S4E19: The Italian Job (2003)

The fact that they got the guy from Fight Club to be the Incredible Hulk and it wasn't just stunt casting is just so great. Apparently he wanted more creative control than Marvel was willing to give him and that's why the Hulk is Mark Ruffalo now (who is also good IMO) and that's consistent with how Norton took control of a few productions. Good performer, though.

"Thank you so much for thinking of me in relation to this call to adventure, but I'm actually at capacity right now" <3

I'm so sorry, when Charlize Theron's character asks her dad if the jewelry he got her "has a receipt" it's because she thinks he stole it!!!! It's not "you know nothing about me" it's "i think you're stealing again and I disapprove". This movie was on tv a lot when I was a tween and I imprinted on it a normal amount anyway I think it's a very efficient character exposition line to have at the top of the movie and it stuck with me since like age 8

I feel like the only person who remembers Seth Green was in Idle Hands

With regard to Edward Norton's acting range, it would be fascinating to hear y'all cover Death To Smoochy as a bonus episode. He's as pure and innocent a hero in that as he is a mustache-twirling villain in this. The film actually has a lot to say about masculinity, and the number of things that his character was right about seems to just keep going up over time (the first time I ever heard the term "gluten-free", in 2002!).

Damn girl, that media analysis was so nuanced ans poignant it gave me gender dysphoria

I'm not sure it's a heist movie, but Hobbs and Shaw is canonically (sort of) in the Italian Job cinematic universe

Referencing 16 min. in: I think Chev Chelios is Greek. Best I’ve got.

I am begging you folx to do Torque you will have a great time and it’s completely unhinged.

November’s gonna come back from the gas leak posting bangers left and right like that one girl on twitter

Stealing what everyone else said to hold pretensions at individuality... sort of like a genetarive AI

Philadelphia, known for a nuke currently stored in one podcaster's basement (does not belong to said podcaster)

How could Gas betray the podcast like this?

This podcast’s hosts’ proximity to Well There’s Your Problem through November makes their lack of Philadelphia familiarity both surprising and unacceptable.

Sadly my new name has not made it to the patreon. Not stressed. Its wheneverconvenient. I swear. Do not work more than adding it to whenever you rerecord the jazz outro regularly, Devon. James tynion IV has written the most profound comic on propaganda of the 21st century and getting folks to "read the department of truth" is my missionary goal.

A few thoughts - I took Theron asking her dad DOES YOUR GIFT HAVE A RECIEPT less as "I am going to return this" and more "you stole this, didnt you, and you are sending me stolen shit that I, your cop adjacent child do not approve of. My main memory of Crank II is watching some WWE event sponsored by the film and Paul Heyman repeatedly screaming HE'LL DO ANYTHING TO KEEP HIS HEART ON in a way that sounded like he was saying HARD ON over and over and over again. Also and this is not a defense of him in any way, the man who Wahlberg attacked has apparently made peace with him, which probably says more about his capacity for forgiveness than Marky Mark not being shitty.

I admire Milo no-selling each and every joke by Abbi. Bold.

Wait, is Edward Norton's character in glass onion a riff on his character in this?

SET IT OFF SET IT OFF SET IT OFF

can confirm gay ace transmasc head goes crazy

Listening to this soon. I'm feeling Italian job and musical.

If I had a nickel for every time Charlize Theron played a character in a film who was the main protagonist in that her growth and her choices drive the plot but was not the main character in the sense of who viewpoint character is I'd have two nickels that I know of, which is not a lot etc etc.

I appreciate Abi's fondness for mid 2000s America, because as an American, the period fills me with a sense of looming dread. I'm glad at least others can look on it fondly.

Things in Philadelphia: Liam and Justin from WTYP A bell

As an American, I fully support the America slagging throughout the pod today.

A sound system that could blow clothes off would not only deafen everyone in the room, but probably damage a bunch of organs necessary for being alive.

Every time I'm reminded that Mark Wahlberg is in this movie I feel disgusted and disappointed, which is a shame because it sounds like a good movie.

F. Gary Gray should be the name of a guy who did like, Watergate Plumber stuff instead of making Law Abiding Citizen and Lift (!)

oh hey that's the guy from buffy the vampire slayer

Amazing that you talk about Philadelphia when the resident honorary Philadelphian isn't here.

only about 30 minutes in but I actually find the idea of someone who only buys the things other people wanted to buy to be pretty compelling. to me that shows the character to either have a kind of spiteful sense of humor or, like, a sort of nasty sadistic desire to just take things from people. (it also reminds me of rich people and wannabe rich people who buy things not for their own value, but because the things are valued by others. they don't have their own sense of desire outside of showing people that they can afford the things others desire) If every day he looks at the things he knows he took from people, and takes joy from the fact that he has it and they don't? yes it's empty but it's a kind of emptiness that underlines that the ability to perform the cruelty was kind of the point. It's not that he had something greater to strive for it's literally JUST that he wanted to take it. obviously idk if i'm reading into that more than the movie is but i kind of like it.

Ed Norton wasn't offered the Hulk role in later Marvel movies, quite the opposite. He co-wrote the script for The Incredible Hulk and was one of the producers, and got into a major spat with the studio over the tone of the film. His script featured a lot of scenes of Banner struggling with depression with his therapist (who ended up only having a cameo in the final film) and even attempting suicide at the end. The battle over the final cut ruined Norton's relationship with Marvel and they replaced him with Mark Ruffalo. My source: my cousin's ex-husband, who was also a producer on the film but by taking Norton's side, ended the upward trajectory of his career.

I think Seth’s warhammer 40K emperors children adjacent sonic weapon should be unprovoked violence like if it can rip apart clothing it probably does more then deafen you

Oh man you guys made my day, I loved this movie when I watched it with my dad as a little kid and I was bracing myself for you to tear it apart. It warms my heart that at least Abigail saw something good in it.

Ed Norton had to do this movie out of a contractual obligation and told his “real fans” to skip it

Abigail becoming podcast captain in the same way a junior lieutenant becomes captain on Star Trek (all the officers that outrank her were taken out by evil gas)

There's a very subtle delay and slightly longer than usual silences. Hoping not to ruin it again, is it a little Verfremdungseffekt innit it

Never forget that Seth Green wrote on and produced a show called Tucker. A Malcolm in The Middle rip-off in which he, a 27 year old Seth Green played himself... a 27 year old Seth Green who was engaged to a 15 year old girl. It lasted 1 season and was worse than you can imagine...

I'm with Abby, this is a movie that works are the base levels. Yes it's derivative and smarmy, but it is also quite fun. Little disappointed we didn't get bits about the Ukrainians storing an axe in a golf club bag, because that's just a wild thing that I feel like the KJB crew could run with, but we can't have everything in life.

Pretty sure there's arcade-adjacent stuff on the Santa Monica pier? I lived there for a while, which means I never actually went to the pier, but that's the kind of tourist thing I'd expect there.

Going off of Seth Green's character's objective, I can only assume this is a guy who saw a cartoon with a woman having her clothes blown off by a speaker as a kid, and it's been lodged in his psyche ever since. Like he is this universe's Wonder Bread guy, and every scene where he's on a computer he's got 20 tabs of DeviantArt open.

I hate to be this guy but Seth Green was NOT the Shermanator, it was Chris Owen.

November not being including in Philly chat feels like the punishment of a cruel god

“US-ian huge Minis“, anyone?

I just had my own niche information conversation complaining that an author described a snake wrong. He was very close but I am very picky.

Please do Little Nicky in memory of Ozzy

I'm here for a Mos Def appreciation hour, can't wait to hear everybody agree with me