Mr. Mario is back to discuss the top-grossing movies of the summer of 2023, the movies we loved, and what we think has a true chance for awards season!
Links Mentioned in the Show
Julia's Interview on Medium Lady Talks
Follow Mario on Instagram
Follow Julia on Instagram or Tik Tok
Join us on Patreon
Transcript:
Julia: Are you ready to talk about our summer blockbuster or summer summer movie hits because it's Labor Day weekend friends and that means that it is the unofficial end of summer and this is pop culture makes me jealous where we analyze pop culture through the lens of race or gender and sometimes both today Mario Melo is back and we are discussing the summer movie season because now it's officially over
Mario: So
Mario: for those
Julia: of us who love movies, we believe that the movie season for the summer starts Memorial Day weekend, and it lasts through Labor Day. And this summer was packed and stacked with the biggest movie theater going event Was deemed Barbenheimer, which was the Barbie movie in Oppenheimer. So Mario and I are just going to get into it all, and we're first going to discuss what our top movies are of the summer, not necessarily the biggest blockbusters or critic favorites, but our favorites.
Julia: Do you want to go first, Mario?
Mario: I would like to make a, a little commentary on the Memorial Day. It actually used to be Memorial Day, but now it's beginning of May. Oh, Marvel, Marvel usually has their first movie that weekend. Yeah. So that's, that's now considered the official. And then even in the past few years, it's been the end of April when like the last weekend of April is considered the.
Mario: Beginning because it was like an end game. There's infinity war. Then there was like a fast and furious movie one that came out a few years ago. So it's, it's, it's always adjust. It's always funny to me, but usually it's the beginning of May now that I've read. So. That's always fun because then you get a whole good crop of May, like this last May was huge.
Julia: This last May was stacked. I, like, and it was hard because it was like, I have to move my child, but then also all the movies and then also like, ah, I was like, overload.
Mario: And that's when I, that's when I'm thankful that I have Regal Unlimited because then I can just see all these movies and not have to pay.
Julia: Same. Honestly, same. Cause it makes it so much easier. And especially now that, like, I'm sort of employed the way that I'm employed. I had a really hard day last week and I was like, you know what? Fuck this shit. I'm going to the movies, taking a long break, going to the movies. And then afterwards I felt better and I came home and worked for like seven more hours.
Julia: Okay. Tell me, tell me your favorite. Tell me your favorites. Tell me what your thought movies of, of this summer were.
Mario: There were so good. There were so many of this year that I was so happy with. And that surprised me too. Probably though my favorite out of all of them was Across the Spider Verse. Oh,
Julia: that movie's so freaking good!
Mario: Yeah, I saw it twice on the big screen. The first time I saw it on IMAX. With a friend in L. A. and it was just like, oh my gosh, it was just like, I was so engulfed and it just raised the stakes. And then it leaves you on this freaking cliffhanger and you're just like, what the heck? And then, now we have to wait forever to see
Julia: part three.
Julia: I know, I was so disappointed. I was like, March of 2024, okay, kicking off 40 with the second part to this movie. And then they announced a delay in release. Yeah. And I was like... Listen, if I have to live through a presidential election the year I turn 40, the least you can do is give me the next installment of the Spider Verse.
Julia: Right.
Mario: But yeah, that was probably, that's probably one of my favorites. Um, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3, Cried Like a Baby, because it was just that perfect trilogy. Um, I loved Mission Impossible. The new one did Reckoning Part One. And I always, I'm, I'm a fan of all of them. I recently rewatched them all to prepare for this one.
Mario: And I feel like they always just top themselves. Although the fallout, the last one was really good with any camel. And I think that was like one of the greatest characters ever. And I'm sad he didn't come back for this one, but, um, we got, we got Haley Atwell in this one and he just was phenomenal and amazing.
Mario: Yeah, I'm excited for part two next year. So that's
Julia: that's good mission impossible has been around for our entire lives, right?
Mario: We also have there's a there's a horror movie that came out. I'll talk to me.
Julia: Oh, yeah I couldn't even get through the first second like it like that. They just and I was like, nope Change the channel.
Julia: Nope, I
Mario: can't do it. That was surprising. I actually got to see it. Um, Rego does those, uh, mystery movie Mondays.
Julia: Yeah, I love the mystery movie Mondays.
Mario: So that was one of the movies that came out. So I actually got to see it. Almost, I think, almost a month before it came out.
Julia: Oh, that's cool. I'm really glad I didn't go to That's my biggest fear about the mystery movie Mario, is that it's like, what if it's a scary movie?
Julia: So
Mario: what you gotta do, this is what I do, is you I don't know if you're on Facebook, but if you are, there's the Wriggle Unlimited, like, group you can follow. And because there's people on the East Coast, they always spoil what the movie is. Well, then I'm gonna have to join that. So I always, I always kind of keep Up and they drop clues.
Mario: So sometimes I can figure it out just kind of by relief states and stuff, but If I can't figure it out, I just wait till four o'clock and then see what East Coast says it is. And then I'm like, okay, I'll go. Then I'll just grab my ticket. Cause usually they're never sold out. Usually I can still get a ticket, but
Julia: yeah.
Julia: That's how I saw spirited last year was the 5 movie. Oh yeah. And I was really glad I went and I was like, Oh, I need to do this more. And then I literally out of it because it's like, it's gonna be a scary movie and you're gonna cry and not a fun cry either.
Mario: Oh, but yeah, no, it was that one was really good for a horror movie. It's always usually one of the that popped into A24. So it's very, like, different. And
Julia: A24 is really making their mark when it comes to like, scary stuff. I don't remember in the beginning of their time on the big screen, like they weren't always doing scary stuff.
Julia: Like, I remember thinking, oh, they're going to give focus features a run for their money because it had a similar vibe. And now they're just like, we're going to scare the shit out of everybody. Yeah.
Mario: That's what they give the directors You know, the freedom too, which is nice. Yeah. So that one got, and that one actually truly did scare me. Like, it doesn't give me nightmares, but it's like, it like freaked me out in the theater. I was like, Oh my God, this is so creepy. So.
Julia: I'm shaking my head. No, could never, you could never get me.
Julia: Nope. Never going to do it. The blackening was it, but that's because it was billed as comedy or comedy. You can get me with comedy, but not horror.
Mario: That was a good one too. That was, that was a good one. So then we had, um, Blue Beetle. I don't know if you saw, got
Julia: to see Blue Beetle. I haven't got to see it yet.
Julia: I was, we were going to go see it. And then we mismanaged our time that week it released. And so it's, it's still on my queue. I was going to try and see it this weekend before we recorded. Um, and I just didn't get around to it. But what was your most favorite this entire summer?
Mario: Probably across the Spider Verse.
Mario: I think just because I'm invested in Miles Morales. I
Julia: love Miles
Mario: Morales! And he just, I feel like they just upped their game from the first one, because the first one
Julia: was classic, iconic,
Mario: it has one of my favorite scenes. of the Spider Man in there. So the second one, I feel like just upped its game and, you know, brought more character development.
Mario: You know, when Stacy got more of a backstory and we got to see new characters. And yeah, I just, it was everything you could want in a Spider Man movie. So that was probably my favorite out of
Julia: the whole summer. I'm actually going to have to tell you Mario, it was probably my favorite too. And you know, I saw Barbie four times
Julia: because I feel like with this, with this, with, um, what they're doing with miles Morales, there's so much depth to it, but you don't. You also don't have to fully pay attention to everything to know what's going on in this one. Like you could have walked into this one without having seen the first one and still enjoyed the movie.
Julia: Yeah. And I know that like Marvel tries to do that, but sometimes with Marvel stuff, you're just like, wait, wait, wait. Wait, not always but sometimes like especially now with what they're doing now It just feels very much like this is going to serve as a vehicle for the next thing We're releasing and it's just it's just too much to pay attention to and I don't want to do that You gotta do a lot of homework You gotta do a lot of homework and I don't want to do that I want to go into the movie theater and be entertained and across the spider verse did that I agree.
Julia: And it was one of those experiences where everybody in the movie theater at the end of it clapped and cheered. And I love that shit.
Mario: Right.
Julia: I love that shit. It was so good. It was so good. Okay, let's you want to talk about the top 10 grossing movies of the summer? Yes, let's do that. And I'm hoping this list hasn't changed since you sent it to me last week.
Mario: Um, I don't think, I looked this morning, worldwide it's a little different, but domestic it's, I believe it's still the
Julia: same. Okay, so we have our top ten, and I'm going to go from ten to one, because Domestically.
Mario: Domestically. So
Julia: just in the U. S. Just in the U. S. Number ten, Elemental. Number nine, Transformers.
Julia: Number eight, Mission Impossible. Number seven, Indiana Jones. Number six, Sound of Freedom. Number five, The Little Mermaid. Number four, Oppenheimer. Number three, Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3. Number two, Across the Spider Verse. And coming in at number one, breaking all kinds of records, Barbie. Barbie.
Mario: Who saw that coming?
Mario: I knew it was gonna be a hit because I was like, you know, it's... I just, I just didn't, I just didn't know it was going to be like that big of a hit. I was like, dang, people are really like taking in the movie, which is good. I'm glad because it's a great movie.
Julia: Because women want more movies about them by them.
Julia: I think that's what the biggest takeaway of Barbie's legacy for me is. Is that we needed more movies about us by us. Um, because even though Barbie can be enjoyed by everybody, unless you're a heinous misogynist, because they've come for that movie. Um, it can be enjoyed by everybody. And, uh, listen, go back a couple of episodes and listen to Natalie and I talk about the Barbie movie.
Julia: So we're, we don't have to spend a ton of time talking about it here. Um, how many of these top 10 have you seen?
Mario: Eight out of the ten. Damn it! So I didn't, I didn't get to see Sound of Freedom or
Julia: Elemental. I feel like it's okay that you didn't see Sound of Freedom because the guy who did the film is in hot water now.
Julia: Yeah. And also I just feel like it's not accurate to the That's what I was, that's what I was reading was like Human trafficking
Mario: plight. Yeah, I mean I get that it's a, that's a very um, important subject to learn and stuff but I was reading like the history behind it and Accuracy, it's only like Less than 50% true, so I'm like, okay, so it's more Hollywood, like, you know, which I'll watch it once it hits, like, digital or something, like, I'll watch it on TV, but And you can tell me about it was just so much out at the time, so it was just like, I had to prioritize
Julia: And I'm actually shocked that it even made the top 10, because I literally didn't hear about it until a friend of mine texted me, who knows I love going to the movie theater, who went to the movie theater to see it, is not a movie theater person And I was like, I've never like what so then I went to tick tock and I was like, Oh, I'm not watching this movie.
Mario: Actually, yeah, I mean, I heard it. I briefly heard about it before it came out. But I didn't really because it was it was paid as one of those like Christian conservative. things. And usually when it's those, I'm just like, and they're going to name like cheesy. Yeah. Dialogue, cheesy acting. I'm like, I'm not wasting my time.
Mario: And then once it released, I was like, Oh, this movie is actually making some money. So I kind of, then that's when I started doing research and actually did intend to see it just because I was like, you know, I'll have some time, but it just never happened. And then elemental, elemental. Um, yeah, I just, I don't have kids, so sometimes it's hard to get to a movie to go with kids.
Julia: And I did see Elemental. Um, and I really enjoyed it. I, I know that some of the critics are kind of getting tired of the Pixar formula. And they're wanting to see something more in different from Pixar, I'm not one of those people because with elemental they do this whole like you have the, we all know the premise right?
Julia: Like everyone's either fire, water, air, earth, or whatever. And then like two elements that are different from each other fire and water fall in love. I love anything that has duality like that. Because I'm the product of basically a relationship that was told that you're not allowed to be in love. Um, and so you can get me.
Julia: Movies will always get me when that's a part of the story. So I'm just the old lady in the movie theater weeping at the end of Elemental.
Mario: That's like a funny. So then out of the ten, which ones did you see?
Julia: I saw Barbie, Across the Spider Verse, Guardians, The Little Mermaid, and Elemental, so I've seen half the, half the list.
Julia: I really was gonna try and see Oppenheimer, so we could have like, a decent chat about that, but it's three hours, man. Like, I went and saw Gran Turismo on Friday, which I loved, by the way. Again, again, another kid who's mixed, and I'm like, yes, mixed kids, give us stories. Um... And I was at the movie theater for two and a half hours because of getting there, getting snacks, sitting and waiting.
Julia: And then I like to read the credits because it's always, you know, that's fun. So it's like your three hours is really you're asking me to be there for four. And that's, that's, that's a half my work day. I mean, I guess I cut if I cover it on the show, I can justify it, but it's just it's still like, that's a lot of time to find.
Julia: But like, what's not on this list that I've seen that I really enjoyed, like I said, was Gran Turismo. But that opens later that opens, I think the 25th. So it's not like it had a whole lot of time. And I loved the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated feature. That was so good. I thought it was really well done.
Julia: I loved the the story the way that they presented the story. I just I'm so excited for more. Right. But yeah, so I love that you've seen eight out of the top 10.
Mario: Summer movie season's always fun for me because there's always I feel like a plethora of movies. And I was reading that this This summer, the whole box office made over 4 billion, which hasn't done that since 2019 when Frozen 2 was out, so.
Julia: Frozen 2 is so much better than the first Frozen.
Mario: So, and of course we were in the pandemic for the first time. So they were only hitting like a billion. A billion. Yeah. So this is like a big jump. So this
Julia: is a huge move too, because it's showing that people are going back to the theater. Yeah. And for a while there, shortly after everything reopened, it was ki it kind of felt like they were like, well, we're just gonna give up.
Julia: No one's coming. Mm-hmm. .
Mario: Yeah. But I feel like if you bring. Quality films, not just more, because I mean, if we kind of look back at it, a lot of the sequels didn't do very well, like, I mean, Indiana Jones. Yeah, it's one of the top grossing domestically, but like worldwide, it didn't make much. Same with Mission Impossible, same with, um, uh, like The Flash, Clumsy Mansion didn't make much.
Mario: So like, big movies that were supposed to be big didn't do very well, but a lot of originals did, so like, you know, you got Barbie, you got Open Hammer, um, stuff like that, that did really well. Yeah. So I think if you give audiences quality, original stuff, they'll come out.
Julia: Yeah, I agree with you because there are, there are those moments where you're just like, well, I'm just going to wait for it to be on demand.
Julia: I didn't feel that way about any of the movies that I saw in the theater. Every single movie I made the intention to see in theater. It was specifically because I want to see this on the big screen. I want that experience and it was completely worth it. Like with Gran Turismo, it's not, it's, it's going to be a great movie if you watch it on the big screen or the small screen.
Julia: But it's so much more fun on the big screen because they incorporate so much of the elements of the video game, excuse me, racing simulator into the film that it, it's just really exciting. It's just, I think that really leveled it up in a way that kind of makes me bummed out that they, you know, waited till the end of August to, um, release it.
Julia: Cause I think you and I had this conversation. about how it was supposed to be in the beginning of August and I was like lamenting to you. It's like, I want to go buy tickets and they're not available anymore. And you're like, yeah, they delayed it. I was like,
Mario: yeah, they were hoping to strike probably be over, but Yeah.
Mario: And then they decided to use fan, they did like fan events throughout the month. Mm hmm. To like boast word, word of mouth and stuff.
Julia: Yeah, yeah. It'll be interesting to see going into fall how the strike affects the box office. Mm hmm. Because that Barbie marketing campaign from beginning to end, I mean, if the actor strike had happened prior to Barbie's release.
Julia: We'd probably be talking different numbers here. We might be talking different numbers because they did so much. They had so much press. They were at every news outlet from prestigious to fun and campy. I mean, when I, after I saw it the first time, I hit YouTube and watched every flippin interview I could find with the cast.
Julia: And there was, it was, there's so much out there. And then the minute the strike happened, it was, you know, obviously crickets, but it's, it's just wild how like the way that they could do the fun things with, um, all the interviews and stuff like Greta Gerwig's letterbox interview was really good. But then also when they went to pop sugar, like the whole cast is at pop sugar and they're doing like these Q and A's with them that are fun, but also incorporate the movie and like,
Julia: You know, it's like you need and these studios don't
Mario: want to pay
Julia: the actors. I know it's so annoying. I hate them all I mean Kurt in their current state. I hate yeah what the studios are doing to the artists. It's not okay
Mario: But I do have to say the summer I think was They buy Barbenheimer, which is heck of funny, so.
Mario: 100%. meme, and
Julia: to have Did you do, did you do the back to back, or no? I didn't
Mario: get to do the back to back, I did the day, the day after. Okay. So, Barbie on Thursday, and Oppenheimer on Friday. Yeah. So, um, I did it that way, just cause it wasn't enough time in the day and I didn't know how to work,
Julia: so. See what I mean?
Julia: Three hours! Yes. You want me to sit through a two hour movie, Barbie, and then you want me to sit through a three hour movie, Oppenheimer, that's literally a work day! Yeah. You, by the time you leave, you've been at the theater for six hours! If I
Mario: had the time, I totally would have did it. It was funny cause the, our, our theater had, Their, their staff had the Barbenheimer shirts and stuff and said, I survived Barbenheimer.
Mario: And I was like, Oh,
Julia: that's cute. I love that. Two
Mario: different movies. It was funny because two different types of movies, both were able to succeed at the box office. And I think Barbenheimer was a little bit of a kind of like the trend, like everybody who wanted to do Barbenheimer. Yeah. But. I still think people enjoyed both films.
Mario: Yeah.
Julia: You know? Yeah! I actually had a friend that when saw Oppenheimer, I was like, I value your opinion, please tell me what you think afterwards. And she was like, when it comes to filmmaking, this is a good movie. She's like, do we want more stories about white men who destroy things? Probably not. But like, ultimately, like the cinematography, the acting, like every she's like, it had all the elements that you want in a good movie.
Julia: And I was like, damn it. And it was like, now I need to see it because it's like, a good like, how can you pass up a good movie? You know what I mean? Like an objectionably good movie. Film rather film.
Mario: Let's be, let's be pretentious about it before it goes out in theaters, cause you were just talking about seeing it on the big screen.
Mario: I
Julia: know, I know, it's one of those ones that it's gonna be better on the big screen. I'll just buy a 72 inch TV. Oh my. That shit is so expensive. Like, out of these, out of the eight that you've seen, how would you rank them? Like, what order would you put them in? Ooh,
Mario: that's a good
Julia: one. I'm full of good questions.
Julia: Um, probably
Mario: across the universe, or across the spider verse. Thanks for watching! Then I would probably say Barbie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Oppenheimer, Mission Impossible, Transformers, Little Mermaid. Yeah. Indiana Jones. Okay.
Julia: I liked, I liked Little Mermaid. At first I was like, okay, Haley Bailey is incredibly talented, like when she sang, I got chills.
Julia: But then I was also like, this movie is so cheesy. And then I got home and I was like, Shit, I can't stop thinking about that movie. Maybe I actually liked it. It
Mario: was a good adaptation. It was a, I think it was a little slower cause like my, my niece, she loves Little Mermaid, like loves Little Mermaid. So we took her to see this and she kind of got bored in the middle. Whereas the original, she could watch the whole thing like straight through, but this one, she kind of got bored a little, because there's a lot more dialogue.
Julia: More dialogue, and I think the pacing is slower too, because I did come home and watch the original, and it moves pretty quick. Um, and I think that's why I was like, okay Barbie, or excuse me, okay little mermaid, like I need you to move. Um, so that was kind of hard for me, but I, again, I love, they, Basically, we're just like, here's the cast and it didn't like they weren't particular about it.
Julia: You know what I mean? Like it was a diverse cast. And like, I also loved again, duality. I love duality. So this time I took in the story of like, you know, human versus mer people as opposed to, um,
Julia: you know what I talked about it on medium lady talks. So I'm gonna link that interview because I cannot for life me remember what I said. And I watched that movie. Three months ago at this point, um, so trying to remember everything is hard because I don't have notes on it, but I did. I did feel like. All the women who are like, this movie is for us.
Julia: And you know, this was for us. I was like, no, it ain't. This movie is for moms to bring their daughters so there can be a moment of nostalgia. I went with my niece and my best friend and I don't know if I would have had the same enjoyable experience had I gone by myself. Because seeing it through my niece's eyes was a lot of fun.
Julia: And I think my niece is older than yours. She's nine. Oh yeah, my niece is four, so. Yeah, yeah, so totally different taking and experience too. I like your ranking. And for people, friends at home, if you're listening, hit Mario on Instagram because he's, ranks all of his movies and grades them so you can find out his letter grades for all of these films that he has reviewed.
Julia: Okay, what
Julia: was the biggest surprise for you this summer in the movieverse?
Mario: There was a couple. We were just talking about Gran Turismo, I think, was A big surprise. I, I kind of went in because I, I, I remember playing the game and I was like, you know what, I'm going to go see this. It looks like it could be cheesy fun, but it was actually like very well done and like, like brings you into the driver's seat and the acting was good.
Mario: The cast was great.
Julia: Oh yeah, David Harper was so
Mario: delightful. Um, so I just had so much fun with it so that was a surprise to me. Blue Beetle. I know it's a DC, and so people probably went in with... You know, pre cognitive thoughts and stuff, and it's like, but, and even I, I'm not saying I did, but I was like, I was a good supporter because I watch all the DC movies no matter what, but, um, I was excited because it was Latino representation, and I just fell in love with it.
Mario: It was just so about family, it was very, you know, an origin story, and just. so much heart in there. Um, lots of good action scenes. So it was a very big surprise that it was very good. So
Julia: yeah, it's always surprising when DC makes a good movie.
Mario: I was very sad that like not everyone was going to see it. So I hope that it, you know, makes a hit when it hits digital and stuff because it's a really good movie.
Mario: And Anybody if I've recommended it to and seen it said they really enjoyed it. So, um, and then probably talk to me again. That's the horror movie. That one really surprised me too, because. I really didn't know what it was about going into it, and it just was, as a filmmaking aspect, it was beautifully shot, it's very terrifying, um, really good story, and it's more than just horror, like, there's, like, actual, like, elements that kind of, you have to think about, and they, like, subjects they actually touch on that's actually, like, really Crazy to think about.
Mario: They talk a lot about grief and stuff and how people handle it. Oh, interesting. So, um, they say this on screen, the newer version of screen, they say it's an elevated horror. So, there's like messages behind it and stuff. So, it is very much that and I really enjoyed it. I don't think it's for everyone, obviously, but I think the horror community, I think, did find a big hit in this one.
Mario: So, I was happy for that one, too. Yeah. So those are probably my three, like, surprise... ones that I was like, Oh, it was actually really good.
Julia: Yeah, I agree with you about Gran Turismo. I was surprised it was good. Because sometimes when they take a video, like there was a period of time when they would take video game movie video games and make the movies and then you leave and you're like, What did I just What's this?
Julia: And I think that we're moving out of that now, right? Because didn't Uncharted do, like, isn't Uncharted an amazing movie? I haven't seen it. I have issues with Marky Mark, but that's between him and me. And he doesn't know about it. But I felt like Gran Turismo was so surprisingly good and delightful. I was in it.
Julia: I was one of three people in the movie theater, which really bummed me out. And this older Like woman and her friend, and I saw them in the parking lot and she, they totally drove their, um, Corvette to go see the movie. This little red Corvette. I was like, all right, Prince. Right. And then, and then she stood too close to me in the snack line.
Julia: So that made me not like her. But then, you know, it was just the three of us at the movie theater. And, and I just thought that was hilarious, but also kind of bummed me out. Um, I also was surprised about with how much I liked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. That was a good one too. I loved that one.
Julia: Yeah, I was really, my expectations were so low because you and I, Mario, remember the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie from 19 whatever, and we loved it because we didn't know any better.
Mario: I tried showing my nieces that because they want to watch the new one. Yeah. And I tried showing them, they're like, what is this?
Mario: I'm like, well, this was good. This is all we had. Okay.
Julia: You kids are spoiled now. Um. So that really like that really warms my heart because I left there just man I just I was I loved all every time I heard a voice that I recognized I was like yes I love that actor um and it was just it was so surprisingly good I think everyone needs to go see it um I think those are the two for me that like all the other ones I saw this summer I expected to be good like I had very high expectations they met those expectations but these two were the two where it was just like this is my own you know This is me wanting to see him out of nostalgia rather than, or like in the case of Gran Turismo because, you know, he's a mixed kid.
Julia: And Ginger, and Ginger Spice plays his mom, which I love.
Mario: Right? I didn't know that until afterwards. I was like, oh, that's
Julia: so crazy. Ginger Spice, Ginger Spice, the whole movie. Every time they showed it, I'm like, I'm pretty fucking sure that's Ginger Spice. And it was.
Julia: Um, and my favorite trivia fact of that movie is that the person in real life who the movie is about is the stunt double in the film. I just love that. It's like, that's, that's such a great way to come full circle in telling this story. Okay, is there a film that you think was underrated this summer? I'm gonna,
Mario: I'm gonna have to say Blue Beetle.
Mario: I feel like he was so under, I feel so sad, babe.
Julia: Well, you know what? And I feel like it didn't get the same kind of attention as some of the other films that released this summer that DC, because I feel like DC, well that, and I feel like DC really pushed Flash, which they shouldn't have considering all the shit that Ezra Miller has done in the last few years.
Julia: So like, it really bums me out that they like double down on the Flash. But then we're just like, eh, Blue Beetle.
Mario: Well, I also read them, they kind of ran out of funding because they promoted Barbie a lot, too. So if you realize, if you realize, a lot of the movies that just recently came out didn't get much advertising.
Mario: So, that was one of them, unfortunately. And then, have you seen anything about Walkin the color purple that's supposed to come out in like a couple months? No. Except the one trailer.
Julia: On Instagram.
Mario: Exactly. So. It's why supposedly they've been pushing some of these back to 2024 because they want to have a time because they have to pay for like Academy like, you know, Oscar campaigns and stuff and if they're broke or they can't do it.
Julia: Yeah, that's a good point. That's a good point. Okay, so yours is Blue Beetle. I will make it a point to see it before it's out of the theater because I really like every time the trailer comes on. I'm like, man, I think I'm going to love this movie.
Mario: So good.
Julia: And I love George Lopez, like, I love to show, I love to stand up.
Julia: I haven't seen anything really of his lately because there's so many more people in the world to follow their careers in with the advent of social media. But I watched the George Lopez show when he had his sitcom and I enjoyed it. No idea if it aged well because I haven't seen it recently. Um, I mean, that's the risk you run, right?
Julia: Do you think any of these films have a chance during award season? Several. And if you, I several. So tell me why and what
Mario: for? I think we'll see a, uh, I think we're gonna see another Barb Inheimer at the Oscars. Okay. I think both films are gonna go against each other, which is cool. Um, for best
Julia: picture or best screenplay?
Mario: Both. I think they're both, they're gonna land. a lot of noms, especially because a lot of the awards are getting delayed now to 2024. It's just making it that much more easier for movies like this to get more awards. Um, I think definitely in like the production, you know, categories and stuff. Um, so I think those two are going to be big ones.
Mario: Across the Spider Verse and Elemental will probably get into the best animated feature. Um, I could see, uh, probably like Mission Impossible and Transformers possibly get into like the visual effects. race along with like Guardian of the Galaxy. Um, but yeah, a lot of these will be production awards. Um, but I think Barbie and Oppenheimer have the best for like majority of awards, like even acting categories, even writing categories, best picture noms.
Mario: So I'm sure we'll discuss it when it comes out and we can be like, yeah, we predicted this.
Julia: I'll run clips from this episode so that way we can say, here's what we said. Here's what we're saying now. Um, I would be I would be very, very, very surprised if Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan didn't get nominated for Best Director, just because I know I haven't seen Oppenheimer yet, but Cillian Murphy is a phenomenal actor, so I cannot imagine him not doing an incredible job under the direction of Christopher Nolan.
Julia: Yeah, he's a
Mario: lot for best actor. Mm hmm.
Julia: Ah, Tommy Shelby. I might have to re watch Peaky Blinders now.
Mario: Love that show. But yeah, this was a very good summer. I think there was a lot of variety. I think there was a lot for, um, Mainstream on his, on audiences as well. And I think it kind of shows too, that people are willing to come out if you give them good product.
Mario: I think that was one of the biggest, biggest takeaways, um, of the summer this year was give them original content, give them good quality, original content and audiences will come.
Julia: Yeah. Yeah, I agree. And I think there was something for everybody. There was literally something for everybody. Like, like I said, I went and saw Little Mermaid with my niece nine years old.
Julia: I saw Barbie with all my girlfriends every single time. I did go once by myself because sometimes you just have to go by yourself. Um, Trying to think, you know, elemental family film Mission Impossible definitely could be, you know, a date night movie or going go with your friends like there was something for everybody this summer, as opposed to years past where it's like, well, that's not really a film.
Julia: I'm interested in because I know even though Top Gun Maverick last year did really, really well, I still know a lot of people have zero interest in seeing that movie. Yeah. Well, Mario, I appreciate your time and your willingness to always come on the show to talk about movies and the goings on in the film world that we love so much.
Julia: Can you please tell our friends at home where they can find you and support your work?
Mario: You can find me on Instagram, at Movies with Mr. Mario, where I do reviews of shows I'm watching. And I'm looking forward to spooky season, so you'll get to see a lot of horror and scary content
Julia: coming up. Is there something coming up that you're really excited about?
Mario: For four. Saw X saw 10. Ooh, no . No, I just restart. I just started watching from the beginning, so I gotta catch up.
Julia: Hi. That franchise is old too. . We're old.
Mario: I just watched. I just watched you. What? I just recently rewatch the Big Pat Greek wedding movies. Oh, ready for number three? Yeah. And I was like, man, the times have changed since this first one came out because it was like I was in high school when the first one came out,
Julia: so yeah.
Julia: My I'm going to take my mom to see it. We're going the weekend. It opens. I'm going to take her to see it because she really loved the first one. We are not Greek. My mother's side is Italian. And she she saw that movie and she was like, holy shit. You that's also the Italians. Like, yeah, ma when you're not waspy.
Julia: It's very relatable.
Mario: Yes. Lots of good stuff coming up. Fall season. Hopefully Oscars. We'll see if they get delayed too.
Julia: Yeah, because aren't the Emmys delayed? They're
Mario: delayed till January now. Yeah. It's four months
Julia: later. Yeah, the Emmys are already delayed. I think there was somebody, that's the only one so far that we've heard of a delay.
Julia: Um, I wonder if we should do an episode that's like RIP to the TV shows that we loved and got cancelled due to the writer's strike.
Mario: How I made your father. I know! That one! I was so bitter about that one. I was like, really? Me too. They can't even give us like a shortened third season. Yeah,
Julia: something to wrap it up at the very least.
Mario: I'm like, the writers better come out and follow through the father
Julia: with, cause... Amen. Cause we need to know. We got to find out in How I Met Your Mother. We need, we need closure. Do not do this to us. And those actors are not going to be young forever. So you can't just replace them and start over.
Mario: Yeah, they're gonna be like, Oh, it's a character you haven't met yet, or something like
Julia: that.
Julia: Yeah, of course it is. Friends, I will link his handles in show notes so you can follow him if you are not already. And go see one of these movies that we talked about. And if you did see one of them, find us on the gram so we can chat about it. Because summer movie season outside of awards. Season movies.
Julia: What am I saying? I love summer movie season, and I also love the season of, oh, I think they're trying to win an award for this build. Yes.
Mario: some of those are really good movies sometimes.
Julia: Oh, my friends. I am so sad the summer is officially over, but I'm also excited about the cozy autumn vibes and big sweaters, hoodie season, and those comfort movies that help us get through seasonal affective disorder. If there was a summer film that you loved more than anything, and we mentioned it today, shoot me a DM and let's chat about why you loved it.
Julia: You can find me on Instagram and TikTok at the Julia Washington. I want to thank my guest Mario Mello one more time for joining me yet again. He is our official movie reviewer here, whether he likes it or not. He always has great insight and thoughtful reviews. Find him on Instagram at movies with Mr.
Julia: Mario. If you enjoyed this episode and you know a few people who would enjoy it too, share it with them directly from your podcast player, won't you? The easiest and best way for you to support this show is by sharing our episodes with your friends and maybe even your enemies. I mean, I don't know. I don't know your life.
Julia: If you can't get enough of Pop Culture Makes Me Jealous, join us on Patreon. For 5 a month, you get bonus content, one bonus episode a month, and access to our virtual studio audience happy hour. And honestly, a lot more. If you're not ready to commit to me, that's totally fine too. You're not alone, but you are more than welcome to join the community for free too.
Julia: I do want to do a big shout out to our jelly pop studio audience, jelly pops book club and jelly pops best friends club. Y'all keep this show going and I am really so grateful to all of you. Check it out. Patreon. com slash Julia Washington. Friends, thank you so much for joining us today. Season five is coming, finally, at some point.
Julia: It's going to air, I swear, I promise. And this year we are examining our relationship with Disney movies. Thanks for tuning in, y'all. Until next time.
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