Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Movie of the Month - The Grey

December 2017

https://i.imgur.com/nyfPSuL.gif

Hot on the heels of the last podcast is December's choice: The Grey. This one was picked by our very special guest, @The Rodent! And @Slappydavis is there as well, mostly out of scheduling inertia at this point.

There are three reviews of the film here on the site; none of them hated it, but they're pretty mixed about its half-measure between action and character study.

Podcast in the next post. What do you guys think about it?

The best way to get it is to subscribe with iTunes. The next best ways are to just download it with this link (or add the podcast feed into your RSS reader). Or you can just listen right now with this embedded player:

AWESOME! As I said before, love The Grey! I've seen it probably around 8 times. It has extremely high rewatchability. Without giving away too much of a spoiler, the scene after the plane crash when the one passenger is dying is VERY powerful and dramatic.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Yeah, it is; @Slappydavis talks about that specifically near the end. Tagging him here in case he felt like elaborating, since I think I ended up only using part of his answer.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

:up:: Combination of this and Phantom menace convinced me that Liam needs an Oscar for playing bored so convincingly.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Who is the englishman - Rodent? Oh yeah, Slappy is definitely americano.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Lmao at the convo about the baby and the husky puppy


and then the stupid laptop took it back to the porny opening music

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH have to start from the beginning. Might need to wait until M r D can check out why laptop keeps doing this. So damn annoying.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Good film. I find myself spending nearly the whole runtime annoyed that they left the plane and effectively went to a place with no defense though. I mean just block the exit, cannibalise the dead, snow for water (just like "Alive") and await rescue, happy days.

I know, right. There was a lot of criticism for that when it screened.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

We're talking about the 2011 The Grey, right?

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Yes.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Yeah it was good. I didn't like how they saved the reveal at for close to the end:

The reveal that Liam Neeson's character's wife was dead all along. Cause I thought if they revealed it earlier, it would generate more sympathy for him earlier in the movie. We still have sympathy of course, but there would be more.

But either way, it's a very good movie.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

You should probably check out the podcast, then, because Slappy's girlfriend realized something about that which seems obvious in retrospect, and which would probably preclude that idea.

I'm also not sure I understand the distinction between sympathy during the movie and sympathy when the movie is over, anyway. The only time to judge the film properly is once it's over, and when it is, we already have the whole story, and the knowledge we acquire near the end can infuse the character's story with sympathy retroactively.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Okay thanks, I'll check it out!

Well what I mean I felt that the story would been even more compelling for the main character, if we knew his wife was dead originally. Finding out right before the climax, came off as kind of gimmicky, like they needed to shoehorn in a surprise, for the sake of having a final surprise, when it would have been more of a natural build up to release the information earlier.

i was saying to someone earlieri dont even remember it, and I watched it twice. Need a rewatch when I get home. Eeeek my watchlist is growing like a triffid.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Nice!


I didn't sound as bad as I thought I would :D
Hate my own voice :laugh:


Tell you what though, @Yoda... that's some great editing :up:


Hope we can do it again some time!

Hey what are you talking about, Rattus. You sound great. And I agree about the editing. Always feels very smooth. smooooooth. And no tell tale sign of the date line!

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Live and die on this day. Live... and die... on this day.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

My review of the film

Liam Neeson is a trained killer of grey wolves ; its his job in Alaska to protect humans by killing the grey wolves that inhabit the snowbound part of the North American continent . He's an authority on grey wolves ; he knows their territorial habits , their methods of stalking their prey and can smell their scent from a mile away . All of which is very good---for his knowledge is going to come handy very soon.....

......Because his plane carrying him and others back to the American mainland crashes somewhere presumably in the northern part of Canada in the middle of nowhere with only grey wolves for company.....

The crash kills the majority of the passengers and the entire crew and leaves only 7 of them alive---all males , not a single woman.....

And cut off from civilization as they are , no one is going to come to rescue them---as the cliche goes , they have to survive against all odds......

And the odds stacked against them are truely terrifying---not only do they have to battle the sub zero degrees cold , but also many of them are wounded . And the blood from their wounds attracts killers from the icy wastes---the grey wolves , who else.....

The director creates a world of ice and snow and howling winds in a forbidding landscape where no food is available---and above all , the survivors themselves are about to become food for the terrible grey wolves . And the wolves are rentless---one by one they begin to pick and kill the survivors .

Fire is the only thing that can halt them , and that too only temporarily---and the fuel for that too is in short supply.....
The remaining survivors do get a macabre revenge as they manage to kill a wolf and cook him for dinner---a dinner greeted by the bloodcurdling howls of the other wolves......

Liam realises that they must leave the territory of the grey wolves to escape a terrifying death and leads them towards a river , crossing tons of obstacles along the way . But the more wounded among them slow down , and the grey wolves are ever ready to pounce on the stragglers.....

Grief stricken and driven to despair , Liam beseeches god to come to their rescue---and the non existence of god is proven !!! For no one comes to rescue them out of their living nightmare.....

So does any one survive to tell the tale of horror and death ??
Go and watch the movie for that.....
For I found it to be a decent watch , though a tragic one......

Verdict---three out of five stars .

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Got a chance to listen:

I know I say this a lot, but I think you did a fantastic job. I'm tickled each time I get to talk with another one of you because you are clearly all so passionate about movies and MUCH more naturally insightful about them than I am. Even while accounting for the couple layers of selection bias (on a movie forum, and willing to do a podcast) my expectations have been exceeded by the guests I've been really happy with the discussions.

I am surprised to find out that you don't like your voice though. The most apparent thing to me is (obviously) an accent because that's what stands out to anyone that doesn't share the accent, but I also particularly enjoyed your tonal inflection. So I'm surprised because it comes off as very comfortable.

Re: The early death scene of one of the passengers. I think Yoda kept in most of the salient parts. Scenes where a character is aware of their experience of the dying process always get to me, and this was a particularly powerful one. Especially for how it establishes the main character's ability to be both blunt and empathetic.

This film was a lot better than I thought it was going to be.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Hmmm not the accent for me, slappy, and I dont share his pommie accent. He's just easy to listen to so yeah, I shall rename him totally tonal

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

I am easy listening :D

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Sounds great guys!

I'm very happy that the revival of the MotM has been so successful. Great job to Yoda and Slappy (as well as all the guests of course) for taking the time to do the podcasts. I'm hoping that we can keep it going into next year!

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Thanks! And yeah, probably wouldn't have happened with you, either!

I might have to rename it, though, to something without a date in the name. :laugh: We'll see.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Cool broadcasts (this one and the Take Shelter one), people.

Now do some foreign movie. :)

Come on the podcast and pick one!

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

@Yoda: I'm afraid my English is too perfect for this, guys. I'd embarass you all with my spotless pronunciation, verbose vocabulary and spot on Received Pronunciation accent.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

I, along with a lot of other people expected a different film. You bring this up in the podcast, the marketing for The Grey is all wrong. They wanted people to go in expecting a Neeson vs Wolf fight. In fact my one friend only went to see this film because of that, "Liam Neeson fights a f***ing wolf with his bare hands and broken bottles, it sounds amazing". Needless to say we get something different.

I enjoyed it, the survival aspects of the film were well done and you three seemed to tackle every aspect of the film that was interesting.

As always, great job guys.
@The Rodent your voice was great!! As slappy said, great inflection on your thoughts. I honestly believe that I have the worst voice on these podcasts so far...but there must be others out there!!!!

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Just finished. Great job as always.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Liam Neeson - "Show me something real i'm calling on you"

God - ??????????????

Liam Neeson - yep that's what I thought :mad:

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Intense and heartbreaking movie loved every second

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

The Hunting Party

When Richard Gere, Jesse Eisenberg and Terrence Howard go hunting for a Bosnian war criminal they become the hunted

it was very average, if you want to see a better film based on the Bosnian war, watch Savior with Dennis Quad (1998)

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Just had another listen to the podcast for a 2nd time :D


Gotta say it again Yods, and it might be because I've had the inside track on this one with actually being on the recording and knowing what went into it, that really is some great editing.


Have a listen MoFos :D
And have a watch of The Grey too and share you thoughts :)


Hit some pretty cool notes on this one with all the metaphors and stuff in the film :D

Must agree with this, this is one of the best gigs I've ever had. I get to word vomit into a mic for 2 hours and come out sounding smart on the other side because of Yoda's tireless efforts.

The one downside of all the guest podcasters is that it's one additional person that will know the charade each time.

Also, this film has grown on me in an odd way. The overall arc of the film has kind faded into the back of my mind, but I'm still thinking about roughly a dozen 1-2 minute scenes again and again. I'm happy to say that I was way off base with thinking this was going to be a boring action film.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Thanks. I say it a lot, but it's pretty incredible how much smarter everyone (me definitely included!) can sound if you shorten pauses and cut out "ums" and "uhs." But that applies most when the underlying ideas are strong and insightful, which they invariably have been. The editing process mostly involves moving the barrier of verbal tics so the ideas can shine.

This one was easier to edit than most; I think we probably used something like 90% of what we recorded. Great job, both of you. :up:

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

i liked the Grey a lot, liam neeson 's best movie since 2010.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Nice podcast guys. Sadly after giving the film a second watch this morning it still doesn't really resonate with me primarily because I just don't really give a hoot about any of the characters :shrug:

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

applause

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Hey there! Indeed, The Grey would be movie of the month for me too. The scenes where the wolves are killing the team members each at a time, while they are looking for a means of survival against these vicious attacks, and the cold weather with no food and water, are my favourites. It is very astounding, as it strikes a sense of realism, as this can happen to any of us. Goodbye!

I enjoyed it although I was a little put off by the size of the wolves.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Good Movie

Turns out there's a sequel:

https://i.imgur.com/0wVqSE8.gif

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

:laugh: I saw that a few hours ago, coincidentally.

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

I LOLed, then I freaked out!

Re: Movie of the Month - The Grey (December 2017)
 

Bump, because I think of this any time I see a movie about wolves and this one just came out on Netflix:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFAwDO6b5KI

I think this is where @Slappydavis comment in the podcast about "Taken... with wolves" becomes almost prophetic.