Past Lives / Jack Daniel's 12-Year Tennessee Whiskey

0:00 In 2023, director Celine Song and star Greta Lee gave the world a quiet drama about the beauty of intertwining stories and fateful choices. In 2025, we take a cue from this movie's 12 year increments with our Whiskey for the day. The film is past lives. The whiskey is Jack Daniels 12 year batch 1. And more. Review them both. This is the Film and Whiskey podcast. Welcome to the Film and Whiskey podcast, where each week we review a classic movie and a glass of whiskey. I'm Bob Book.

0:57 I'm Brad G. And this week we are looking at one of Bob Book's favorite movies of the last God knows how long ever of all time. It's 2023's Past Lives. Bob, you have been just raving about this film since it came out, and I very famously watched it due to your influence on the back of an airplane seat as I flew to Colorado. Now, as I recall this story going, Brad, not only did you watch this movie on an airplane, which depending on the time of day and the fullness of the airplane, could be a good airplane watch. It's a very quiet movie. Like it's, you know, if you're on a red eye, this is a great movie. But you were also surrounded by people who were watching the film Barbie on surrounding screens. Is that right?

1:44 Sure was. There was just one person a row in front of me to the right, so I could like see like 70% of their screen. And I used the soundless 70% of the screen, you know, occasional glances at that, that film to decide that I don't like Barbie. But I mean, nevertheless a prominent distraction given that movie's color palette and just general vibe. So not ideal circumstances to watch this movie. And I will also say on rewatch, for myself, at least, not ideal circumstances for watching this movie because we're recording this on the morning of Saturday the 11th. So a little over a week before this episode comes out, and famously for us huge Ohio State Buckeyes fans, it is the morning.

2:35 The morning following Ohio State's win over Texas in the college football semifinals. I would say when this episode releases, we will know if we are the national champions once again. Yeah, it could be good or bad for us, but we're currently flying high off of that win. And then I immediately had to go watch this movie, which is a very quiet and admittedly a slow paced movie. So the adrenaline doesn't. Quite have the same ring as a 83 yard scoop and score to win the game. Yeah, that that carryover was a little weird. Man the 1st 30 ish minutes of this movie. I had to really reorient myself to get in the zone here. Yeah, and this is a movie worth getting in the zone for.

3:19 If I had to imagine, Bob, I'm going to guess that maybe 20 to 30% of film and Whiskey Nation has seen this movie. Would you say that's fair? Yeah, probably less than that. I mean, people don't watch the quote UN quote Oscar movies anymore and this wasn't a lot of ways the little engine that could last year just to get a nomination because I think a 24 released this movie in like March, May. It was really, really early on in the year and because the reviews were so good, it carried positive momentum. And it was like, I remember when the Oscar nominations came out, it was kind of like, will this get that 9th or 10th slot because it had just fallen so far out of people's memories? But it was a really well liked movie.

4:00 I say all that to say, I don't know if people would have seen this movie in theaters. I don't know if people have caught it on like wherever it's streaming, Hulu, but maybe if you follow the Oscars, you've gone back to see this film. Bob This is streaming currently on the wildly popular Paramount Plus. Paramount Plus, baby. OK, but you know what's funny is like I've never, I've never thought to myself like I want an entire studios catalogue and only that studios catalogue. Sign me up. Like Max is the closest I've gotten cause Warner Brothers is really a great back catalogue. But when are you ever going to be like I associate this with Paramount.

4:42 So I want to sign up for Paramount. The the only thing that I know that is like I do associate with Paramount is the Mission Impossible series. Well worth a Paramount Plus subscription. I currently have had Paramount Plus for about 4 1/2 years. What? Really. Yeah, I we paid for well. So I'll say this, we signed up like right when it opened for their yearly membership because we want to watch some survivor. Haley was pregnant with our first child and like that was just her go to. Like I'm annoyed at the world. I just want to chill and watch Survivor and I like Survivor as well.

5:27 So we signed up for a year and a few months later I was like, man, I don't know if our credit card actually charged for that. And then like a year later I was like, man, we still haven't gotten charged for Paramount Plus. And here we are four years in. I have never once paid for Paramount Plus and yet still have full access. Well. They they've got you now because you've confessed on air, Brad. So. That's true. Yeah, the end of Brad's Paramount Plus subscription is coming soon, but it's time for us to talk about this movie. So in order to do that, let's get into our first segment of the day, which we call Brad Explains Brad's going to give. Us the movie plots with only 60 seconds taken on the clock. So let's go ahead and do your take with this little segment that we call, Brad explains.

6:10 Brad Explains is the part of the show where Brad breaks down the plot of the movie that he has just seen often for the first time. This is, I believe, my third full time through with Past Lives. And then I caught the end of it on like we have a DIRECTV subscription and I think it comes with stars or one of those. I found the last five minutes of it one night and I was like, oh hell yeah, I'll watch the last five minutes of this. So I'm at like 3.1 viewings of this movie now. Brad, I think this is your second full viewing, first where it got your full attention. So I'm pretty excited to hear you explain this movie. Is it fair to say pretty simple plot. Very simple plot. All right, well, I'll give you a full minute. You can use it however you'd like. 60 seconds. Spoil this movie and go.

6:57 Past Lives is a film that follows 3 main characters, Nora, Heysung, and Arthur. Nora and Haysung were childhood friends when Nora's parents emigrated to Canada and then she eventually goes to New York. Haysung is a childhood friend that they kind of childhood sweethearts if you will. They reconnect for a little bit in 2012 when they're in their mid 20s. They separate because distance is keeping them apart. And then 12 years later, they finally reconnect in person for the first time in 24 years, where Nora is married to an American author named Arthur, and the three of them spend a few days in town together, exploring what it means to live their lives, fully embracing the choices that they've made. Brad, I love this movie, and I think I've talked enough on this podcast about how much I love this movie that people will know.

7:58 I've been looking forward to today. I want to try to make this as much about your experience with the film as possible. But I think that the movie is such a deep, aching, vulnerable exploration of longing and regrets and grief and commitment and affirmation that in me at least, it inspired me. I, I went to see this movie The second time I took my wife. I was like, I really want you to see this with me. And we had one of the best conversations we've ever had about the nature of marriage and commitment on the way home from this movie. I think if you engage with this movie on its terms, it brings up a vulnerability in yourself. And so I don't, you know, I, I obviously I'm not going to make you like name every sweetheart you've ever had in your life here, Brad, my soul.

8:51 But I do think that we'll probably get a little bit more wax poetic, I guess, is what I would say today, because I think that's the kind of thing that this movie inspires in me. So if you don't enjoy that, you can get the. Hell out of here, yeah. You can turn a few episodes ago and listen to our Mad Max episode. It will. You will enjoy it thoroughly. So let's set the stage a little bit here because this is the directorial debut of Celine Song and this is a semi autobiographical movie. So in the press notes that 824 put out, they said that she had the idea for the movie when she was in a very similar situation to this, where she was in a bar in New York City one night and she was sitting between her husband on one side and her childhood sweetheart who was visiting from Korea on the other side.

9:41 And this idea for a movie in which, you know, you're crossing the boundary of different past versions of yourself and bridging that gap. And what would it look like if there was still love involved? And then, you know, like the contours of the movie started to come to her in that moment. And I think that what if I could just set the states this way, Brad, what always strikes me about this movie is it's really specific to these three people, but it's so deeply taps into the universal. And I'm just curious, like, does that resonate with you here? Yeah, I think that, hey, my first question is, do you think that her childhood sweetheart gets residuals for this, this script because like he is the inspiration for the whole film? Maybe, you know what?

10:30 Maybe let's get that out of the way first. So she's married to the screenwriter Justin Kuritsky's, I think his last name is. And it is very funny to look at the the way that they both analyze their relationship through their work. So Celine Song comes out with this movie and then it gets announced that Justin Kuritsky's is working with the director Luca Guadagnino this year. And they're making this movie called Challengers, which is a highly sexualized movie in which a domineering, manipulative, sexually, I guess, domineering again, Zendaya, like is dominatrix Zendaya, Yeah, kind of is pulling strings with these two guys in her life that have been part of her life for years and years and years. So then people are like, well, is this his take on this exact same story?

11:25 And then it gets announced that her next movie that's coming out, I think next year. It's a movie called Materialists. Here's the plot line that they've released so far. Set in New York City, the film follows the story of a matchmaker, her ex-boyfriend and a wealthy businessman. So it's they are really plumbing the depths of their own Freudian psyche here, Brad. Yeah, I was going to say, man, whatever it takes, make that money. Make that money. Love triangles, man, people, people just enjoy love triangles. And I think that's like the fascinating thing about this film is I don't it's not the love triangle that you think it is.

12:07 You know what I mean? Like the love triangle is hey Sung and 12 year old Nora and adult Nora trying to reclaim who she was as a child and experience that a little bit again, but also still be an adult who's married to Arthur. And the husband is like just honored to get a glimpse into who his wife was as a child in a very foreign world to him. It's like a really weird, almost like a time hopping love triangle A. 100% yeah. And I think that I've already compared this movie on this podcast before to Brief Encounter, which is a movie from the 1940s that, you know, Brad had never heard of until I I put it on the schedule, I think in our season 5 where we could just pick whatever we wanted and.

12:57 Really leaned into that one. And it ended up being one of our favorite movies that we've ever watched on this podcast. And I think that Brief Encounter or Past Lives is a brief encounter for our times, Brad. It's a really mature exploration of the people we are, the people we have been. The fact that when people exit your lives, they don't necessarily exit your thoughts or your desires. That we never get a chance to reconcile with loss when it happens suddenly and what that looks like when it resurfaces in our life. And I think that both of these are movies for grown-ups. Like if you're going to go into this movie with this attitude of like, this is a movie in which a woman parades around her ex in front of her husband, then you are already looking at this movie through the the wrong lens. It's a super sympathetic movie to everyone. And I think that because it is equally sympathetic and empathetic to its characters, it forces you as an audience member to put on your big boy pants and take it at its own terms, which is what do mature people do when confronted with issues in their relationships?

14:10 And that's the beauty of this movie. You know, there's an interview with director Celine Song where she talked about how so many dramas deal with adults acting like their children and making immature decisions. And she wanted to explore, like, what do you do when adults still act like adults? They still lean into their responsibilities and who they've chosen to be rather than like, second guessing the decisions that they've made, and yet also just engage with their emotions on an honest level. And like, it is easily the most mature movie I think I've seen ever. Like, everybody is honest about where they're at, honest about what's going through their heart at the time, and yet still, like makes good decisions.

15:05 They're honoring to one another. Dude, when Hey Sung looks at Nora and says, I didn't think it would hurt so much to like your husband. Like what a great freaking line, dude. I think that if you're going to knock this movie, you could say that this is like a millennial's wet dream. Of what, you know, liberal ideas of like consent and openness and all. Like it's a very like, do people really act like this in real life? And yet I think because it it kind of makes you accepted on those terms. I never once thought that the movie was cloying or pandering or talking down to anybody. It didn't seem preachy.

15:48 It was just these are people who have really clear, open communication with each other and this is how they would respond in a situation like this. And what it ultimately leads to is a movie that more than any other I can remember in the last, you know, 10-15 years is incredibly respectful of what a marriage is about. I think if this was the more Hollywood eyes version of this movie, you know, it's it's a story about her sleeping with him and then trying to figure out, do I want to stay with my husband? And there's even a great scene in the middle of the movie, which we'll talk about at some point where the two where Nora and Arthur are talking about what a great story this would make.

16:32 And so they're contextualizing it there. But this movie doesn't go that route. That's the easy way out. That's the like salacious story. This is the story that asks like, hey, we're adults and we know that we're not going to kiss each other. We're not going to sleep with each other. I'm we're not going to be together. How do we explain the fact that we loved each other and we had no resolution within the context of where we are as people now? And that is ultimately such a more interesting question to ask and explore. Because it, it allows for the depth of the human experience to be explored more intensely and more honestly. Like at the end of the day at like, everybody loves a good drama like Rag, right?

17:22 Where it's like, here's the terrible things that these people do. And even like you look at something like the Philadelphia Story and it's it's all about this socialite who finds true love in leaving her spouse at the altar, right? Like it's it, like you said, it's salacious and people love that. And I'm not saying it's bad to enjoy things like that, but it's nice to have a movie that explores it with emotionally. Like at the very least, they're like B minus mature that, you know, they're not like perfect, They're not like the most emotionally mature people ever to live. But man, they feel real. And for me, my favorite scene of the film is when Arthur and Nora are sitting in bed talking to each. Other it's mine as well.

18:07 I would like let's let's hold off on that because I think that really is the crux of the movie for me. And to your point earlier, Brad, I mean, it might have been before we pressed record. I'm coming off the high of this Buckeyes game. I pressed play on this movie and it took me a minute to really get into the movie and I was having this like, Oh no, is this not as good as I thought it was moment. And I would say that lasted for the first twenty 30-40 minutes of the movie where it was good and I respected what they were doing, but I wasn't like emotionally clicking with it as I had. And it hits almost exactly the halfway point is where they finally meet each other face to face in the park. And everything following that in this movie was like, oh, this is like, I'm, I'm aching alongside these characters because it has me so gripped emotionally. But in order to talk about that part of the movie, I think let's let's get the first chunk of the movie out of the way. So it starts with these characters as 12 year olds in Korea very quickly moving to I'm moving away. You see the two of them holding hands and childhood sweethearts. And then she's emigrating to Canada. And then it jumps 12 years forward in time and he's doing his mandatory military service and she's going to college and moving to New York City.

19:24 Go ahead the. Shot of him marching and then sitting there eating and like, you talk about expressive filmmaking where you know that he's thinking about her without there being any indication that he's thinking about her. Dude, yeah. Teo Teo you I believe is his name. Just freaking nails it. So I think this is the the part of that first chunk I really want to talk about is them as early 20 somethings because they do such a good job of playing young adults, even though the both of these actors are in their 30s. And it's it's very much posture and body language and having that sort of youthful exuberance.

20:06 And you get this moment where they finally reconnect via Skype. Remember Skype, They were they connect via Skype. And she at one point she mentioned Eternal Sunshine and they kind of have this eternal Sunshine like montage that lasts 10 minutes in the movie of. Their relationship unfolding, all the conversations they have, them deepening their bond with each other, the missing calls from each other. And you can kind of see the rhythm get thrown off and how it ultimately ends with them because their lives are going in different directions and she has to cut it off. I'm wondering, Brad, of that whole first section, childhood and young adulthood, what worked best for you and what didn't work for you?

20:49 Oh. Dude, I'm about to bring up the greatest movie of all time. Do you remember our discussion about how perfectly Elizabethtown captures the like boyfriend girlfriend late night self of conversation of 2006 a. 100%. Dude, like, and I know that part of this is my experience, but when I was in college, I dated a girl who studied abroad in Italy for, you know, four months. And we would Skype like that at those sounds, the beeping sounds that Skype made when it started and ended and lost connection and all the things I was like in my fields, just hearing those sounds. And I like this time through, I was like, man, they're not really capturing the shoddy connection of the early 2000 tens.

21:45 And then they had a montage of like 9 missed calls in a row where her going, hey son, are you there? Like where, where'd you go? And and he's on the other end doing the same thing. And I was like, Yep, that's it. That's it. Like it is the most perfect cinematic illustration of like a very specific time period where Skype was the only way to video chat with people and it was unreliable. And it was awesome. And like, I still vividly remember the first time I used Skype. I, I was like talking to an old friend from summer camp that I hadn't seen in like 3 years. And we get on a Skype call that I had never heard of. And she told me like, we'll download this Skype thing.

22:26 It'll let U.S. chat on video. And I'm, I know I'm making myself sound really old right now, but I remember literally thinking to myself as a freshman in college, like what do you mean chat on video? Like like that's wild. I understand phone calls but the idea of talking to you live on a video feed was insane to me. That's funny, dude. Yeah, yeah. I think that's part of why I say that it's Brief Encounter for our times, is that it is nostalgic for things that only millennials will feel nostalgia for. But I think that because there are such universal themes here, you could absolutely tap into it, whether you're a boomer or, you know, Gen. Z or whatever you might be. I think that the whole movie's kind of slow paced on purpose. It's very meditative and kind of dreamlike in the way that the camera just kind of glides in and out of scenes. But it's paced really well because that that early section of them as children is like 8 minutes long. And then you get maybe, you know, 2025 minutes of them as young adults.

23:27 And then it's immediately dropping you another 12 years forward in time to when they're in their mid 30s. And so the whole second-half of the movie is this conundrum that comes up when he makes contact with her to let her know he's coming to visit New York City. Secretly, she's worried, and her husband is worried that he's coming because he's still in love with her. And will they or won't they? Will it be confirmed that he's still in love with her? That's where the dramatic tension of this movie rises. But even saying dramatic tension doesn't quite feel right. It doesn't feel like this movie is ever really making you think that she's going to cheat on her husband or, like, is there going to be this passionate moment where they both break and make out with each other? The tension arises from like, what's going to happen to this relationship?

24:18 Like, are are they going to blow it? Is he going to blow it with her in such a way that it like, ruins everything? You know, it, it comes from a much more human place than a like, horny place, if I can be that frank about it. And I think that's what makes the movie work. Absolutely. The the moment when they first see each other and like you could, you could just see it in the actor's eyes and bodies and the the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife that like she enters back into the physical. I'm around you again for the first time in 24 years relationship with the bright bubbliness of a 12 year old.

24:59 And you can tell that that's what she's looking to get out of this of like, oh man, I like I have an opportunity to like capture a little bit of my youth and remember who I was when I lived in Korea for the final time. And and like this is an opportunity to engage with that. And she becomes a little bit of a 12 year old again. And he is entering into that space as a 30 something year old man who's not necessarily like trying to win the girl back, but he's trying to explore like, what does this relationship mean to me today, here and now and then? And like, the way she hugs him is so powerful. And then you juxtaposition that with when they leave and she can't hug him because she doesn't want to see her 12 year old self disappear. And he leans in and gives her a massive hug. I'm almost like embracing who she's become now. Yes.

25:50 I am so glad that you're catching on to those things because there are so many callbacks. And it's something that like, I didn't even notice how many callbacks there are to the early scenes of the movie, whether it's them as 20 somethings or as children. But they're sowing seeds that they come back to harvest later on in the movie in such profound ways. You know, going back to that scene where they first meet each other in person. You have Hey Sung coming to New York City. It's like a rainstorm. They show him in his hotel room and he just, he doesn't know what to do. He opens the curtains, he's looking out on New York City, and he's just sitting alone on the bed. And to that point in the movie, and even later in the movie, every single time you see that character by himself, he is in the middle of a big city, whether it's when he goes to China or whether he's in Seoul or whether he's in New York City.

26:43 And there is nightlife happening outside his window. And there's like the bustling culture of wherever he is. And he is just trapped in in this room by himself. And it's such a great representation of where he's at emotionally. Not can. I get really quickly. Oh please. They also often in those scenes trap him in a frame within a frame. Did you notice that we're like, you see him from the kitchen area of the the hotel suite and he's like, you see through the little window in the wall and then he's sitting in front of a window full of rain with like one light shining on him. And you're just like, this is like every cinema part of me is just like, I don't know if this is like overboard and doing it too much, but it's working for me. Oh.

27:30 No, I love, I think the cinematography in this movie is super underrated. There's this scene where they go to ride the ferry to Ellis Island together. And the way that it's shot like you're watching them in line, but it's shot from like outside of the queue and like under some sort of an overhang. And so the top and bottom of the screen are all blacked out. And so it almost looks like they've changed aspect ratios for a minute. It's. A natural aspect ratio, yeah, but it's also like, what's it called? What's it called when the the music is diegetic? Yeah, it's like diegetic screen. But once again, it's like putting them in this frame within a frame, almost suggesting that like, his idea of spending time with her is like this, you know, romanticized painting that you're going to hang up somewhere.

28:18 It's not real life. And I they never do that with Arthur and Nora. No, never, ever. Except for there's one moment. There's one moment at the end of the movie when she says that she's going to go walk him down to his Uber and they leave the camera on him. And they have like, the whole border of the outside of the frame is all blacked out because they've just gotten back to their apartment and he's there and like, standing facing the door, like by himself. Oh they do such a great job with those frames within frames in this movie. Yeah, just absolutely beautiful. I know you were talking about other things but when they're walking past the carousel and it's like life is moving faster around them than their pace together. Like the dude the the cinematography in this movie is just absolutely beautiful.

29:07 That scene is where I started clicking again with the movie, and I was like, Oh yeah, this is a freaking masterpiece. It's, you know, they've been kind of hinting, not even hinting. What's great about the way they talk to each other is they both know exactly what's going on and nobody wants to be the one to say it. And it's not because they think they're crossing lines, it's because they're both terrified of what it means if they confess that. Not that they have feelings for each other even, but just like, I missed you, I don't know where this puts us. There is no closure here. And so they get in front of this carousel and they're just sitting. And for a while, they're sitting absolutely still as the carousel spins behind them. And Brad, that's where the dialogue in this movie for me took off. And I wrote down.

29:50 When you get to the back half of this movie, it reminds me a lot of ET, one of my favorite movies, where, like every moment is kind of surface level but also metaphorical. Like there's a double meaning to everything at the end of that movie. And I think every single line in this movie almost from that point to the end, has some sort of a double meaning. You know, like, she's asking him, why did you come here? He's kind of confessing to her, but not really. There's no I love you that comes out of his mouth. And then you hear her just kind of look at him. She leans in a little bit. She says, we were babies then. We're not babies anymore. And you can tell from the way she's saying it that like, she looks legitimately concerned. It's the first time that she's let that sort of smiling, reassuring posture go and she's leaning into him and she's like, you can see with her eyes, she's like pleading with him, but you don't know what she's pleading for. It's this portrayal of I need to hear you say it And at the same time, please God, don't say it because I don't know where that will put us and I don't know where that will put me. And there's so much unspoken and I just think it's a master class in posture and body language and non verbal acting there. Well, and it speaks the, the reason you talked earlier about this feeling like a universal movie that anybody can like access emotionally.

31:17 And I think the reason is, you know, the, there's all sorts of research into the brain. And one guy, Dan Siegel, writes about how there are 9 domains of the brain, like 9 places that it works within our lives. And one of the domains is in storytelling that, like humans are naturally storytelling creatures. We are trying to make meaning of our lives. And I think that's the reason this movie is so universal is that you're watching these two people dance around the social standards of Nora is married, He is not the their childhood sweethearts, and yet he doesn't want to be a home wrecker. But he's trying to seek validation for what his story was with her.

32:09 And she is trying to seek validation for what her story was with him, even though they're in vastly different places now. And I think that is why this movie is so beautiful is that it honors the reality that we are storytelling creatures and our stories don't die the moment we move on from the present moment. A. 100% they. Live on in our imagination, they live on in our memory. And when they are never acknowledged, it can become something dangerous that that like ferments in the back corner of your mind and grows into something it shouldn't be.

32:50 But there is that catharsis of just being honest to say we can get through this. Like, this was real. And the cool thing is that moment of catharsis doesn't truly come until after Heysung meets Arthur. And like, once they've met, once they've spent a little time together and he's like, oh, crap. I actually like, really like this husband. I like, I think he's really good for Nora. That's when he's finally able to say, yeah, our, our relationship meant so much to me. And she is able to say it back to him. And there's something about honoring the present that allows them to go back and validate the past. Yeah.

33:33 I think what I love about the movie is that there's a sense of inevitability, Like everyone knows this is not going to end with her running away with him. And she says that out loud at one point, you know? And so there's no dramatic tension in that regard. But because you care so much about these characters, all three of them and their emotional fragility, I think that's where it comes is that you you access that sort of longing and yearning. You access the grief, you access the loss. It all comes flooding back. And and Brad, before we go to break, I think that I do want to talk really briefly about Greta Lee in this role as Nora. I think all three of these main actors should have been nominated for Oscars, and I'm pissed off that not one of them did.

34:15 But her character, I think, is really difficult to play because, you know, it's written from Celine Song's perspective at least somewhat. And I think that in the wrong hands, an actress could make this character seem like really evil, kind of bitchy, you know what I mean? And the fact that A, they're able to avoid any of that. But it's such a tough character to play because if she seems overly flirty with Hey Sung, then we as an audience will turn on her. Like, you are abandoning your husband. You're leading this guy on. But if she seems overly aloof in the way that she treats him, then we'll think she's being too cold to him.

34:57 And you know, we won't be on her side then too. So because. Heysung is so likable. Oh yeah, and, and also so obviously, like I am in love with you. Please don't hurt me in my puppy dog eyes. Like, I don't know if I could entirely say that the way he he behaves all the time is super appropriate. Like it's not, it's not disrespectful. He's always respectful. But like, from the moment they meet each other, he's like, hey, you want you want to, you want to be with me now. You know what I mean? Yeah. You want to choose me? And so in every situation, she actually has to be the most knowing person and you can see her processing other people's emotions in real time.

35:38 And like she instantly recognizes he's still in love with me. How do I make him feel comfortable? How do I reassure him, but also keep proper boundaries without coming across as manipulative or bitchy? And I think that as a person, Nora has a really tough balancing act. But as a character, Greta Lee has a really difficult job to do to make you be on her side. Because on top of all of that, they also have to get us on board with her and we have to believe that she too wants and deserves closure in this situation. And I think she manages it because, you know, the whole character is about like balancing 2 worlds, the world of her past, the world of her present. The moment that her character completely clicks for me is when she's done hanging out with Hasan on the first day and she sits down on the couch.

36:34 Arthur takes off his gaming headset and she goes, you were right. And he goes, what, what do you mean? And she's like, he he came here to see me. And it's not he came here because he's in love with me. It's not he came here to steal me away. It's not he's a dirty scumbag. It's just an acknowledgement of like, yeah, you were right. Like, he came here to see me. He's not here on vacation. And the way she delivers that line, you feel the honesty of who she is here in the present versus who she's trying to figure out who she is when she's around this person.

37:15 And once again, talk about a universal feeling. Bob, you were known as Bobby Book back in the day, right way. Back in the day, yeah. And in your, in your modern day 2025 adult life, you go by Bob. And yet there are still some people that you hang out around that might call you Bobby that all of a sudden you feel like I'm 1314 years old again. And like I, I think all of us have that experience when you're around people from your childhood that you're like I, I, there's a tension. I don't know who I am here because I'm not 12 anymore, but the 12 year old that I was is still in me because it's a part of my story and who I am.

37:58 But the, you know, 20 years that have passed since then are also a part of me and I'm different. And it's that war within yourself that you're trying to figure out. And then it's just magnified by the fact that you haven't seen this person since you were 12. And I, we could talk for three hours, Bob. Yeah. Man, this is a great movie. Let's press pause here. Let's drink some whiskey. When we come back, I want to talk about the other two actors, Tail, you and John Magaro, because I think they also knock it out of the park. And their characters are obviously crucial to the movie, but they're what really gives the movie it's color for me. So let's try this. Jack Daniels 12. What do you say? Let's get to it.

38:42 All right, so today we are checking out Jack Daniels 12 year batch one Last week we had Jack Daniels 10 year. This week, Brad, I, I wish we could have found a Korean whiskey to drink for this episode, but in doing some research, I only found one major distillery in Korea. And even then saying major, it's a, it's a minor distillery, but it's really the only one that's importing to America wasn't able to secure a sample for us. So we said let's keep rolling with Jack Daniels. And here we are man. What did you think of last week's 10 year? I think it was good, not great, like not enough to make me want to buy it. It was intriguing and fun and and like you know, I like trying new whiskeys but nothing that I would like write home about. So the nice thing with these Jack Daniels well aged versions that we've been drinking is there's really not a ton of variance from what's in the mash bill. Like this is 80% corn, 8% rye, 12% malted barley. You guys know what Jack Daniels is? It's 107 proof, which is nice.

39:44 I think that's like a perfect proof point for you and I, Brad, we always talk about how we want just slightly more proof. But when you start getting into the teens and 20s, it can be a little harsh. So this is really nice, man. I, I just poured it out in my glass and even sitting, you know, 6-8 inches away from the glass, I'm getting immediate notes of banana pudding on this. Way more than I got on the 10 last week, to be frank. Yeah, the banana here is the most pleasant version of Jack banana that I have ever gotten. It's Okie. It's like the fruitiness I get from it is like a artificial mixed Berry that I actually really enjoy. But there is like some caramel and brown sugar and it it it feels like sitting in the barrel long enough has imparted some of those bourbon Y notes that really round out the experience. I'm sitting at an 8 out of 10 on the nose. I'm.

40:39 Going to give this an 8.5 and it's because your boy likes banana. I do think there's a sense of artificiality to the banana a little bit. That's why I said banana pudding. It reminds me of like those really great southern style layered banana puddings with the vanilla wafers in them and like the the vanilla or banana pudding that actually goes into them. So I get the artificial and the slices of banana. It's really beautiful. I actually think that I like it way better than last week's 10 year. And I'm wondering if there's some weird alchemy going on between 10 seemed over oaked. Is it going to come back around and bring out new notes in the flavor we're going to see? I haven't tried it yet. So why don't you give us your tasting notes, Brad?

41:20 Bob this palette is incredible. For me, the caramel turns into like a really beautiful butterscotch note. The vanilla really comes through here. There's brown sugar, the the banana is there, but it's not overpowering it. It really does remind me of a banana pudding that that's a good note. And for me, the the mixed Berry turned into like a Berry blast crunch, which is like easily the best version of Cap'n Crunch. I think this is a delicious, delicious whiskey. I'm going to give it an 8 1/2 out of 10. Yeah, Brad, I think this is a really good whiskey. I think the banana is like almost absent for me on the palate, though, And it may be just because I was expecting so much of it, but we always talk about that banana note on Jack, and it's always more present on the nose than it is on a palate.

42:08 And I'm just waiting for the one that is going to be a banana bomb for me. It hasn't happened yet. This is super oaky. There's a lot of oak. There's a lot of like tobacco and leather notes, like really earthy kind of notes going on here. It's complemented by like a black cherry note for me and some classic bourboni brown sugar notes. I just wish there was a little more complexity here. So I'm going to come down to an 8 out of 10. Still a very good whiskey, but not as good as the nose for me. The finish definitely falls off a little bit. Still really delicious. The caramel and banana sit there. It definitely gets oaky on the back end. Doesn't turn into the bitterness that you get from some higher age stated bourbons and, you know, American whiskies. But I'm, I'm going to say it, man, this is a really solid experience.

43:01 There's a little bit of black pepper. I like the finish a lot. I'm coming down from my palate, but I'll still give it an 8 out of 10 here. Yeah, I think I'm just going to be slightly below you on almost everything today. I'm at a 7 1/2 on the finish, really nice. I think it kind of continues to get simplified the longer I go into the tasting process. The nose was more complex, the taste less so, the finish even less. It's just kind of like vanilla extract and oak for me, which is nice, but again, kind of lacking that complexity that I think would make this a really special whiskey. So I'm going to be at a 7.5 and on balance, I think I'm also just going to give it a 7.5. I'm slightly let down. It's probably because your boy loves banana so much and it's just not there.

43:47 So I need to reset my expectations, but they were set at a very specific point with the nose and then those notes weren't carried through. So I'm at a 7.5 here. I'm actually at a nine out of 10 Bob. Like I think that the each individual part isn't perfect, but it, it works together to make something that is a really cohesive, delicious experience. So I, I'm, I'm coming up from any of my tasting scores to give it a nine out of 10 on balance. I'm very fascinated. As far as value goes, this is MSRP, a $95 bottle of whiskey, so not quite triple digits, but still something you are going to drop a very pretty penny on.

44:34 Where are you at on value? This is hard because I think just given that it's 12 years age stated $90.00 is not asking a ton for this. The market on this is fair. I would need to try more than just this one batch to determine if some of it, some of them will be more complex. Because when you're approaching $100, I want something that is like I'm putting on my smoking jacket and smoking my pipe next to my fire. Like I want a good, sturdy, complex sipping whiskey. And this one hasn't hit that for me. Good whiskey. Would I spend $90.00 on it? Probably not. I'm going to give it a 7 out of 10, Brad. I'm at a 7 1/2. I think this is good value. 7 1/2 for me on value is is the point where I have to think of whiskey is well worth the price tag to give it a 7 1/2 or higher. I think that this is priced properly as well as being worth the money you're spending.

45:33 So I'm at a 7 1/2 Bob. I'm coming out to a relatively high 41 out of 50. Oh wow. OK, yeah, I'm at a 38.5 out of 50. So that takes us to a 39.75 out of 50 on average, just below that 40 mark. So this is a soft recommend just judging on the score, but it hasn't quite hit that like this is a no brainer recommendation that a 40 would indicate. I do think it's worth picking up. I'm just slightly let down and I think it could be a little bit better. It's like a. It's like AB plus A minus version of what I think this could be. See, that's the thing for me, Bob. I think this is the best version of Jack Daniels I've ever had. I.

46:15 Like it's not a perfect whiskey. I don't think Jack Daniels is my favorite flavour wheelhouse. It's never going to hit a 45 plus for me, at least what I've had of them, which we've, we've drank a decent amount of Jack on this, on this podcast. Bob, I think this is the best version of Jack I've had. I I I think it is a really rich and flavourful experience that I would recommend bottle or bar. I love it, man. Yeah. Usually you're not preaching the gospel of Jack Daniel. So this is a this is a big deal. Yeah. Good job Jack Daniels, you did it. Also I I went to sample this and my 4 year old Sadie asked me what I was drinking and I was like oh it's Jack Daniels 12 year and she goes oh is Jack Daniels friends with Daniel Tiger?

47:08 And you said? Yes, he is. I was like, yeah, honey, I think they're cousins. Jack, Daniel, Tiger, you've got it from us here first, folks. Brad, let's jump back into talking about past lives. What do you say? Let's get to it. All right, everybody, That was Jack Daniels 12 Year batch #1A whiskey that answered a vitally important question for us, Bob. And do you know what that question is? I don't what's the question? How much does Bob love bananas? So. Much he just he just loves him a good banana. Listen, we're talking about Freudian stuff today. I'm going to ask that you guys don't read into that too much. You know what you should read into. Is it 2 facts and a falsehood the. Fact that Bob is overcompensating and two facts and a falsehood.

48:01 Brad is going to try to stump you. Bob 2 are right and what is wrong? 2 facts and a falsehood. 2 Facts and a Falsehood is the part of the show where Brad presents me with three items as fact about the making of this movie, one of which is a complete lie. Brad, I am doing pretty darn well. What am I sitting at now? Like 10 and 4 maybe? Yeah, you've been killing it, man. This is this is your season. You are like the Cleveland Cavaliers of two facts in a false Oh. No, I lost last week. I'm nine and five right now. You you lost last week. I lost last week on The Big Short. I thought you, I'm pretty sure you won last week, Bob. Well.

48:43 Good. Then I'm going to change this L to AW. We're just going to say I won. Yeah, 'cause you picked out the Easter egg of the the Monopoly. Pieces. Oh yeah. All right, cool. So I'm 10 and four. Got it, man. Let's freaking go. I don't know a lot about the making of this movie except for like what has been widely reported about Celine Song and her weird marriage, so you might get me. The IMDb fact list for this movie, normally there's like you know, for big budget movies like End Game there is literally like 200. Most movies have anywhere from like 30 to 70 facts written on their IMDb trivia page. This one had like 8. See, what you should have done is written 2 falsehoods and had me pick out the one that's true.

49:30 In that sort of. Scenario, you know. What I should start doing? I should start writing the trivia things on the IMDb page because then I can say that they are true based on our standards. Just start submitting falsehoods. I love it. All right man, hit me with your two facts and a falsehood. Fact number One In preparation for the film, director and writer Celine Song took Greta Lee TOU and John Magaro to a house similar to the Artisan Residence home in the movie and conducted a Past Lives workshop for each actor to explore the hypothetical past lives that each of their characters may have had. Fact #2 To enhance the emotional authenticity of the reunion scenes, director and writer Celine Song revealed in a New York Times profile of Greta Lee that she deliberately kept Lee and Tail You apart during production, mirroring the prolonged separation their characters experience in the film.

50:27 In fact #3 the Skype scenes between Nora and Hey Sung were filmed at the same time in two different sets, connected by a cable with built in throttle on the connection, meaning that the delay could be adjusted or paused to get authentic reactions from the actors. All right, Brad, I think #3 sounds the most plausible to me. You may have made that up, but it just sounds it's a good fact. 1 and 2 are striking me as potential falsehoods here and #1 strikes me as a potential falsehood because I'm wondering how pretentious the film makers of this movie are. If you're a pretentious artist that is absolutely something you would do.

51:08 You're a non pretentious artist then. That's a falsehood. I mean, consider, consider how we started the episode, Bob, when you talked about Challengers. Yeah, yeah, yeah #2 like physically distancing the actor is like, yeah, maybe you could do that. I don't know how effective that would be. So I, I think it's one of those two, my gut says #1 is the falsehood. And I think that for the sake of time here, I'm just going to go with one as the falsehood. Brad, Bob. You should listen to your gut more often. It has not steered you wrong this season. You are just like a true cavalanche of correct answers this season. What Cavs player would you say that I fill the role for on this podcast?

51:58 Tristan Thompson. Fuck you man. Married to a Kardashian? Divorced from a Kardashian? A little. Past such time but but still just, you know, a great guy to be around. Whatever, whatever man, let's get back into talking about past lives, Brad. And we left off by saying that we're going to revisit tail you and John Magaro. John Magaro we just talked about last week on The Big Short. Here he is again. Akron, OH native, my guy John Magaro. I'm so excited to be talking about him. Can I just say, like, out of all the actors to randomly have to never have had in 9 1/2 seasons of this podcast and then he's on two weeks in a row freaking killing it? Yeah.

52:46 Listen, this dude is going to be nominated for an Oscar within the next 5 years. Like mark it down, book it. How much? How much do you want to bet on that $50.00? I will short you that bet. Put put it in a CDO squared that's. Right, 'cause I'm jacked to the tits. So the key piece of this movie for me, the key scene is one that you mentioned and it's the one where the two of them are in bed together, Greta Lee and John Magaro. And it's his perspective on this whole thing. And it's not just that it's the best written and potentially the best acted scene in the whole movie. It's that it is the most narratively necessary scene in the movie. Because without that, he has a nothing character. He is literally just a guy that's getting cucked by his wife.

53:35 And I think the fact that they give him so much deep, vulnerable fear in that moment is what makes this movie have deeper meaning. Because without it, it's just the story of these two people. And he's a bystander. And with that scene, it's a movie about three people with an equal amount of emphasis and empathy on all of them. And what it captures so beautifully. And, you know, this isn't something I've experienced, so I, I can't speak fully into it, but I would imagine that for any marriage or like, you know, partnership of two people who specifically spoke different languages from one another growing up that lived in different countries from one another growing up. I have to imagine that like what he says about her speaking in Korean in her dreams, it like it's got to be true where there's a part of you that always wonders, like, am I missing a part of you?

54:40 Do I have full access to your soul? And, and it's a question that he's probably been pondering since the moment he met her and was attracted to her. It's a question that is like, am I enough? Like, am I enough for this woman who I deeply love and respect and want to make her better? Like, am I keeping her from something, from a true part of herself? And in a culture where we, in my opinion, unfortunately place so much stock in our inner feelings and like being true to ourselves, there's this place where he basically tells her, like, if you were just quote UN quote, being true to yourself, like this is the greatest story. Like you fall in love and you run off with your childhood sweetheart.

55:35 And I'm just the dumb American that stood in the way. And and she just lovingly, gently is honest with him and says, yeah, there was something there. Like she's not trying to gaslight him and yet reassures him. But what we have is real too. And we can't live in a fantasy world. We have to live in the world of the choices we've made. And it's just one of the best scripted scenes of any movie I've ever seen. As if the goal is to represent the honest human experience well. And I talked earlier about how I think so many lines in that back half of the movie have multiple meanings.

56:19 And so he's going on and on about like how frightened he is. And, and to his credit, he's the only character in the movie to that point that has like completely verbalized out loud what he's thinking. Everything else has been non verbal or communicated through body language. And the fact that he says, like, I'm really afraid in this moment and the story that you guys are writing is a really good story. And in that story, I am not the hero. And that concerns me. And the way she shuts him down is by being the realist in that moment. At first she says she just says that's not how life works. And then he pushes back and says, like, yeah, but what if you met somebody else at that artist residency?

57:00 What if you were living with him? And. And then all she says is this is my life and I'm living it with you. And on the surface level, it just seems like almost a cold thing to say. But the way she says it, like I, I wrote down 5 or 6 different meanings, Brad. Like she's shutting him down, She's reassuring him, she's shutting herself down from fantasizing about something else. She's mourning the sacrifices and the compromises that she had to make to be in this moment by just telling herself, this is this is who I am. And she's reaffirming her own commitment to him all in one line. It's an incredible moment of acting and writing and not overwriting.

57:46 That's the great part of this movie is like, there is so much between the lines, both spoken and unspoken in this movie that it doesn't pander to you as an audience member. You have to fill in those blanks. Absolutely. I could go on and on and on about this movie. I I'm curious, is there anything about this movie that you're like, I can't get out of this episode without making sure filming Whiskey Nation understands this about the movie? Because at the end of the day, I feel like we are making a pitch for more people to see this movie, which I think we're doing successfully. You'll have to let us know. Jump on our Discord, jump on our socials, let us know if you have watched the movie because of this episode.

58:31 But Bob, what, like give your pitch? What, like beyond everything we've already said, Like, what's something about this film that just makes it so daggone special to you? I think it's the avenues that it opened up for honest conversation in real life for me, Like it accessed a part of me that I felt seen by this movie. This movie understands. And you and I come from a background where we, you know, you grew up this way. I came to it in high school of, of evangelical Christianity and dating culture in evangelical Christianity is real messed up because, you know, at the very least it was from like 98 through like 2015, correct?

59:14 Our experience of it was like dating is not so much you figuring out who you are, what you want in a partner. It was like identifying your spouse and then immediately committing to that person and you are locked in for life. And that is just that. A that's not, that's why it didn't ever work when you were dating in the evangelical world. That's also why so many evangelicals, I think, have horrible foundations in their marriage. Brad And like this movie sparked a conversation between me and my wife where for the first time we kind of felt permission to talk about the fact that like, yes, like you, we both know we have. We had other relationships in life, but we never really talk about the fact that there was real love there or that sometimes you miss seeing people that you had to cut out of your life because that's who you are as a person now.

1:00:04 And it is OK to admit that sometimes you miss a person. Or to say, like, yes, there have been times where after we've gotten in an argument, I've sat down and wondered, like, how could my life be different in this moment? Like, that is a human emotion. It doesn't make you a bad person to experience that thought. And in fact, it is significantly healthier to talk about those things than to push them to the side and ignore them. And I think for people of a certain culture like you and I, Brad, this movie was not just a wake up call, but a really necessary text for me to see. Yeah, At the end of the day, the human experience is inherently an emotional one. And our our emotions are like messengers from the front line of a war.

1:00:52 Like they come to us to let us know this is what's happening in your world. This is how your story interacts with it. This is how your body is is responding to the things happening around you, the people who are talking to you, the relationships that you've had. And if you kill the messenger, it doesn't mean that the war isn't still being fought on the front lines. And so the ability to honestly express our emotions in a place that is safe and where you can be seen and secure in who you are in that moment and soothed and like cared for is so evidently powerful in the human experience.

1:01:36 And this movie captures that. And I think it captures it throughout the whole film, but most perfectly in the final three minutes of the movie. Like Nora and Haysung walk off to his Uber. One of the facts that I learned was that Celine Song sends them off to get the Uber in the scene and didn't tell them how long it would be. Like like they truly were waiting for a car to come and they didn't know when it was going to come. And so they're sitting there waiting. They finally, the car finally arrives. He initiates the hug with her because he has found validation throughout the film and she is the one who's struggling now and she she hugs him and they talk about in yon, which we didn't even touch on this. But it's essentially the idea that in all of our past lives in in a karmic Buddhist sense, like people who get married are ones whose past lives have touched at least 8000 times. And they just have a little like beautiful conversation about like, I wonder what this life like what in yon it is leading to where we are married, or maybe we were married in the past in yon and and it's a really beautiful moment. She walks back and it's the moment I love Arthur the most because he didn't sit up in the apartment and sulk and he didn't He also didn't go down to creep

1:03:08 on her. Like he's just sitting on the stoop. He's not like craning his neck to see if his wife is making out with another dude. He's just sitting there smoking a cigarette. He knows what this weekend or few days as meant to her and as she weeps he gets to experience her as the crybaby 12 year old who is feeling her feelings and he just loves her. Dude, I have seen this movie 3 full Times Now and I did not make that connection until this time because they do it so subtly in the opening parts of the movie when they first reconnect as 20 year olds or whatever they are. He asks her, are you still a crybaby?

1:03:49 Do you cry anymore? And she says no. Like I, I moved to America and I felt like nobody cared about me crying. And she said you used to be there with me and you would stay with me when I was crying. And they say it one more time when she's first talking to John Magaro about him. And they really sow this seed and you don't see that emotional damn break. And I think that moment has always been really impactful for me because you do see her breakdown finally. She doesn't have to be, you know, playing a role to support him and and not let tail you down. But more than that, it's this affirmation that like he has now fully become that person for her. Her husband is the person now who is there for her when she is crying and who stays with her. And it is like, dude, it's just such a beautiful picture of that relationship.

1:04:37 It's incredible. And it's that moment where he has been honest about who he is in this story between the three of them. She has been honest about her role. Like she tells it, you know, he asks, is he attractive? And. And she goes, yeah, like, he's really masculine in this weird Korean way that makes sense if you're born in Korea. And and like, they're honest with each other throughout. And because of all that, that honesty, the payoff is the fact that their marriage is deeper than it ever could have been. If T OU doesn't come back into her life. And you know, I said it earlier, Arthur gets to experience a fuller, more integrated version of his wife that her story now includes 12 year old crybaby Nora instead of just being adult Nora that he's known for the last 12 years.

1:05:41 All right, man, we've we have really gone on with this movie. It's freaking phenomenal. It's time for us to get to our last segment of the day, which we call let's make it a double we're. Near the end of the episode. So thanks listening to the film and whiskey show. Let's pair another film with this one. Even if it's struggling. It's the final segment of the day. Now let's make it a double. Let's Make It a Double is the part of the show where we pick a movie to pair up with this one to make the perfect double feature, right? There's a million movies I can pair this with. You know, I've talked about Brief Encounter, I've talked about ET. I'd like to hear from you first. What's your pair with past lives? Oh this is such a tough one. I'm kind of in between 2 movies. I want to pick one because I like it more. I think the other one's tone and pacing fits this movie better. I think I'm going to pair it with the movie I like less, but I'm going to pair it with Lost in Translation. Oh, interesting.

1:06:40 I. I think there's a place where you get the characters of Lost in Translation asking very similar questions, and they answer it in very different ways, right? Like that film involves an affair and this one does not. But I think both of them are paced in similar ways. They ask similar questions, they both have quietly funny moments throughout the film, and I I think it would make for a really interesting evening to watch Lost in Translation and Past Lives. So what was your other movie, The one you like more? I think La La land I. Knew it. Yeah, I wrote down La La Land. Yeah. I think La La Land has a lot of similarities, but it's just so much more vibrant of a film it it like it's hard to pair it although. If you watch La La Land 1st and then immediately jumped into this movie, you'd be in the perfect headspace for this movie.

1:07:33 Yeah, I, I, I would actually agree with you there. Because we didn't even talk about this. I think this movie does a really good job of subtly also underscoring her character with the immigrant experience and how when she's first talking to John Magaro, she's like, he's so Korean and it makes me feel like I'm less Korean and should I be more Korean and so like her. Her infatuation with him is also trying to figure out, like who? Like, am I Korean still? Should I be more Korean? Like, what does this mean for me? I've given up on a lot of hopes and dreams to be where I am here. Or I've pursued a dream and given up on a past life. And that's like, literally the plot of La La Land. So yeah, I think that would be a great pairing, Brad.

1:08:13 I think I'm going to go ahead and pair it with a movie that is even more tonally wild than La La Land would be, but it's because not too far off. It's a movie called Everything Everywhere All at Once. It's a movie that I I don't like as much as this movie and I think that I'll, I'll under score that when we get to it in a few weeks here. There's this line that John Magaro says to her when they're sitting in bed and he has 2 great lines. One of them is my favorite line in the movie where he tells her you dream in a language I can't understand which. Is what a great line, dude. Oh. My gosh. But he tells her, you make my life so much bigger. And I just wonder if I do the same thing for you. And that moment hit me.

1:08:56 There's this moment in Everything Everywhere All at Once where Kiwi Kwan's character says, like, you know, even though I know that you're going to break my heart again, I just want you to know that in another life, I would have really liked just doing taxes and laundry with you. And it's and they're in the rain behind the Opera House. It is unbelievable. And I think that those like supportive husband characters helping their like Asian wives go through an emotional journey. It's like that's the connective tissue here. It's it's a wild pairing, but I'm going to pair it with Everything Everywhere All at once, just. Based on that scene, I'm with you man. Like, yeah, we'll talk about Everything Everywhere All at Once in a few weeks.

1:09:44 I freaking love that movie. I've seen it since I saw it in theaters, and I definitely came down a little bit. But man, it's moments like that that make me understand why that film did so well at the Oscars. Let's Make It a Double was brought to you by Blackwood Distilling Company. No matter what movie you choose to pair this with, you can always make it a double with Blackwood Distilling Co. Blackwood will expand your horizons, Bob. It'll never hold you back. We need to get Zach Johnston back on here. He seems like a guy that would like past lives. He really does seem like a guy that like past lives, although based on your history of like. Predicting movies I would like. Who knows, man?

1:10:26 He he might be he'll just he'll come in here and like knowing his his journeys over the years, he'll be like, I lived in Korea for eight years. This this movie does not accurately represent the Korean experience, you know Yeah. And then he'll like. Start speaking in Korean. Yeah, sure, Zach. Zach, come back on, man, we miss you. Brad. It's time for us to give final scores. This is a 10 out of 10. This is this is like every time I see it, I think I'm going to go down a little bit on this movie. And I put it number one over Oppenheimer last year and over the holdovers. And I watched both of those movies again in the last, what, four months? And I was like, oh man, past lives has a lot to live up to. This is one of the best movies of the 21st century. It is an all timer for me and it is 10 plus out of 10. I so this movie is like from opening to credits rolling, it's an hour and 39 minutes.

1:11:20 So First off, I'll call it because it is in that hour. It's like an hour and 39 and like 42 seconds, but I'm still going to call it a 90 minute film, so perfect amount of time. Secondly, the first like 45 minutes of this movie to to an hour, it's around the hour mark that things really shift for me is like a nine, maybe 9 1/2 out of 10. But the last 40 or so minutes of this movie are so perfect. And, and everything that you said, Bob, about the seeds that have been sown, they all are harvested in the most beautiful, perfect, meaningful ways. I'm with you, man.

1:12:04 This movie is a 10 out of 10 yes. Oh, I'm so happy. Do you know how hard it is for both of us to hit on a 10 out of 10, Brad? We might disagree on ET. We might disagree on the assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. But Brief Encounter and Past lives, baby. Folks, I cannot recommend this movie highly enough. It is one of only 3 movies so far this season that have received a perfect 10 out of 10, and it's joining Oppenheimer and Whiplash in that club. And I will say I'm glad it is because those are two very like Broy manly movies. And this is not necessarily a feminine movie, but it is a very different kind of movie. And I think you need that represented here as well, Brad. Absolutely.

1:12:49 Go watch Past Lives. This movie is absolutely incredible. And like you said, Bob, it's incredible because it speaks to the human and soul at a really meaningful level. All right, so it's definitely a modern classic, it sounds like from both of us, Brad. I think that's it for today. We want to know what you guys think of past lives. Will you go watch it as a result of us talking about it for so long? You can let us know and sing poetically. Yes, you can let us know on all of our social medias, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok or YouTube at Film Whiskey. Or you can join the conversation on our Discord server. You can find a link to it at the end of every single one of our show notes. Next week, we're taking kind of a hard turn from a movie about, you know, confronting your past through nonviolent means to confronting your past with extremely violent means. We're watching the modern day boxing classic Creed. So join us for that one next week. But until then, I'm Bob Book.

1:13:47 I'm Brad G. And we'll see you next time. Music.