Brandon: I liked the premise, but it took how do I say this? It didn't take me out of the movie, but I thought it was interesting that everybody was just accepting of this magic. You know, like there's just magic happening in their life. Not that it was a bad thing, not that it like ruined the movie, but I thought that was one thing that was interesting. Lorin W.: If you're hearing this, we thank you for pressing play on another edition of It's Us Dream Balive Podcast with Brandon and Lauren. We come to you on our first episode for the new month of August. we are winding down with summer and things are heating up with a bunch of rain. Brandon: Yes, a l too much rain. Lorin W.: Yeah, all at once. I've if I guess it's like the rain we were supposed to get all happening within the last few days. I don't know. It was insane. Brandon: I I have no clue. But we get a few nice days here, so that's good. But yeah, it's it's been not good with rain. Lorin W.: Yeah. Yeah. When I saw the water in the convention center I was like, Wow, that's Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: that's a lot happening. Brandon: And and genuinely it was so nuts because I was sitting here and the tornado signs go off and while it was sunny and I mean while it was stormy, it was still kind of like bright. It didn't look tornadic. And then they go, yeah, Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: the da da da da the tornado we see rotations south of the convention center. I'm like, You gotta be kidding me. Like, what? Lorin W.: That's wild. Yeah, we just had so much rain here. Certain spots were flooding, Brandon: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: near bridges and stuff. And they were supposed have a whole Jubilee days in Hagerstown, which about maybe Brandon: Lord. Lorin W.: twenty minutes from here. And I'm they say rain or shine. I think some things moved inside, but there's supposed to be bunch Brandon: Yeah, I would think so. Lorin W.: of outside activity that got rerouted. So we have a full episode this week as a lot is happening. but our future presentation will focus on the horror breakout film from Curry Barker's obsession. it's become sort of like a anomaly in the movie sphere area. Not only was the original story, but original horror story that sort of broke through and is causing a stir at the theaters. for a for a pretty good good few months for the box office. But we'll get into that a little bit later. First up, in our headlines, San Diego San Diego Comic Con did take place two weekends ago now. And that's basically when a bunch of people gather at the San Diego San Diego Convention Center, whether it be Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: TV or movie, people announce certain projects headed. it was famously where the MCU announced, you know, their original saga plan back in Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: the good days. Less frequent visits now just because people hold their own announcement festivals and stuff like that. there's still some pretty good announcements. So Marvel did return to Hall H, that's the biggest convention venue there, with some announcements. not as many as people ex expected, with all the swirl around, you know, the X-Men and Secret Wars. Doomsday, things were a bit more limited. So, first up, they did release the Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Doomsday trailer days ahead of the convention. So that was already out the way. Brandon: Okay. Lorin W.: but they they did announce that Ryan Gosson will be starring in a Ghost Rider film directed by Sean Brandon: Yes. Lorin W.: Levy. for those of you who are unfamiliar, Ghost Rider is a character who makes basically a deal with the devil, becomes sort of like a Demonic chasing bean on a motorcycle. There Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: was a film with Nicholas Cage decades ago. the most recent on-screen iteration was Gabriel Luna and Agents of Shield. He portrayed Robbie Reyes, which is certain type of ghostwriter. This one will be the classic comic version with Gosling starring. So that's coming down the pop line, pipeline. And the other biggest news was Black Black Panther 3 will be arriving in December of 2028. and the new Black Panther was cast as David Johnson of industry fame. He was an alien romulus, the long walk, and most recently, Wasted Man. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Wasted man. so he'll be playing Prince Sichala grown up, and people had tons of questions. How's this work in the timeline? How are we jumping this year's blah blah blah blah blue? It's all make-believe people. Get the grip. Brandon: I think it's gonna be good. Lorin W.: Yeah, he's an excellent actor. Ryan Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Kugler is at the helm. Oscar winning Ryan Kugler. but it did bring up a lot of conversations from the black populace of Marvel fans. The the s we always return to the quote unquote dilemma of hiring black British actors to portray quote unquote black American roles. we've seen Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: it done with With actual historical figures, Martin Luther King, Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: other Harriet Tummins, so on and so forth. and now it's kind of weighed itself into any type of role now. If it's not a black American, we're upset, we're stealing roles from them and whatnot. What's your perspective on that sort of dilemma or problem that people seem to be fixated on? Brandon: I think it's stupid. I I've seen it too and well I I can understand why somebody could be like skeptical of this something happening in the background where they would think black British actors are preferred to black American ones. I don't think it's that because you think we don't see that many black British actors. We're seeing like the same handful. It's like less than ten. And we see them a lot, but again the for black actors, while these big movies are nice, that's not all we do. You have, you know, B T shows. You have different black shows everywhere and and and so no, I just don't understand that argument. I think it's And with historic figures, they Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: they had Don Cheeto playing who? I mean, he was in Hotel Hotel Rwanda. Will Smith was Lorin W.: The guy from Hotel Rwanda. Yeah. So yeah, the Brandon: yeah Lorin W.: yeah, that was egregious, and no one seemed to say anything. So yeah, Brandon: Right. At all. Lorin W.: there I think we've taken the advocacy for representation a bit too far. Yes, we want more people, maybe authentic experience, to play certain roles when it comes to LGPTQ plus. representation, let's go outside of the realm of black people because we seem to be high on the totem pole in a minority pool already. We could use some more Asian American pret representation, indigenous people, Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: countless others. So especially for a fictional character that does not exist. Brandon: Yes, in a fictional land it's not there. Yeah. Right. Lorin W.: Not real. I don't understand us feeling that this man stole a black American's role. First of all, Brandon: No. Lorin W.: Chadwick was Black Panther. Unfortunately, he passed away. Folks were arguing that it wasn't Damson Damson Idris, who was also British. So what what are we doing here? Brandon: Yeah. And in that cast wasn't Chadwick Bozeman it's him and Michael B. Jordan the only ones that are American, right? Lorin W.: Right. You had Lupita Nga, who's technically Mexican American. Brandon: Yeah, yeah. Lorin W.: You had Denai Guerrero, who I think is American, Winston Duke, I think he may be in diaspora, he's not British though, but you had Brandon: No. Lorin W.: other British people, and you've had other British folks. Yeah, it's about a handful of black British actors who unfortunately Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: cannot find work in their home UK, come here and are able to work and produce and whatnot. And I don't understand why we can't all just get along. I I don't s Brandon: And Lorin W.: I don't find them participating in these roles as some type of blight on me Brandon: No. Lorin W.: as a black American. Brandon: I yeah, I find that silly, especially when they're getting hired for these roles by black Americans. I think Lorin W.: So I I it's just very, very strange. Brandon: Yeah, I don't know. Interesting. Lorin W.: Yeah, it's it's a tired argument at this point. It just it's run its course. Let it go. Brandon: Please. Lorin W.: and in other news, AMC's Brandon: It's Lorin W.: interview with the vampire slash the vampire Lestat just wrapped its season. They announced that season four will be coming and it will be called Queen of the Damned. So we will be getting Akasha, who is played by Sheila Atem. In this series, another black British actor who's been working for the past few years to establish a pedigree will be Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: betraying the mother of vampires in the fourth season. So that's exciting. Brandon: that's cool. Lorin W.: some other news. Prime Video released first footage of his Blade Runner 20 2099 series, which I completely forgot about. This will star Hunter Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Schaefer and Michelle Yale or Yao. and then they also premiered the first trailer for Mike Flanagan's Carrie adaptation. So Flanagan's known for Haunting of Hill Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: House on Netflix, other horror series. so he's going to take on the iconic Stephen King story in a modern time. go ahead. Brandon: Yeah. I I don't really know about those. The prime video is good, they grab good some good things, but I'm just not confident in their with these two. Carrie, we don't need another remake, please. Stop. And then Blade Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: Runner. I I didn't realize this was gonna be a series. I didn't know that. So but that should be interesting. But yeah, still I I don't know. Lorin W.: It's been jest stating Yeah, it's been jest dating for a while. And I remember we just had the film with Ryan Gosling, which kind of came and went. I feel that's a franchise that they're trying to revitalize when there's so many other new titles in that cyberpunk era that we don't really need to revisit Blade Runner again. Brandon: Exactly, yeah. Lorin W.: So Brandon: And and Blade Blade Runner twenty forty nine was good, but that should have been it. That's the one with Ryan Gosling. Lorin W.: Yeah. Yeah. and finally Apple TV made their Comic-Con premiere this year. they had panels representing a bunch of their projects, including Widows Bay, Silo, and Films May Day and Matchbox the Movie. But I was most focused on them releasing a trailer for Neuromancer, which is another cyberpunk sci-fi series Brandon: Yeah. Yep. Lorin W.: that will star Colum Turner. It's based on a novel. where in this dystopian future hackers sort of covet information and stuff in sort of like a matrixy world that is accessed through your brain. So Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: he'll start as a one of these hackers that's been tagged to find information or something for a high price. The trailer looked looked bomb. I'm not Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: familiar with the material, but Apple has not missed with the sci-fi. Brandon: yeah. the book Neuromancer is from William Gibson. And this honestly, I if I'm not mistaken, I think this is a book that kicked off Cyberpunk. Or Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: it's one of the bigger ones or so Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: but yeah, it's fame. I've read it and yeah, this looks good. So I I'm curious to see how it turns out. Lorin W.: Yeah, and this will come early next year. So we still have a long while while to go. in more recent news, Marvel has had quite a week. first it was announced that the second season of Wonderman is not happening. So after the critical acclaim for the series, it getting earning an Emmy nomination for both, Yaya Abdul Mateen the second and Ben Kingsley. and then green lighting the show for a second season. schedule's been made, rider's room getting ready to get together. The first episode written by showrunner Andrew Guest, Marvel and Disney decided that this will no longer be happening. And the reaction has been pretty vitral online. especially from again the black Marvel fans who are calling out Marvel and their underappreciation of Of black led projects, which I think I think is a very more solid case than Diaspora Wars about casting. So he did a Wonder Man premiered earlier this year. it kind of flipped the the canon on a character who isn't that popular, but he's a struggling actor who just happens to be hiding superpowers. And he goes on this journey of self-discovery. And it was a excellent, excellent written, excellently acted. originally a limited series, I thought, but the second season was coming. Sure, fine. Give it to me. but it is now canceled. but fans are calling Foul, saying that Marvel has intentionally or non-intentionally sabotaged their Black Lib projects. so you have Wonder Man canceled. You have the undermarketing of Ironheart, which I thought was really good. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: they feel like Anthony Mackey's Captain America has been sidelined because we see Steve Rogers return in Doomsday. You have Armor Wars that's supposed to have Don Cheeto, that never happened. The canceled Dora Malaje project, Isaac Wakanda, which was a short anime series, was very poorly marketed. And I I can't argue with it. It seems to be a pattern. And someone brought up a good point that this keeps happening because they regulated most other black and PLC characters to television where Marvel's Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: focus was not a hundred percent. And this is is this what she what what happens. So I'm not sure where they go from Brandon: It's interesting. Lorin W.: and of of course the most egregious was the cancellation of Blade, which was Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: the star Mahersha Ali. And he came forward with a statement saying that he was under contract for seven years, and if they wanted to do it, they would have done it. Brandon: Yeah. No, definitely. Lorin W.: So yeah, it's a very strenuous time for Marvel, halfway. But there was some good news this weekend. Spider-Man brand new day finally came out on July 31st and is has topped the box office with the second biggest weekend opening of all time, only second to Avengers Endgame. So we're at at this point, the top three biggest box office openings are all Disney's Marvel Properties. Brandon: Crazy. Lorin W.: So it it premiered to a whopping like well it had it was projected like a hundred sixty three million just Friday alone, but worldwide it's like nine hundred million Brandon: It was like I checked it. It Lorin W.: something. Brandon: it's world domestic it was like three fifty five and the worldwide it was nine twenty seven. Which is insane. Yeah. Yeah. Lorin W.: Yeah, which is crazy. Yeah. but it scored 90% Ron Tomatoes. it's that's the highest score for a Spider-Man film and an MCU film. Tom Holland Holland Returns, directed by Destin Daniel Creighton, who directed episodes of Wonder Man, and he was directed Shang-Chi and The Legend of Ten Rings, which is was another surprise success for the MCU. I saw this weekend. It's very enjoyable, very good. Brandon: That's good. Lorin W.: I'm I'm excited to see where it goes next. I will say the magic of them to you just isn't the same. Like it peaked with Eventy War Endgame. Like they're Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: not gonna find that magic again. So now it's just sort of like you you enjoy it the way you enjoy it, and it's they're just Rebbe movies now. It's just not I know they're trying to chase that same euphoric. feeling but it's it can't come back, so Brandon: Right, right. Yeah. Okay. Lorin W.: Yeah. and lastly in news, this was a subject that we both discussed previously, and surprisingly, Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: it came up again in a group chat I'm in. there was, I guess, growing public concern regarding Ariel Grande's physical health, mostly because of her physical appearance. we know that she has always been petite, ch always Brandon: Yeah, she's small. Lorin W.: yes, small. but people felt that had reached sort of like a a concerning point recently. and her team announced that she is stepping away from public life as the concerns grew. so after her tour wraps up, she'll be going on some type of hiatus or whatnot. we all don't want to comment on people's physical appearance because we don't know what's happening behind the scenes, but there is Brandon: Exactly. Lorin W.: a point where There needs to be some type of intervention or call within because people aren't Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: just criticizing you because you look bad. They're criticizing you because they're afraid what could come. Brandon: Right right. And yeah, it it definitely is worrying. And like you said, you don't wanna comment on people's appearances 'cause I think well the biggest one would be Chadwick Bozeman when everybody was making comments and nobody really knew the truth. But yeah, l I and I think the most important thing is if something is wrong then hopefully she can get the help that she needs to get better. Lorin W.: Exactly. Exactly. Cause I had people comparing it to the woman from The Carpenters, how no one spoke out. Brandon: yes, absolutely, yeah. Lorin W.: about her and she unfortunately perished to Brandon: Yes, yep, that's how she passed away. Lorin W.: anorexia. So we Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: know there's pressure in the industry, especially for women to look a certain way. I'm sure she's heard these things before, but it has reached a point where it's passed sort Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: of like celebrity gossip to a point of actual health concern. So Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: best wishes to Ariana Grande. switching over to trailer things, we got some two big trailers that premiered in the last few weeks. first up was Children of Blood and Bone, which was the adaptation Brandon: Yes. Lorin W.: of the Tony. I'm gonna mispronounce her last name, AdeMay, something like that. Adayme. Brandon: out of Yemi out of Yeme? Yeah. I know you're yeah. Lorin W.: Yeah, based on her books is a fantastical story about a young girl who discovers she has magic in her. Her fantasy African nation. but Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: but magic has been banished and she's going to be fighting an evil king or regime to sort of replenish the magic to her people. It has an all-star cast from Viola Davis to Idris Elba, Chualte, Edrafar, Cynthia Revo, Damson Idris, Lashana Lynch. Basically, all the black people that are constantly working are there. I it looks good to me. What were were your thoughts on the trailer? Brandon: Yeah, I remember hearing about the book and kind of seeing the fanfare, but I didn't know much about what it was and then I looked it up. That the author's only thirty-three. I was like, damn. Lorin W.: Yeah, she's really young. Brandon: but yeah, no, it looked interesting, kinda look I wouldn't say similar to some things we've seen, but like had the essence of other movies, you know. You see a little bit of I feel like Black Panther, a little bit of kind of, you know. Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: Avatar ish and this and so but no, it looked interesting. I think definitely worth seeing. Lorin W.: Yeah, so that's is set for twenty twenty seven as well. and it did not come without controversy. The author has come out saying that she will no longer support the film after some type of incident on set that left her emotionally drained. she has not declared exactly what happened, so people are feeling a bit skeptical. the film was being directed by Gina Lord. Gina Price would Gina Prince Bytewood, who directed the Netflix movie that everyone likes with Charlie Sterrow and I forget it now. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: she's a she's a black female director whose whose work is very esteemed. So a lot of people might say that the author was possibly unaware of what creative control she relinquishes when a production company purchases her IP Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: for film. and Gina said she was involved with the casting in every which way. So we're not exactly sure what transpired to make her say these things. But people Plan to support the film because they want to see more of this sort of representation on screen. So I'm I'm looking forward to it. The second trailer was another 2027 project coming from Michael B. Jordan. He not only directs, executive produces, but stars in this a new adaptation of the Thomas Crown affair. we don't get much from the trailer that was released. his narration, him racing the cars and the suits. and some of his co-stars, but we get the gist. If you're familiar with the Thomas Crown Affair, I believe the last film was in the nineties that starred Pierce Brosnan and Brandon: Right, yeah. Lorin W.: another woman, Renee, someone I'm forgetting. But basically it's sort of like a romance thriller about the thief who steals art. there was also a film back in the like sixties as well. Brandon: Right, right. It looked pretty interesting. I I think Lorin W.: Yeah, but it's coming from me. Brandon: it Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: Like it could be enjoyable. So Lorin W.: I Brandon: yeah, okay. Lorin W.: yeah, and I feel like he's sort of built enough cash to where he can call the shots on what project Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: he's develops. he's also got Oscar winner now, so he's able to steer his career in the way he wants to. So I'm I'm excited for him. I'm looking forward to it as well. Those are all the headlines, and we're now going to transition into our future presentation. Where we're discussing a young filmmaker, Curry Barker's new horror film Obsession. So, first, one thing, I gotta grab my phone. Okay. So first is of course the box office success was sort of like a breakout for the movie, which which did not make which did not cost a lot to make. But it came out a few weeks ago now. actually Brandon: Yeah, it came out just before Backrooms, if I'm not mistaken. Lorin W.: Yeah, yeah. and this was actually filmed last year. So, the directed by Curry Barker and it stars Michael Johnson and Indy Navarte, who are the main stars. Yeah, the budget was seven seven hundred fifty thousand dollars. It's made to date four hundred seventy four million. So it's it's become a breakout hit for the year. Brandon: Uh-huh. Lorin W.: Basically, it's about a young man who pines over a friend of his for a relationship. and instead of being honest about his feelings, he discovers a magic gem that gives him one wish and he wishes for this friend to love him more than anything in the world. Unfortunately, like they say, you have to be careful what you wish for. So what were your initial thoughts on obsession? Which is now streaming on Peacot. Brandon: Okay. So I ri I I enjoyed it. I thought it was a good movie. I liked the premise, but it took how do I say this? It didn't take me out of the movie, but I thought it was interesting that everybody was just accepting of this magic. You know, like there's just magic happening in their life. Not that it was a bad thing, not that it like ruined the movie, but I thought that was one thing that was interesting. but as for yeah, again, the premise, the acting, all of that was very good. It's a very dark movie in terms of actual like visually. It's like d everything is in the dark, which is kind of helps and sets the mood to the movie. And one thing I kept thinking while I was watching Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: it was I think a lot of the hype around this movie is because it it when you watch it, it's a movie that would be very good in a communal setting, like a movie theater. And I think you know, you can spread word of mouth because it it ja it hits different this in your living room. But overall, yeah, I I I enjoyed it. Lorin W.: Yeah, I agree. I thought it was it was fine. I think the experience would have been different in a movie theater. you get the like you said, the communal experience, all everyone sort of jumping and Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: shouting at the same the same scenes. yeah, I thought it was fine. I I agree it was a dark film. You're squinting a lot, trying to see what is Brandon: Right. Yeah. Lorin W.: happening on screen. And I do think purposely I this kind of came to me after watching it, some some of the scenes where Indy's character Nikki is in like complete darkness, it's just her silhouette, it Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: I think that was to signi signify like sort of like the void of the actual person she used to be, somewhat. Brandon: Right. Right. Lorin W.: And we'll get into that later, but I think that was a nice cinematographer artistic way to c sort of convey that. but overall I thought was fine. I didn't get into it as much as everyone else. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: while I'm a horror fan, I like more, I guess, psychological this could happen horror. So even if the stone wasn't there and it was more like a fatal attraction esque thriller kind of horror thing, that would be more of my my judge, I guess. Brandon: Yeah. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah. Lorin W.: but let's go ahead and get into the plot and some character breakdown. So, like we said, this film stars Michael Johnson and Indy Verrete. Johnson plays a young adult named Bear, and La Verte is his best friend Nikki. and for years he sort of has felt this unrequit unrequites love for her, and he plans to share that with her because she's about to move. And he's running out of time. and at the opportunity to sort of have this exchange, he still sort of doesn't do it, but instead wishes for her to be in love with him more than anything else in the world. And when at first he didn't think this works, but it does. They fall in love, but gradually the love turns into something very unhealthy and unsafe for everyone in bears orbit. so the plot is very straightforward, just like the film. they kind of get to the point very quickly and it escalates, I would say rather quickly. I think that was one of my Brandon: Yeah. yeah. Lorin W.: one of my dislikes is just how quickly it escalates. I wanted to see more life happening, more of like a slow burn type Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Groucher descent into the crazy, but it just happened literally within minutes and then I don't know, maybe a few weeks, this all combusts. I don't know. Brandon: Right. And and I also got confused on how old they were supposed to be at one time. And 'cause they were living on their own and they and they had all these other things, but then they were I I initially thought they were teenagers 'cause they're like where where are they working? I couldn't even tell what the Lorin W.: Yeah, it looks like a repair shop. Brandon: Yeah. And then the one girl she was trying to get into school. So yeah, in my mind I thought, maybe they're twenty, whatever, but Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: yeah, yeah. You can go back to what you're saying. That's just something else that kind of Lorin W.: Yeah, yeah, 'cause 'cause Bear had a whole house, which I thought he's not in an apartment. Yeah, it was very, Brandon: Y exact. Lorin W.: very strange. so yeah, you have Bear. Nikki, who seems to be sort of before the the transformation, level headed. She seems focused. Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: she was leaving this job for bear pastures, evidently. and in some ways Bear traps her in this sort of Brandon: Right, yeah. Lorin W.: magical curse, which reveals that a lot I guess there were a lot of discussion and disagreements that Bear is a villain here. he was too insecure Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: to actually pronounce his feelings. Instead of just saying how he's felt and then moving on, he plays plays this game to where not only does he see that it's not healthy, but then he just lets it happen. so as we said, like the this will be this has been spoiler free. We're gonna get into spoilers now, so just if you haven't seen it, you can fast Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: forward whatnot. But so the the wish is granted and things escalate mighty fast to where she initially just wants to be, you know, friends and sending him to the friend zone to ask him to come in the home. And then when that doesn't Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: work, staying at his place and then never leaving. so what did you think of the levels of which her obsession reached and did they work for you, yes or no? Brandon: Yeah, I think they were good and I think they worked for me because there were some of them that were even well, they weren't scary, they were hard to watch because it's just kinda like repetitive behavior kind of I don't know. When she the one that got me, it didn't like make me stop it, but when she they're in that restaurant and he comes back and he says, Is your dad really dying of cancer? And then she stands up and starts to like scream or she keeps saying no and no and no and no and So things like that, but then yeah, the obsession part, I think the other one that stuck out to me was the duct tape. 'Cause you don't see it until he sees it. And it's like, damn. Lorin W.: Right. Brandon: But but yeah, no, I think the film went did a good job of driving home the point of her obsession. Lorin W.: Yeah, from for me, I feel that that's where I kinda lost not realm of reality, but just sort like Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: lost interest to where I felt some of the behavior wasn't necessarily based on her obsession. She Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: just became unhinged to where like like the the question about her father, like first of all, why are you lying about like I didn't Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: understand where that came from. and then her reaction to it. I saw, you know, her taping the door, her not allowing him to leave or be without him. we saw that reach a f very unhealthy levels, you know, her, you know, urinating, soaring on herself, other bodily functions just unabound when he wasn't around. and then in public, of course, like at the the party scene. Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: the threat of other alleged, you know, l potential love interests, all that made sense. But some of it was just a little too too Brandon: Much. Lorin W.: much and I didn't see the Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: linkage in in the plot. Like for instance, the theme with a cat. What was going on? Brandon: Yeah, I don't really get that 'cause yeah, the you know, again, spoilers, but the cat dies and and that's the only reason I can think the cat died was to have this whole I mean, the cat died by taking oxycodone. Then she comes to his life, cooks the cat, and then he tries to overdose on oxycodone. So maybe the cat in that whole thing was just there for that matter. I don't know. But yeah, I did think that was a little strange as well, just kinda tossed in. Lorin W.: Yeah, like she she cooks the cat for him to eat. Like what part of that like Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: I I don't know. I'm sure somewhere for for example, Fatal Attraction, Glencloth famously kills the pet bunny. Okay, that's deranged behavior. She has like revenge, whatnot. But this is like the first day into their relationship and she cooks and kills his cat for lunch. Well, not kills, Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: but cooks the cat. For his lunch. Why? Brandon: Yeah. And Lorin W.: So so like some of it didn't make total sense if you're going to be in obsessed with somebody. I didn't Brandon: Yeah. A and I think the other thing for me, and it's not that I need everything spelled out for me, but it was also so strange to have this movie based on him making a wish and not really explaining the magic or or what it was or what's possessed her and all this other Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: stuff. You just you just go along with it, which I mean you only've got so much time in a movie, but yeah. I don't know. Lorin W.: Yeah. It was very sort of like eighties whimsical Brandon: Yes. Lorin W.: because that we know the eighties always had, you know, make a wish at a genie machine or on this gemstone Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: or on the star, whatever. and there were of course, I guess, urban myths to these items and how they worked. and he was searching Reddit and whatnot. but yeah, it was very, very loose on that. Brandon: Yeah, that's a great way to explain it. Yeah. Lorin W.: and then, you know, her obsession escalates to where she's not only harming herself but others. She takes out the other friend who Bear clearly has feelings for as well. and I saw that coming, like Brandon: Mm. Yeah, that was pretty Lorin W.: That entire scene, yeah, it was I was just waiting for it to happen. but it comes to a head when we previously learned that the only way the obsession ends is when he dies. Like the the wisher has to die for obsession to end. And it comes to the point where Bear is ready to make that choice. Nikki has somehow bound the dead corpse of their former friend in the home and some Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: other very strange things, embarrassed, ready to to end it all. and honestly, it's what he deserves. Brandon: Yeah, because I I mean I don't know how you watch this movie and feel sorry for him because obvious okay, he's sad or whatever, but brother you brought this upon yourself. Like Lorin W.: Right. Right. Brandon: Yeah, so no. Lorin W.: Yeah, and I thought and I did think the ending scene was very clever because you see him take these medications. First of all, someone point rose this question which I forgot to ask, whose medicine was that? Brandon: I guess his? I I don't I don't know. Lorin W.: 'Cause some of the reactors I watched on YouTube like zoomed in and it has someone else's name on it. So I don't know whose Brandon: Well, I don't know. Yeah. Lorin W.: medicine it was and why it was there. But he decides to take it, and basically Brandon: but she Lorin W.: go ahead. Brandon: No, what I was gonna say is he he no, it's coming back because he has the house because he inherited it from his grandmother. So it very well could Lorin W.: Okay. Brandon: be her stuff. Lorin W.: Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, okay. I must say I forgot that. but yeah, he takes the meds. Cause at one point he thinks he's going to shoot himself with Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: this pistol. He ties against that. He overdoses on the medication, and for a second, he sort of submits to her, tells her he loves her and whatnot. And He dies. And I think this this last thing I thought was very clever. Once he succumbs, she wakes up from the spell and is just surrounded by this chaos. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: and just ends on her screaming, relenting, just she's she's unaware of what's transpired within the last few weeks, evidently. so what's your final grade on Barker's obsession. Brandon: I would give it a C plus. I think it was very good. like you s w there's a lot of hype round it before seeing it, but it wasn't anything New, it wasn't I didn't reinvent the will or anything like that, but it was good. It was j enjoyable. It wasn't a bad movie. So yeah, I think a C plus for is is fair. Lorin W.: Yeah, I agree. a C plus is right where I would land it. I think Ivy or Indy was great performance wise. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: the other characters, they didn't really need much development, but I wish there was a bit more Brandon: No, they were Lorin W.: about them. Andy Richter pops up randomly in a few scenes. Brandon: Yeah, he's like the record store guy or something, yeah. Lorin W.: Yeah. I thought I will say I thought his friend initially was like a bad bro, but throughout Brandon: Yeah, it seemed like that. Lorin W.: the film he makes a lot of sense and try to hold Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: Bear accountable. Like Nikki clearly is not herself. Something's going Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: on and you just have her living in your home. I'm not inviting you over until she get like he's making all these very logic cases and Bear just ignores them all. So I'm Brandon: It's like Lorin W.: I'm sad in the way he went out. Nikki basically Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: kills their whole friend friend group. Brandon: Everyone. Yeah. Lorin W.: yeah, but yeah, C plus. definitely enjoyable. Do you see any award speculation for this? 'Cause some folks saying that Indy deserves a nomination for best actress or something. Brandon: no. No. Between that and the end of film season there'll be much better performances. So no I doubt it. Lorin W.: Yeah. Yeah. I think she'll definitely Golden Globes possibly, because they like to be goofy. if the MTV VMA movie awards still mattered, she'd definitely be over there. but it'll be a standout performance of the year, but I don't I don't see Oscar in this future. But Brandon: No, not at all. Lorin W.: hopefully all these folks have a bright feature. Ashley Johnson has been cast in the Mummy Four film. So yeah, people Brandon: wow. Okay, that's good. Lorin W.: are s expecting him to be Brendan Frazier and Rachel Vice's son, which he does kind of favor Brendan Frazier a bit. Brandon: Yeah, I could see that. Lorin W.: So good for him. like we said, Obsession is currently streaming on Peacock. you can check it out for yourself and and grade it on your own terms. Finally, we got our streams of the week. and we both kind of shared in a new series that returned for its second season. This is Brandon: Mm-hmm. Lorin W.: ID Discovery's Killer Among Friends, which you can watch on HBO Max. have you watched the first two episodes or just the first? Brandon: I just watched the first one. Lorin W.: Okay, same here, because I forgot the second episode Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: came out. but yeah, this is a very kind of niche series, basically true crime series that explores cases where a murder murder has happened amongst friends, and they kind of have to reveal by the hour's end who was responsible. what did you think about this first episode and and the case behind it? Brandon: This one didn't have the same amount of suspense or like kind of dread that the others have had. The one that kind of they kind of like get on your skin a little bit, like, god, this is weird. This one was pretty Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: I wouldn't say it was straightforward, but after a while, it got to a point where I was like, Lorin W.: You could see Brandon: it was like this is about money, and somebody killed her for money. And what I will say is the way this shit panned out. I was like, hold on a second. Because her friend, she just up and spent her money. Like, we won't break it all down, but we know what we're talking about. I just like, that's insane. And so, Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: yeah, wow. Yeah. It's sad for the woman that passed away. But the story leading to that point with her trusting this woman with this large amount of money, the woman then spending that money, the victim needs that money back. Lorin W.: Mm-hmm. Brandon: And when she asks for it, she is killed by the woman who spent it. It was Very, very strange. Lorin W.: Right. Very sad. And I I actually have seen this story before. It was Brandon: Okay. Lorin W.: focused on dateline, secrets uncovered on oxygen. So once Brandon: Mm. Lorin W.: once the pictures start coming up, it's like, I remember this story, but it's still very unfortunate. young lady, smart, capable private investigator, going through a divorce, very messy divorce. she decides to remove funds from a joint account with her ex-husband. And she has to hide the money before the proceedings. So she entrusts the funds with a friend. This friend spends the money to entice a boyfriend, on off boyfriend, I think it was. Fund Brandon: Yeah. Or something. Yeah. It's w she's buying all sorts of stuff. Lorin W.: yeah, just fund his habit. try to show off to their circle of friends, and Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: when her friend comes back for the money, she's like, I've got it, shrinks her along. and says, meet me here for the money and kills her, burrs her, and acts like nothing happened. Just where does the concept of murder come in when your only crime is theft? Like how do you go from Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: F to not to kill you. Brandon: Right, it's insane, but yeah. Lorin W.: And sh honestly she almost got away with it, but yeah, Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: it was very, very unfortunate. Brandon: Yeah, that that one was was interesting. I and then I I I've continued to watch the five star weekend. This is Jennifer Gardner show that is also on Peacock. And I think I'm like on episode three now. It's pretty good. Again, the cast is just kind of Lorin W.: Random. Brandon: so random, but it works. Like I'm just kinda the one that's killing me is like Chloe Seveny. I was like, how does Jennifer Gardner know Chloe Seveny of all people? She does like Lorin W.: Yeah. Brandon: these will Lorin W.: Very mm. Brandon: far out art films and stuff and but I don't work I I it works. It's pretty enjoyable. So yeah. That's good. Lorin W.: That's that's good to hear because I have not enjoyed Jennifer Gardner since Alias, honestly. Like Brandon: Huh. Lorin W.: I didn't picture her to be sort of like this eat pray love sort of Brandon: Right. Lorin W.: genre, but it's successful because honestly, it looks like one long capital one commercial, but I haven't watched. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: I don't know what this is about. Brandon: It feels like a lot of shows that have been on T V before, but it's again, if you need something lighthearted to watch, I guess this would do it. Lorin W.: Alright, I've been keeping up with a few things. new shows all premiered within the last week or so. First up is Hulu's Fury, which I think you will really enjoy. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: it's based on the 1987 film, well, loosely based on the nineteen eighty seven film called Black Widow. But Emmy Rossom of Shameless Fame plays a FBI agent who is tracking a female serial killer. and it really examines how misogyny affects women at all levels of life, whether you're a traffic sex work sex worker or an accomplished homicide detective. so the c the subject matter is very heavy. They explore, you know, child trafficking, very, you know, Epstein-ish kind of material, but the performances are really strong. And Relsom is an executive producer on the series as well. So the first three episodes are Brandon: okay. Lorin W.: out right now on Hulu, but it's it's done very well, very good. And the actress that plays the killer is named Lola Petacrew. She's amazing. so definitely Brandon: Hmm. Okay. Lorin W.: check that out if you if you want something sort of crime, drama, thriller. new episodes arrive every Wednesday. and then on the further side, Paramount Plus. Has released a second season of Dear from Detroit. Brandon: Mm. Lorin W.: this is a series that was on BT Plus under Paramount Plus Umbrella Now that follows a divorced school teacher who stumbled upon a missing person's case once her tender date disappeared. So in the season one, she solves the mystery. Season two, she's trying to juggle this relationship with this man and stumbles into another caper that involves a missing armoir. And sort of Detroit local lore. it's a great comedy that mixes sort of true crime mystery with sort of like insecure type comedy. Brandon: cool. Lorin W.: the the cast is amazing. You may remember Diara Kilpatrick is her name. You may remember her from Perry Mason. She played Chris Chalk's wife on Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: the show. So she's great, and she's the writer. and creator of the series. I don't know if we'll get the third season because it took damn near two years for this to come out. But it's it's really enjoyable. It's very funny. The guest stars are great. Felice Rashad, Glenn Truman, Method Man is in this season. so yeah, the the Canomy Or is so great and it's just just a really enjoyable watch. Brandon: Yeah, okay, that's cool. Lorin W.: The third thing is the second season of Batman Cave Crusader. This is also on Prime Video. it's what you expect. It's a Batman Anime series that is set in the sort of 40s aesthetic that the original 90s anime series was set in, but it's more mature. there's some twists on canon characters, but it's very enjoyable. Hamlish Link Brandon: Okay. Lorin W.: Later. Plays the voice of Batman. and this season we're getting introduced to the Joker, who is voiced by Matthew Needham. you will know him from House of the Dragon. He plays Laris Strong. So this Brandon: cool. Lorin W.: season, violence has escalated in Gotham. Fingers are pointed at Batman as sort of bringing out these crazies. and we eventually will see the Joker kind of take center stage. But they're just gradually sort of piecing him together. so yeah, Brandon: Okay. Lorin W.: it's been a great season so far. All episodes are out now. I think there's ten. but yeah, season two is out of Batman. So if you're gunning for Batman and we're not getting part two of the live action film until twenty twenty eight, this is a great, great replacement. Nice short twenty five minute episodes. Where'd you go? Brandon: I have no clue what's happening to my computer right now. Lorin W.: I mean you're I can hear you but the green went green. Screen went green. Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: Hello? Okay. Brandon: Yeah. my goodness gracious, man. Okay, we're good. Lorin W.: Okay. All right. I'm glad we're nearing the end of this episode of Instagram Life Podcast Brandon: Right, right. Lorin W.: with Brenda and Lauren. Brandon: Ruff. Lorin W.: join us as we prepare for the fall. It'll be Emmy season pretty soon and then we'll stumble into awards season. So we're trying to keep up with the movies that'll be coming out. hopefully the Odyssey comes to screen streaming soon 'cause that way I can pause Brandon: Yeah. Lorin W.: it and take breaks and whatnot. Brandon: Exactly. Lorin W.: But yeah, thank you for listening to this episode and until then, keep on streaming. Brandon: Peace.