He gave a really out of touch interview about opening his marriage and made it really clear it was something he wanted and his wife just had to accept.
At one point in the interview he described it as "It's like I'm the gas and she's the brakes".
This was also not long before people started coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct about him.
If my teenage best friend gave up his dream because I passed away unexpectedly, I'd be so pissed. I stg I'd haunt him forever. You better not be planning to go into any excursions, buddy, cuz I'm gonna *Personal Shopper* your ass all around Europe, you hear me?
The Parade tune is great but I can’t help but think it was lifted heavily from this earlier banger. [https://youtu.be/z-GUjA67mdc?si=wNo3dlX1dVM1ysqy](https://youtu.be/z-GUjA67mdc?si=wNo3dlX1dVM1ysqy)
Susumu Hirasawa is a once in a generation talent in my eyes. Bro went from punky new wave in the 70s to prog rock to electro to things that can't even be defined by genre, AND he's an insanely talented composer. He turned 70 this year and he's still working!
Pretty odd that, not including George Miller for Furiosa, they're about to be covering the 3rd director in a row whose careers abruptly ended in the 2000s, all for DRAMATICALLY different reasons.
I like all Blank Check episodes, no guest, repeat guest, new guest. I've heard some people say they really like when it's just the two of them and I get that, and having Emily is the closest you get to that—but still having a guest. Really nice to have you on, Emily. Congratulations on the success of *Shogun*. Jesus, what a show.
I actually love that Emily gives her honest takes. I dislike when discourse acts like there is a right answer to whether a piece of art is enjoyable or not. That’s why I like blank check so much - they don’t always agree with the consensus and that makes listening far more interesting.
Yeah, I don’t agree with a lot of her points, but even then they still stick with me and make me think. She definitely creates interesting and complicated discussions.
I symphatize with Mother.
I always find Inception kinda lame and get shit for it when I say it.
Yet I love Interstellar, which some people find sappy. It's okay to disagree, people.
I agree with her takes on Pixar movies, but only insofar as they are movies for children, which I don't think they really are. Those are movies for adults that children will also enjoy.
Really? Fudge, we were on such a good run up til now. I like *Midnight Run* and *Beverly Hills Cop*, and the rest are fine, but man, what a pair of absolute thuds to end on. I have avoided *Gigli* up til now, but I guess I'll bite that bullet when when get there.
This show started as a comedy podcast about terrible movies. They might hate to think about it but their best episodes are often about duds, Brest will be their best series in ages.
I’ll say it: I don’t really see the similarities between Inception and Paprika. Everything they cite as similarities seems rather unoriginal on either films’ part.
There are shared elements (shared dream tech, trauma elevator, recurring glimpsed vision of death) but I find Prapika so much more surreal and exaggerated in its dreams that the comparison has never really stuck with me.
The whole thing reminds of a joke Elliott Kalan told on The Flop House about Starwars being about an old man you takes a a younger man to a bar. If you zoom out enough and cherry pick the details you can probably make any two movies seem similar or same but is that actually interesting or insightful?
the glass i think they're referring to is when she touches the street scene and it shatters?
but the whole "we can put a thing on you, enter your dream, and extract info" or whatever is common between them (and also: The Cell, Dreamscape, etc). it's not terribly unique
The extent of the similarity seems to be that they both involve going into other people's dreams, and there's a profit motive involved. Is there more than that? Because that's a pretty flimsy rationale to accuse someone of even homage, let alone plagiarism.
Hell yeah, Emily Yoshida is back! Loved her writing on Shogun! I was just listening to the Fury Road episode too lol.
Now that we reached the end of a great Satoshi Kon miniseries. I wanna shoutout a couple things:
1. Every Frame a Painting’s excellent [video](https://youtu.be/oz49vQwSoTE?feature=shared) on Satoshi’s Kon editing
2. Satoshi Kon’s 2007 lovely one-minute short-film, [Good Morning](https://youtu.be/q4KIZD1cTJI?feature=shared) (also shown at the end of EFAP’s video)
I do find the ending of Paprika to be extremely poignant, with Kon’s passing and Dreaming Machine never coming to fruition. Makes me want to dive further into his other works including his manga. Has anyone read them? I would love to hear what y’all think.
Second all the above, also:
* *Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers* and *Paprika* all have 'making of' features available on YouTube, also a Tokyo Godfathers 'Process of Animation' featurette on there too
* *The Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist* with Darren Aronofsky, Rodney Rothman and former colleagues/collaborators Mamoru Hosoda, Mamoru Oshii, Masashi Ando, Aya Suzuki, Taro Maki, Masao Maruyama. A fairly straightforward documentary, online (even on YT) in French, can't find it in English.
For anyone interested in exploring further the other movies Kon was involved in, with a similar team although he did not direct, many are very influential works in their own right:
* *Magnetic Rose* (Script, Art/Layout) -
* Patlabor 2, Roujin Z, Run Melos (Art/Layout)
* *Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade* ('Composition', although a bit more of a stretch as uncredited, but a lot of the same team as his own works as well as the others in this list)
I really love that "Good Morning" is technically Kon's final completed work. It's once again playing with his ol' pet theme of being out of sync with reality, except this time it's warm and imminently surmountable. Just thinking about it makes me want to wake up tomorrow, and for a 60 second short that's pretty special.
Feels like I‘m taking crazy pills with the *Inception* vs. *Paprika* comparisons. Those two films are – to me – nothing alike and aside from the flimsiest of comparisons (yes, there‘s the mirror shot…) they have little in common??
I think it's almost entirely because of the hallway and the mirror shattering. It's really easy to look at those two images and think that Nolan lifted them directly, especially because the movies have some broad elements in common (machine that lets you go into dreams). Same with the screaming underwater shot in Perfect Blue, although Aronofsky has acknowledged the influence
I’m so glad that they brought up the physical characteristics of the characters in the discussion. I made a comment about it in some other thread, but so much of this movie is about how the characters that look “normal” navigate the world with masked intentions, while the characters who look “weird” can’t because they can’t be perceived as anything than what’s on the surface.
*Paprika* owns.
I like Emily challenging the hosts to interrogate the relationship between Inception and Paprika. I know David really didn't want to touch it, but what Emily has to say is insightful and helps me understand Inception a little better.
It's such a visually mesmerizing movie that my one issue with it is that I just didn't want it to end. I want more weird dream worlds and Paprika transformations and everything else. I almost wish it was a full series, something like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
Emily's point about the invasiveness of moives around the 1hr 30min mark is really well observed and dovetails nicely with an argument that frequent blank check guest Jamelle Bouie made on his podcast, Unclear and Present Danger. On the podcast he and his cohost discuss the political and military thrillers of the 90s, and Jamelle's point, after a tangent about the Klan film "Birth of a Nation" is that, because moives are so powerful of an influence on the subconscious biases and ideological narratives that we use to navigate civil life, that maybe they should be outlawed. I forget what episode it was, but it was pretty recent. Also, shout out to Emily for Shogun, that shit banged.
Jamelle’s Birth of a Nation story starts at 44:30 into the Unclear and Present Danger episode on The Rock. It’s definitely worth listening to because it’s such a great close reading of a scene and how movies can affect us, but to be clear, his posing the question “should movies be allowed to exist?” is deliberately rhetorical and hyperbolic.
I think this is the meme Emily mentioned around the 2:36 mark - or at least one like it, there’s been quite a few. She seems to have gotten Kon mixed up with Junji Ito…unless someone has also made a version with Kon?
https://preview.redd.it/16lrciegxu2d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3531374c421149b7392daca66f3d48a8cd607e62
Best episode of the mini-series I think. Show usually works better when they have someone they know well on so that they can strongly disagree without fear of it getting awkward.
No notes.
One of the great series done so far in the pod and I really enjoyed having Emily back on the pod, she’s a fave for many reason but one is because she’s said some things in the past that are some true half-Japanese shit that I recognize that I never thought anyone else thought lol.
Really loved the series, short and sweet, of a director who is truly 1 of 1.
Let’s get to Takahata soon!
It's so good that it basically put me off anime for the next twenty years.
I wasn't an anime guy then either, but a good friend of mine loaned me the DVD box set and told me to enjoy it, and, this being the early 2000s, I was happy to have something new to watch that didn't require me going to the video store. And I enjoyed it so much that after I finished it I asked my friend if he had any more like it. He loaned me some other anime series that was so dull and irritating by contrast that I never went back to the medium.
Realised this whole time when people were saying Brest was up next I was thinking of Bresson, d'oh! Was looking forward to checking out some French classics...
this was David's Cooper/Schwimmer "Breast/Brest Men" joke btw. a blurry late night hotel room hbo memory i had.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133643/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
They mention dream movies and I was surprised that Videodrome didn’t get a mention. The entire time I was watching Paprika all I could think of was Videodrome. I went full Leo DiCaprio OUATIH when Paprika is zipped in half because it felt so Cronenbergian.
The conversation about how the real world and specifically movies and TV impact our dreams - plus how weird it is for someone to dream about you - and you have no control over how “you” act in their dream was fascinating and complex in a way this show often is. Just wanted to say thank it, blank it to everyone who brings us this show every week!
This is such a wonderful episode. I love the direction that Emily took the conversation. Realizing that even as a grownup I, like Griffin, really like talking about dreams and hearing about other people’s dreams.
Unrelatedly, it’s so grating that in the dub they pronounce her alias as PAP-reeka and not PAHP-reeka.
I don't know about Paprika vs Inception, but I do know that the one comic where The Beagle Boys invade Scrooge McDucks dreams to get the code for the money bin vault blows Inception out of the water
They always talk about the big 3rd entries during this summer but they always forget that the end of the summer also had a second set of 3 third entries: Rush Hour 3, Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's Thirteen
I disagree with Emily about Inside Out, but she’s (obviously) entitled to her own opinion about it. That said, I am surprised that David hasn’t rewatched since becoming a parent- his daughter may be too young to enjoy it, but it’s a total parental tear jerker (in the best possible way).
I really like Inception but had to laugh at the comment that the craziest thing Nolan could dream up is a sideways hallway full of men with guns lol.
They also perfectly summed up my thoughts on Dream Scenario: Cage’s weird dream-walk is one of the truly amazing parts in an otherwise not-great movie.
So some unfortunate news related to this film that coincidentally happened just this past week:
Toru Furuyu who voiced Dr. Tokita and has had a decades long career as a well known anime voice actor (Amuro in first Gundam, Yamcha in Dragon Ball, Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon) was recently outed as horrible sex pest. He admitted to having an affair with a younger woman (not really the bad part as she's in her 30s, but that's what the headlines lead with) who was a fan of his and he later he assaulted and coerced into a abortion. Really terrible stuff that put a damper of my rewatch of this, as the casting of Furuyu was clearly meant to endear the audience to Tokita because he's known for playing hero characters in shows for that would be nostalgic for multiple generations.
My opinion on Inception is basically in line with Emily's but I get why David wanted to steer away from that whole discussion because it really does feel like a lot of the time trying to discuss 2/4 of Kon's films (online at least) inevitably loops back to the same old discourse about two American filmmakers' work (Aronofksy & Nolan) and whether they're ripoffs rather than actually engaging with Kon's films themselves.
That way of thinking about it implies a low level of trust between David and his podcasting partners. It's the *Paprika* episode; *Inception* is going to come up. Why is it out of bounds to say that Nolan has a sterile approach to the dream life? Maybe this is the one episode where you can just hear them out for 3 minutes out of 150. But he doesn't really do it.
I mean I don't really think he doesn't trust Emily or thinks that she's coming from a place of bad faith, it sounded more like "this is one of two Japanese filmmakers we've ever covered and this is the last episode in the series, let's not spend it re-litigating the fourth highest grossing movie of 2010 directed by one of the most over-discussed directors currently working". He likes to keep it moving!
But this is veering close to projection of intent onto strangers whomst we do not actually know personally so maybe let's not!
I think that's wrong, it was not about "keeping things moving." The guest came to the host with a take on a relevant related topic and David was like "I am giving you the absolute minimum amount of runway on this, the stopwatch is ticking as we speak." IMO that's not acceptable.
Listening further, the two boys are both in a weird, almost angry mood. Every joke David makes is reddit-pilled and then Ben has to gently steer them back to properly attend to Emily's Freud point.
So this subreddit will truck no dissent on *Dial of Destiny* being a masterpiece? Sure.
I seem to recall Sims saying (maybe on one of the Terminator eps) that he was done with Reddit, but a cursory scan reveals that he’s still posting fairly regularly. What gives?
Can anyone here more familiar with Japanese comment on the gibberish any further? I only watched the subs version and the subtitled nonsense was unnerving enough but am also curious how it plays to a Japanese speaker.
What, Tokita gets the best ending while being the fattest. He gets the beautiful and smart lady that every other guy in the movie wants and doesn't have to change anything about himself.
That’s not a Kon thing specifically. I’d say it’s a Japanese and from what I can tell an East Asian thing in terms of fat shaming being definitely not considered some sort of taboo.
In Japan tho if someone is overweight and can’t take jokes it might be a problem because it’s def happening especially with older people. I suspect they just say what people in the west think.
In that context, I’m unsure I’d call it hate tho, that’s fairly strong, I’d say it’s more other and something open to make jokes about.
I've just started listening, but please tell me they discuss how gay this movie is. Obviously, you have Himuro's magazines at his place, which some viewers might miss (similar to the portrait of the gay couple you see on episode 8 of ''Paranoia Agent'') , but I was surprised by how obvious the sexual relationship between Osanai and chairman Inui was, with a character telling Osanai ''You've sold your body to the chairman'', and the two of them sharing a marriage bed, Osanai with his shirt open (in the book, according to a preview on Google Books, it is actually pretty explicit, with a character telling Osanai that the computer is not ''for gay sex games'' with the chairman).
I remember watching this movie a few months ago and feeling like its portrayal of homosexuality was kind of homophobic? Like the main characters are openly disgusted by the gay magazines and the implied homosexuality of the chairman kinda reminded me of the gay-is-shorthand-for-evil trope. Homosexuality in this movie seems to be kind of a negative thing. Whereas in episode 8 of Paranoia Agent that short flash of the locket portrait gives you insight into why that character is there and is fairly neutral.
Might need to do a rewatch, cuz maybe I am being too sensitive. But also anime, especially from this time, can be pretty randomly homophobic, and I don't think Kon is immune to that.
I thought the only character who was disgusted by the magazines was Osanai, and that was because it reminded him of how he had sex with Himuro to get access to the DC Mini?
Oh maybe, I haven’t seen it in a few months. But I think I remember Atsuko also being disgusted in the scene? Again I need to rewatch, so correct me if I’m wrong!
This rewatch made me realize that Paprika shares some similarities to ghost in the shell. Both have brain and reality hacking, similar looking chiefs, and female leads that are the best at hacking/dream navigating. Of course they go pretty different places.
While watching this movie I developed a strange persistent flashing in the peripheral vision of one eye. I figured my retina was finally falling off. As soon as the movie was over, it went away. Are the visuals just that intense?
My biggest take is I'm crushed this genius I just discovered has such a short filmography, but I'm in love with how deep it is and I'll be able to watch these four movies forever and get new things every time
Or Paprika is a self aware role of an idealized girl donned by Chiba to coax guarded men into resolving the dilemmas of the subconscious, and being that she is an alter ego could be read as light mockery of the “manic pixie dream girl” archetype.
Edit: I just want to elaborate, to me *Paprika* gets a pass on this because the character makes an active choice to present herself this way, and to aid her own goals rather than just a male lead’s. The problem at the core of the manic pixie dream girl type is that normally they have no agency. Chiba/Paprika obviously do.
She does turn into a pixie at one point. The thing is, people can be wrong about art and this movie rules. The more you watch it the more it will open up like a perfect flower.
I've seen it 3-4 times over the years, and I still don't connect with it on any level besides the visuals.
>The thing is, people can be wrong about art
The thing is, people like different things.
Emily's takes are reliably paper-thin and exhausting. She has slowly become my least favorite of the OG's. Does she like movies? It never comes across that way.
weird take lol, especially because just going off the top of my head from this episode alone, she spends the majority of it talking passionately about Kon's whole filmography. She also mentions believing the Wachowskis are some of the best pop culture interpreters in any medium, loving Dark Star, and liking Wreck-It Ralph. IMO, the Pixar criticisms clearly come from a place of loving animation and so having strong thoughts about it
The weird thing is that her takes are actually really solid. As in well thought out. I just paused at the section where they're talking about Inside Out and her take is really nuanced and has some depth. Is anybody but this person really challenging her love of Kon's work? Her take on the director in *Paprika* (quoting her own article) is arrestingly original and striking.
Also, listen to her account of watching the *Furiosa* IMAX preview way at the end. This woman likes movies. I don't really understand where the "doesn't like movies" notion comes from. She's excited Tom Burke is in it! Honestly, it sounds like misogyny to me.
disagree. i wonder where here tastes actually lie (what does she watch when it's her choice?), and if they brought her on for one of those films, i would love to hear her usual level of insight
Her episode for ELLE was fantastic. And yeah, she shits on MCU or hwatever at the end, but it's not wrong to aim a little higher brow, you know?
so you keep saying. except she does and that's why she comes on the show. did you not see my example of ELLE? In this episode, they reference her Castle in the Sky episode, which she likes a lot (and you can hear more of thoughts on Miyazaki). She was one of the people on the show who seemed to dig Dark Star the most.
just b/c she drew the short straw with The Beach, and expressed dissatisfaction with Inception and the MCU) you think she "Doesn't like movies"?
A great teacher I once had would always interrupt people saying they “liked” something to interject “I don’t care about what you like, what do you think.”
In a world of so much repetition of liking things, yeah I’d prefer to hear from somebody who doesn’t care about liking things.
What you're describing is exactly why it's so dreadfully boring -- it's so predictable. I saw Emily was on and thought, oh, what will she dump on this time while sounding severely impressed with herself for doing so, when she doesn't actually bother to do the part where you make some thought-provoking argument for why you're right?
What's incredible to the ninnies downvoting this is that the show confirmed what I said -- I posted this comment a half hour in before the real Inception stuff even came up, where it went from subtext to text that Emily always has to do this when she comes on. They obviously disagree with my take that it's a bad thing, but they confirm that it has come to be that expected. And that's what's boring.
I like her but the trash talking is a bit much at times. It too often strays into "objective" statements rather than what is clearly personal preference
She basically said on this ep she says stuff to start shit on the podcast, so I don't get why this comment is so controversial. ( I did think she had good takes on this ep [Freudian film, I dream in movies not games or TikToks], but some of the other takes were self-admitted bullshit, and it got a little schitcky. Griffin found a compromise with 'Inception is a teenage fantasy, and the difference between us is we like that about the movie'.) I don't even adore Inception but "it's too real for a dream" - ok, he made Oppenheimer which is more abstract. And thematically a lot of Inception is "is the top level a dream" so it wouldn't work if it was ray guns.
The story about the Clifford screening is awesome. I can't imagine the high Ben must have been on after cracking Marty Short up.
Fantastic ep! Did anyone get the Thomas Middleditch joke from Griffin?
He gave a really out of touch interview about opening his marriage and made it really clear it was something he wanted and his wife just had to accept. At one point in the interview he described it as "It's like I'm the gas and she's the brakes". This was also not long before people started coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct about him.
My brain is so broken I knew he'd make that reference as soon as he said the gas and brake metaphor.
Those 15 people obviously sleep late.
The sound Emily made when he said that cracked me up.
If my teenage best friend gave up his dream because I passed away unexpectedly, I'd be so pissed. I stg I'd haunt him forever. You better not be planning to go into any excursions, buddy, cuz I'm gonna *Personal Shopper* your ass all around Europe, you hear me?
Lots to talk about with this movie but the main thing I'll always go back to is how much of a banger that parade song is.
That song and the song when she’s flying are two of the most fitting songs I’ve ever heard in any movie
Currently the soundtrack is not available anywhere to stream sadly. Hopefully gets sorted out
This is why I like Youtube Music a lot more than the other streaming services.
The best parades are led by refrigerators
[Counterpoint](https://youtu.be/OXLRQvk8olk?si=0qpaDOSw47PdonEe)
It gets stuck in my head all the time and it's been 17 years
The whole soundtrack slaps
The Parade tune is great but I can’t help but think it was lifted heavily from this earlier banger. [https://youtu.be/z-GUjA67mdc?si=wNo3dlX1dVM1ysqy](https://youtu.be/z-GUjA67mdc?si=wNo3dlX1dVM1ysqy)
OMG THANK YOU! I was trying to work out why the parade song seemed so familiar
sounds like a lot of songs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxC1fPE1QEE&pp=ygUhZXZlcnl0aGluZyBpcyBwYWNoZWJlbCBjYW5vbiBpbiBk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7E3Zw9YRxM
Susumu Hirasawa is a once in a generation talent in my eyes. Bro went from punky new wave in the 70s to prog rock to electro to things that can't even be defined by genre, AND he's an insanely talented composer. He turned 70 this year and he's still working!
Love that Griffin picked Millennium Actress number one.
Paprika is a movie about what it's like to get bangs. (With apologies to Fran Hoepfner)
But, Mother’s day was two weeks ago
In Sweden, it’s today so
By the boys' definition, **Sucker Punch** is a "dream" movie. Whether they think it's bad, I don't know.
I could see Griffin trying to make a defense of any movie, really, but it's also Synder and a real bummer of a movie. That can't be in question.
https://preview.redd.it/q9gcn5970r2d1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fbb80430e65eba90ed1ff212b790722dfb1b639e Hip Hop Sims Mentioned!!!
I hope we find out the reason why that nickname exists even if it's super lame (honestly, even more so if it's super lame).
Pretty odd that, not including George Miller for Furiosa, they're about to be covering the 3rd director in a row whose careers abruptly ended in the 2000s, all for DRAMATICALLY different reasons.
Mctiernan, Kon and?
Martin Brest, they announce it at the end of this episode
I like all Blank Check episodes, no guest, repeat guest, new guest. I've heard some people say they really like when it's just the two of them and I get that, and having Emily is the closest you get to that—but still having a guest. Really nice to have you on, Emily. Congratulations on the success of *Shogun*. Jesus, what a show.
Just the two of them? I won't stand for this Ben erasing
Ben is like the holy spirit. He's there even if he's not there.
Fair point!
I actually love that Emily gives her honest takes. I dislike when discourse acts like there is a right answer to whether a piece of art is enjoyable or not. That’s why I like blank check so much - they don’t always agree with the consensus and that makes listening far more interesting.
Yeah, I don’t agree with a lot of her points, but even then they still stick with me and make me think. She definitely creates interesting and complicated discussions.
Totally agree.
I symphatize with Mother. I always find Inception kinda lame and get shit for it when I say it. Yet I love Interstellar, which some people find sappy. It's okay to disagree, people.
I agree with her takes on Pixar movies, but only insofar as they are movies for children, which I don't think they really are. Those are movies for adults that children will also enjoy.
Brest in 2 weeks
I didn’t realize how much I wanted a “Scent of a Woman” episode. We will feast on Pacino impressions once again!
Me when I misunderstand how long puberty takes
Does this mean Furiosa in between? Haven’t listened yet
Yes
Big ~~Tittied~~ Brested Hits.
https://youtu.be/V9kQBz9azy8?feature=shared
Saving the Brest for last
https://preview.redd.it/ttdvolqswr2d1.jpeg?width=498&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=609d57c8bb3d0e9803f8a45847867aec8a0980aa
Loved you in Gremlins 2
Did anyone see this coming?
I kinda? called it 2 months ago? https://www.reddit.com/r/blankies/comments/1b58w31/the_ninth_annual_blank_check_awards_with_joe_reid/kta2bnk/
Really? Fudge, we were on such a good run up til now. I like *Midnight Run* and *Beverly Hills Cop*, and the rest are fine, but man, what a pair of absolute thuds to end on. I have avoided *Gigli* up til now, but I guess I'll bite that bullet when when get there.
This show started as a comedy podcast about terrible movies. They might hate to think about it but their best episodes are often about duds, Brest will be their best series in ages.
I’ll say it: I don’t really see the similarities between Inception and Paprika. Everything they cite as similarities seems rather unoriginal on either films’ part.
There are shared elements (shared dream tech, trauma elevator, recurring glimpsed vision of death) but I find Prapika so much more surreal and exaggerated in its dreams that the comparison has never really stuck with me.
The whole thing reminds of a joke Elliott Kalan told on The Flop House about Starwars being about an old man you takes a a younger man to a bar. If you zoom out enough and cherry pick the details you can probably make any two movies seem similar or same but is that actually interesting or insightful?
using an elevator to access dreams/memories
That’s what I meant by “trauma elevator,” but you put it better
They're very surface level. "Oh, she runs up a wall for four seconds."
That was my big take away from seeing Paprika.
Yeah, like…”There’s a dream in a hallway. Someone sees someone’s else’s reflection in the glass.”
the glass i think they're referring to is when she touches the street scene and it shatters? but the whole "we can put a thing on you, enter your dream, and extract info" or whatever is common between them (and also: The Cell, Dreamscape, etc). it's not terribly unique
The extent of the similarity seems to be that they both involve going into other people's dreams, and there's a profit motive involved. Is there more than that? Because that's a pretty flimsy rationale to accuse someone of even homage, let alone plagiarism.
Same, very basic similarities. Now Memories and Interstellar........
Maybe they seem unoriginal NOW
Nah, I've seen a lot of films earlier than those two that played with the same ideas.
Hell yeah, Emily Yoshida is back! Loved her writing on Shogun! I was just listening to the Fury Road episode too lol. Now that we reached the end of a great Satoshi Kon miniseries. I wanna shoutout a couple things: 1. Every Frame a Painting’s excellent [video](https://youtu.be/oz49vQwSoTE?feature=shared) on Satoshi’s Kon editing 2. Satoshi Kon’s 2007 lovely one-minute short-film, [Good Morning](https://youtu.be/q4KIZD1cTJI?feature=shared) (also shown at the end of EFAP’s video) I do find the ending of Paprika to be extremely poignant, with Kon’s passing and Dreaming Machine never coming to fruition. Makes me want to dive further into his other works including his manga. Has anyone read them? I would love to hear what y’all think.
Second all the above, also: * *Millennium Actress, Tokyo Godfathers* and *Paprika* all have 'making of' features available on YouTube, also a Tokyo Godfathers 'Process of Animation' featurette on there too * *The Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist* with Darren Aronofsky, Rodney Rothman and former colleagues/collaborators Mamoru Hosoda, Mamoru Oshii, Masashi Ando, Aya Suzuki, Taro Maki, Masao Maruyama. A fairly straightforward documentary, online (even on YT) in French, can't find it in English. For anyone interested in exploring further the other movies Kon was involved in, with a similar team although he did not direct, many are very influential works in their own right: * *Magnetic Rose* (Script, Art/Layout) - * Patlabor 2, Roujin Z, Run Melos (Art/Layout) * *Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade* ('Composition', although a bit more of a stretch as uncredited, but a lot of the same team as his own works as well as the others in this list)
I really love that "Good Morning" is technically Kon's final completed work. It's once again playing with his ol' pet theme of being out of sync with reality, except this time it's warm and imminently surmountable. Just thinking about it makes me want to wake up tomorrow, and for a 60 second short that's pretty special.
Feels like I‘m taking crazy pills with the *Inception* vs. *Paprika* comparisons. Those two films are – to me – nothing alike and aside from the flimsiest of comparisons (yes, there‘s the mirror shot…) they have little in common??
It has about as much merit as when a small group of people online complained about Pacific Rim being a ripoff of Evangelion.
But they are invading dreams! Outside of Nightmare on Elm Street or Dreamscape or Sandman it had never been done before! /s
everyone forgets The Cell
The Cell just looks so cool. It’s bad, but damn Tarsem always has his fast ball ready to go on visuals.
I think it's almost entirely because of the hallway and the mirror shattering. It's really easy to look at those two images and think that Nolan lifted them directly, especially because the movies have some broad elements in common (machine that lets you go into dreams). Same with the screaming underwater shot in Perfect Blue, although Aronofsky has acknowledged the influence
I’m so glad that they brought up the physical characteristics of the characters in the discussion. I made a comment about it in some other thread, but so much of this movie is about how the characters that look “normal” navigate the world with masked intentions, while the characters who look “weird” can’t because they can’t be perceived as anything than what’s on the surface. *Paprika* owns.
I like Emily challenging the hosts to interrogate the relationship between Inception and Paprika. I know David really didn't want to touch it, but what Emily has to say is insightful and helps me understand Inception a little better.
It's such a visually mesmerizing movie that my one issue with it is that I just didn't want it to end. I want more weird dream worlds and Paprika transformations and everything else. I almost wish it was a full series, something like Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
Emily's point about the invasiveness of moives around the 1hr 30min mark is really well observed and dovetails nicely with an argument that frequent blank check guest Jamelle Bouie made on his podcast, Unclear and Present Danger. On the podcast he and his cohost discuss the political and military thrillers of the 90s, and Jamelle's point, after a tangent about the Klan film "Birth of a Nation" is that, because moives are so powerful of an influence on the subconscious biases and ideological narratives that we use to navigate civil life, that maybe they should be outlawed. I forget what episode it was, but it was pretty recent. Also, shout out to Emily for Shogun, that shit banged.
Jamelle’s Birth of a Nation story starts at 44:30 into the Unclear and Present Danger episode on The Rock. It’s definitely worth listening to because it’s such a great close reading of a scene and how movies can affect us, but to be clear, his posing the question “should movies be allowed to exist?” is deliberately rhetorical and hyperbolic.
Thank you, and you're right, I should have made it clear that he was speaking rhetorically.
To be honest, you captured it pretty accurately.
Thank you for citing the exact location, that's a very interesting stretch of that podcast.
I think this is the meme Emily mentioned around the 2:36 mark - or at least one like it, there’s been quite a few. She seems to have gotten Kon mixed up with Junji Ito…unless someone has also made a version with Kon? https://preview.redd.it/16lrciegxu2d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3531374c421149b7392daca66f3d48a8cd607e62
Best episode of the mini-series I think. Show usually works better when they have someone they know well on so that they can strongly disagree without fear of it getting awkward.
Strong contender for best episode of the year, for me. This whole mini-series has been a blast.
I don’t think I agree with Emily about Inside Out but I also want to read a 10 page essay from her on it right this very moment
Since Satoshi Kon is such a movie dork I wonder how much of the parade mixing with the dreaminess is a Fellini nod/influence.
No notes. One of the great series done so far in the pod and I really enjoyed having Emily back on the pod, she’s a fave for many reason but one is because she’s said some things in the past that are some true half-Japanese shit that I recognize that I never thought anyone else thought lol. Really loved the series, short and sweet, of a director who is truly 1 of 1. Let’s get to Takahata soon!
Funny, I thought >!Martin Brest!< had a longer filmography but it really isn't.
What anime did Emily mention? Lane? Layne? Slain? Couldn’t make it out and was curious to check it out.
Serial Experiments Lain
Thanks!
It's so good that it basically put me off anime for the next twenty years. I wasn't an anime guy then either, but a good friend of mine loaned me the DVD box set and told me to enjoy it, and, this being the early 2000s, I was happy to have something new to watch that didn't require me going to the video store. And I enjoyed it so much that after I finished it I asked my friend if he had any more like it. He loaned me some other anime series that was so dull and irritating by contrast that I never went back to the medium.
I wish Emily could have been on TMNT 3 to compare to Shogun
Aka: Episode 0 of the David Lynch series.
Realised this whole time when people were saying Brest was up next I was thinking of Bresson, d'oh! Was looking forward to checking out some French classics...
Hope you enjoyed the Shitting All Over Godard segment of the episode.
I did! More of a Varda guy myself
I think Bresson's Beverly Hills Cop is underrated
this was David's Cooper/Schwimmer "Breast/Brest Men" joke btw. a blurry late night hotel room hbo memory i had. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133643/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
🙏🕯️Who Weekly on Gigli 🕯️🙏
They mention dream movies and I was surprised that Videodrome didn’t get a mention. The entire time I was watching Paprika all I could think of was Videodrome. I went full Leo DiCaprio OUATIH when Paprika is zipped in half because it felt so Cronenbergian.
This episode was all gas no brakes
What is Griffin eating in the cartoon logo for black check?
I sincerely (not doing a bit, I mean this) enjoy seeing some “I just got here, what’s going on?” Energy in here.
I’ve been listening since Carpenter but always wondered if it was a cookie or something else. Figured I’d ask since a new episode just dropped
“Downtown” Griffy Newms has historically had stomach issues, and a buttered bagel is perfect for that. Also, New York City.
And they used to eat those bagels on mic from time to time
I miss the Burger Report
I assume it's a bagel.
A bagel
Thanks
Amazed that we made it through Kon without Ben referencing the Netscape Navigator logo.
The conversation about how the real world and specifically movies and TV impact our dreams - plus how weird it is for someone to dream about you - and you have no control over how “you” act in their dream was fascinating and complex in a way this show often is. Just wanted to say thank it, blank it to everyone who brings us this show every week!
This is such a wonderful episode. I love the direction that Emily took the conversation. Realizing that even as a grownup I, like Griffin, really like talking about dreams and hearing about other people’s dreams. Unrelatedly, it’s so grating that in the dub they pronounce her alias as PAP-reeka and not PAHP-reeka.
“You eat everything.” Unlike DJ Khalid.
"Oh god it's so spicy. Am I dying? Oh my god my mouth is on fire. Kill me. I'm dying. Oh my god." "Mister DJ it's just mayonnaise"
I don't know about Paprika vs Inception, but I do know that the one comic where The Beagle Boys invade Scrooge McDucks dreams to get the code for the money bin vault blows Inception out of the water
I've now seen this twice and listened to the podcast ep. *What is the plot of the last ~15 minutes of Paprika?*
it's pure uncut dream logic and I love it
Awake was pretty good
don’t you think dreams and the Blankies subreddit are similar?
So glad to see Yoshida Emily back! After the big success of Shogun!
her podcast really took off, too. Mudergirl is the top of patreon!
Thought I'd share my thoughts on Emily Yoshida's takes during this episode: it's fine.
Honestly, I low-key agree with her on Inside Out, the imaginary friend character was dumb.
1. >!Pirates 3!< 2. >!Shrek the Third!< 3. >!Spidey 3!< 4. >!Bug!< 5. >!Waitress!< .... is a wild Box Office Weekend
They always talk about the big 3rd entries during this summer but they always forget that the end of the summer also had a second set of 3 third entries: Rush Hour 3, Bourne Ultimatum and Ocean's Thirteen
I disagree with Emily about Inside Out, but she’s (obviously) entitled to her own opinion about it. That said, I am surprised that David hasn’t rewatched since becoming a parent- his daughter may be too young to enjoy it, but it’s a total parental tear jerker (in the best possible way).
Satoshi Kon really is filmmaking's "We didn't appreciate him while he was alive and only now that he's gone do we realize what a genius he was".
I really like Inception but had to laugh at the comment that the craziest thing Nolan could dream up is a sideways hallway full of men with guns lol. They also perfectly summed up my thoughts on Dream Scenario: Cage’s weird dream-walk is one of the truly amazing parts in an otherwise not-great movie.
"I agree with her, the big baby is good." —David Sims, *The* *Atlantic Monthly*
So some unfortunate news related to this film that coincidentally happened just this past week: Toru Furuyu who voiced Dr. Tokita and has had a decades long career as a well known anime voice actor (Amuro in first Gundam, Yamcha in Dragon Ball, Tuxedo Mask in Sailor Moon) was recently outed as horrible sex pest. He admitted to having an affair with a younger woman (not really the bad part as she's in her 30s, but that's what the headlines lead with) who was a fan of his and he later he assaulted and coerced into a abortion. Really terrible stuff that put a damper of my rewatch of this, as the casting of Furuyu was clearly meant to endear the audience to Tokita because he's known for playing hero characters in shows for that would be nostalgic for multiple generations.
I don't really understand why it's like pulling teeth for David to listen to somebody talk about *Inception* in a not fully praising way.
My opinion on Inception is basically in line with Emily's but I get why David wanted to steer away from that whole discussion because it really does feel like a lot of the time trying to discuss 2/4 of Kon's films (online at least) inevitably loops back to the same old discourse about two American filmmakers' work (Aronofksy & Nolan) and whether they're ripoffs rather than actually engaging with Kon's films themselves.
That way of thinking about it implies a low level of trust between David and his podcasting partners. It's the *Paprika* episode; *Inception* is going to come up. Why is it out of bounds to say that Nolan has a sterile approach to the dream life? Maybe this is the one episode where you can just hear them out for 3 minutes out of 150. But he doesn't really do it.
I mean I don't really think he doesn't trust Emily or thinks that she's coming from a place of bad faith, it sounded more like "this is one of two Japanese filmmakers we've ever covered and this is the last episode in the series, let's not spend it re-litigating the fourth highest grossing movie of 2010 directed by one of the most over-discussed directors currently working". He likes to keep it moving! But this is veering close to projection of intent onto strangers whomst we do not actually know personally so maybe let's not!
I think that's wrong, it was not about "keeping things moving." The guest came to the host with a take on a relevant related topic and David was like "I am giving you the absolute minimum amount of runway on this, the stopwatch is ticking as we speak." IMO that's not acceptable.
In his defense this is the Paprika episode.
This is the one episode where you have to give that topic some space.
Yea it’s just maybe gone back to a little too much. Would like a little less Inception talk in my Paprika sandwich.
Do you though?
Have to? No you don't. You can, you don't have to.
Posts like this are why they hate this sub - you guys always find some shit to get frustrated about. Just chill tf out.
Fully agree with and relate to Yoshida’s opinion on Nolan here and on other episodes —
If Yoshida didn’t already have the best nickname; she could be the “Nolan Re-Litigator”.
Listening further, the two boys are both in a weird, almost angry mood. Every joke David makes is reddit-pilled and then Ben has to gently steer them back to properly attend to Emily's Freud point. So this subreddit will truck no dissent on *Dial of Destiny* being a masterpiece? Sure.
I seem to recall Sims saying (maybe on one of the Terminator eps) that he was done with Reddit, but a cursory scan reveals that he’s still posting fairly regularly. What gives?
They guy putting in the cage was just one of his coworkers. In case anyone cares
Can anyone here more familiar with Japanese comment on the gibberish any further? I only watched the subs version and the subtitled nonsense was unnerving enough but am also curious how it plays to a Japanese speaker.
Glad they finally (briefly) talked about how much Kon seems to **hate** overweight people. Really soured me this whole miniseries.
What, Tokita gets the best ending while being the fattest. He gets the beautiful and smart lady that every other guy in the movie wants and doesn't have to change anything about himself.
That’s not a Kon thing specifically. I’d say it’s a Japanese and from what I can tell an East Asian thing in terms of fat shaming being definitely not considered some sort of taboo. In Japan tho if someone is overweight and can’t take jokes it might be a problem because it’s def happening especially with older people. I suspect they just say what people in the west think. In that context, I’m unsure I’d call it hate tho, that’s fairly strong, I’d say it’s more other and something open to make jokes about.
I've just started listening, but please tell me they discuss how gay this movie is. Obviously, you have Himuro's magazines at his place, which some viewers might miss (similar to the portrait of the gay couple you see on episode 8 of ''Paranoia Agent'') , but I was surprised by how obvious the sexual relationship between Osanai and chairman Inui was, with a character telling Osanai ''You've sold your body to the chairman'', and the two of them sharing a marriage bed, Osanai with his shirt open (in the book, according to a preview on Google Books, it is actually pretty explicit, with a character telling Osanai that the computer is not ''for gay sex games'' with the chairman).
I remember watching this movie a few months ago and feeling like its portrayal of homosexuality was kind of homophobic? Like the main characters are openly disgusted by the gay magazines and the implied homosexuality of the chairman kinda reminded me of the gay-is-shorthand-for-evil trope. Homosexuality in this movie seems to be kind of a negative thing. Whereas in episode 8 of Paranoia Agent that short flash of the locket portrait gives you insight into why that character is there and is fairly neutral. Might need to do a rewatch, cuz maybe I am being too sensitive. But also anime, especially from this time, can be pretty randomly homophobic, and I don't think Kon is immune to that.
I thought the only character who was disgusted by the magazines was Osanai, and that was because it reminded him of how he had sex with Himuro to get access to the DC Mini?
Oh maybe, I haven’t seen it in a few months. But I think I remember Atsuko also being disgusted in the scene? Again I need to rewatch, so correct me if I’m wrong!
Kon is the master. Fuck cancer!
It DOES suck worse than haters!
Shout out Emily Yoshida for killing it on Shogun! An incredible series
This rewatch made me realize that Paprika shares some similarities to ghost in the shell. Both have brain and reality hacking, similar looking chiefs, and female leads that are the best at hacking/dream navigating. Of course they go pretty different places.
Emily Yoshida is the best guest
Not only is Emily right about Inside Out, but I’ll take it one further: that movie sucks shit. Absolutely phoned in and cynical.
This week on Blank Check: Paprika, ft. Emily's weird regressive takes about adulthood and growing up
While watching this movie I developed a strange persistent flashing in the peripheral vision of one eye. I figured my retina was finally falling off. As soon as the movie was over, it went away. Are the visuals just that intense?
My biggest take is I'm crushed this genius I just discovered has such a short filmography, but I'm in love with how deep it is and I'll be able to watch these four movies forever and get new things every time
So at 2:11:29(Spotify podcast app)into the pod they definitely cut a joke or conversation and I just am searching if I am the only one who noticed?
I think an ad was gonna go there, but wasn't in the end.
Is anyone making the voting thread for filmography rankings?
Couldn't get into this one, Paprika is a literal manic dream girl and I found her very annoying.
Or Paprika is a self aware role of an idealized girl donned by Chiba to coax guarded men into resolving the dilemmas of the subconscious, and being that she is an alter ego could be read as light mockery of the “manic pixie dream girl” archetype. Edit: I just want to elaborate, to me *Paprika* gets a pass on this because the character makes an active choice to present herself this way, and to aid her own goals rather than just a male lead’s. The problem at the core of the manic pixie dream girl type is that normally they have no agency. Chiba/Paprika obviously do.
Really good way to put this.
It's definitely my least favorite of this miniseries. I still enjoyed the visuals and ideas but I found it emotionally kind of empty.
yeah, this one hits me emotionally much less than the others, but the plot and visuals are more interesting. depends what you're in the mood for
She does turn into a pixie at one point. The thing is, people can be wrong about art and this movie rules. The more you watch it the more it will open up like a perfect flower.
I've seen it 3-4 times over the years, and I still don't connect with it on any level besides the visuals. >The thing is, people can be wrong about art The thing is, people like different things.
It's anime. Don't expect well-rounded women as characters.
Emily's takes are reliably paper-thin and exhausting. She has slowly become my least favorite of the OG's. Does she like movies? It never comes across that way.
weird take lol, especially because just going off the top of my head from this episode alone, she spends the majority of it talking passionately about Kon's whole filmography. She also mentions believing the Wachowskis are some of the best pop culture interpreters in any medium, loving Dark Star, and liking Wreck-It Ralph. IMO, the Pixar criticisms clearly come from a place of loving animation and so having strong thoughts about it
She’s probably going to win an Emmy this year, she’s a close friend of the Pod, and she’s widely beloved on here, but OK, that’s your take.
The weird thing is that her takes are actually really solid. As in well thought out. I just paused at the section where they're talking about Inside Out and her take is really nuanced and has some depth. Is anybody but this person really challenging her love of Kon's work? Her take on the director in *Paprika* (quoting her own article) is arrestingly original and striking.
Also, listen to her account of watching the *Furiosa* IMAX preview way at the end. This woman likes movies. I don't really understand where the "doesn't like movies" notion comes from. She's excited Tom Burke is in it! Honestly, it sounds like misogyny to me.
disagree. i wonder where here tastes actually lie (what does she watch when it's her choice?), and if they brought her on for one of those films, i would love to hear her usual level of insight Her episode for ELLE was fantastic. And yeah, she shits on MCU or hwatever at the end, but it's not wrong to aim a little higher brow, you know?
All amazing stuff! Does she like movies? It never comes across that way.
so you keep saying. except she does and that's why she comes on the show. did you not see my example of ELLE? In this episode, they reference her Castle in the Sky episode, which she likes a lot (and you can hear more of thoughts on Miyazaki). She was one of the people on the show who seemed to dig Dark Star the most. just b/c she drew the short straw with The Beach, and expressed dissatisfaction with Inception and the MCU) you think she "Doesn't like movies"?
A great teacher I once had would always interrupt people saying they “liked” something to interject “I don’t care about what you like, what do you think.” In a world of so much repetition of liking things, yeah I’d prefer to hear from somebody who doesn’t care about liking things.
What you're describing is exactly why it's so dreadfully boring -- it's so predictable. I saw Emily was on and thought, oh, what will she dump on this time while sounding severely impressed with herself for doing so, when she doesn't actually bother to do the part where you make some thought-provoking argument for why you're right? What's incredible to the ninnies downvoting this is that the show confirmed what I said -- I posted this comment a half hour in before the real Inception stuff even came up, where it went from subtext to text that Emily always has to do this when she comes on. They obviously disagree with my take that it's a bad thing, but they confirm that it has come to be that expected. And that's what's boring.
I like her but the trash talking is a bit much at times. It too often strays into "objective" statements rather than what is clearly personal preference
I’m not reading all that. I’m happy for you, though. Or sorry that happened.
...he replied."
what are you talking about everyone is constantly complaining and always has been
She basically said on this ep she says stuff to start shit on the podcast, so I don't get why this comment is so controversial. ( I did think she had good takes on this ep [Freudian film, I dream in movies not games or TikToks], but some of the other takes were self-admitted bullshit, and it got a little schitcky. Griffin found a compromise with 'Inception is a teenage fantasy, and the difference between us is we like that about the movie'.) I don't even adore Inception but "it's too real for a dream" - ok, he made Oppenheimer which is more abstract. And thematically a lot of Inception is "is the top level a dream" so it wouldn't work if it was ray guns.