This week Chris Deacy is joined in the studio by Alex Marsh to discuss the films; Stargate, Star Trek: First Contact, Red vs Blue: Restoration, and Twisters.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Film Club. I'm Chris DC and each week I'll be joined by
00:18a guest from Kent to dive deep into the impact certain films have had on their life. Each
00:24guest will reflect on the films which have meant the most to them over the years. And
00:28every week there will be a Kent Film Trivia where we quiz you at home about a film that
00:33has a connection to the county. And now let me introduce you to my guest for this week.
00:39He is an amateur filmmaker and script writer with a BA and MA in film production specialising
00:45in film editing. He is Alex Marsh. Great to have you on the programme Alex.
00:51Thank you for having me Chris.
00:52And great pleasure. Oh I saw this at the cinema. I think it would have been around early 1995.
00:56Stargate.
00:58Yes. So I've actually only seen this recently properly. I've seen all the TV shows and what
01:04not but this is one of my favourites. I think it kind of enlarged my view of what sci-fi
01:12could be. Because when people typically think about science fiction it's either Star Trek
01:16or Star Wars. It's like kind of either realistic or unrealistic and this is just like a nice
01:21in between. I think it's more of an action adventure film I'd call it. I think it has
01:27a great emphasis on special effects and practical props. I think the main Stargate itself is
01:33a beautiful piece of art. It's a nice blending of Egyptian hieroglyphs and design also keeping
01:40it kind of very alien.
01:42Because I remember when it came out that the critics were a bit snooty about this. But
01:47someone like me who wasn't completely into sci-fi. I remember growing up with Blake Seven
01:52on TV and this kind of reminded me of that and it was very followable. And a few years
01:58after that you had The Mummy and you mentioned the Egyptian hieroglyphs. But there was this
02:01sense also what worked and you can correct me on this because you obviously know better
02:04than I do. But it's the time travel element. Is that right? They're entering a different
02:08portal.
02:09Yes. So how Stargate works in the film is it requires seven digits to go from Earth
02:18to Oedipus which is the main planet. It's kind of a unique way because it's not like
02:25Star Trek or any other science fiction where you have to take a spaceship to get there.
02:28They can only use that to go through. It's a one way thing. So unless they find a code
02:33to get back they're trapped there.
02:35Yes. And I remember the acting as well because it was from The Crying Game. It was a J. Davidson
02:40but I remember watching this and I was starting to get into cinema around this kind of period
02:46and I was doing all the join the dots exercises and thinking that character has been in some
02:51sort of film. But it was the sort of thing that it was kind of very easy on the eye and
02:56the plot wasn't super complicated. But I remember being really absorbed by this and sort of
03:01interested in where it was going to go and where it was going to take us.
03:04I think that's helped by James Spader's character which is Daniel Jackson. He's a very frantic
03:09archaeologist but you can still follow him and the way he just somehow makes all this
03:15gobbledygook sensible. It's like, oh yeah, these are hieroglyphics. No, they're coordinates.
03:20These are star charts. It's how we activate this portal. It's like, oh, okay. I think
03:25James Spader, despite the fact he's admitted this isn't his best film, carries it throughout
03:29most of it I believe.
03:32Maybe it's the wrong question to ask you if it's dated because I did see it when it came out.
03:37But you said that you only saw this for the first time recently.
03:42Yes, so I had watched SG1 when I was a kid and I was like, where did this come from?
03:48And I found it and I watched it and I think seeing how many elements this film sets up
03:54and how the design language, it's quite a unique design language with how earth, greens
04:00and what not versus the Egyptian culture on this planet and Ra who's just menacing. I
04:08think they've done a really good job at translating all that Egyptian culture into this alien
04:13culture and the idea of aliens becoming gods just to impose their will on slaves. That's
04:20a pretty unique concept. They expand on it later on in other TV shows but we're going
04:24past that. But I think this movie does a really good job at giving a menacing villain
04:29that is quite accurate to Egyptian culture.
04:31Yes, it felt that there had been a lot of research in this and also it kind of felt
04:35as well that there's an element of if you're into ancient history, there's something in
04:39view there. But also if you're really into sci-fi and the future, there's something there
04:43as well. It seemed a very good blend. Well, obviously the critics may not always have
04:47agreed with that. But how does it compare to the TV series? Because I'm not familiar
04:51with that.
04:52I'd say this film is very much good at creating atmosphere. Despite the fact that it's quite
05:03out there, you can kind of get immersed in it. I think how it compares to the TV show
05:07is that it's very good at focusing on one villain and then fleshing out that villain
05:13and making them terrifying. With the TV show, it kind of expands on the whole god concept
05:20with multiple gods, not even from the Egyptian pantheon but from Greek and Norwegian. So
05:27I think this film is very good at having its main villain and creating that atmosphere
05:31and identity for that universe while the TV show expands on that and introduces more concepts
05:37later on.
05:38Do you think that as a work of sci-fi, it obviously stands on its own terms, but do
05:45you think this has been superseded? Would you watch this now and say, yes, as far as
05:50this sort of genre is concerned, this is actually pretty cutting edge?
05:53I'd argue that this is probably one of the last films in its whole genre of action-adventure.
05:59Because I say it's more of an action-adventure film just because the adventure part of going
06:03through the Stargate and seeing this brand new world so starkly to us and different culture
06:07and whatnot. I'd say that modern science fiction films more lean into technological
06:14horror or cosmic horror or just problems that are quite relatable to us. Whether this is
06:19just go through a portal, have a fun time.
06:22Brilliantly put. That was my impression. Great, well it's time now to move on to your second
06:27chosen film, Alex. And you've gone for a bit of a theme going here. Star Trek First Contact.
06:34Yes. So I've always been a Star Trek nerd. My household is a Star Trek household. This
06:43kind of started from I first saw Star Trek Enterprise and then slowly started watching
06:48other series. And then this was the first film my dad showed me. And at age 12, which
06:55is pretty good because this contains one of my favourite villains, the Borg. And I think
07:01the time travel aspect in it helps basically. It's a very good starter movie. Even though
07:06it's like the sixth movie I want to say, it's kind of a great starter movie if you
07:13want to get into Star Trek.
07:15I mean obviously, well both of us are too young to remember the TV series. But I was
07:22always struck growing up, particularly in the 80s and 90s, that William Shatner and
07:26Leonard Nimoy from the original TV series were still appearing in the Star Wars films
07:31even though the TV series had been superseded by Patrick Stewart etc. So where does this
07:37fit in for you? I mean obviously it was the first one that you watched. But how does it
07:40compare to the other films? And if you're familiar with it, the TV series?
07:43It is the darkest film in the Star Trek movie catalogue. But it's also somehow the most
07:50optimistic. The whole plot of the film is basically the Borg, who are basically technologically
07:57enhanced beings, go back in time to stop an event called First Contact, which is what
08:02starts off that Star Trek bright optimistic future. And it's all about these characters
08:07basically reacting to that. The two main characters focusing on this is Patrick Stewart's Jean-Luc
08:14Picard and then Brent Spiner's Data. And seeing their relationship in a biological human and
08:20an android facing what is essentially an enemy who is a mixture of both. And that enemy wanting
08:26to stop a future that will basically be a bright optimistic future.
08:32And I'm always interested in this idea where you watch your first film. It's not the first
08:38film in the series but it's about the sixth. But for you it was your first. So do you kind
08:45of feel that this is the origin point for you? In other words, is this the one that
08:50you know, somebody watches the very first Star Trek film. I think I've said that already.
08:56For you, is this the sort of one that you always go back to?
08:58Yes. There's so many sequences that I just get, I just always come back thinking to.
09:05It's what's got me into the human side of science fiction and then also much to a bigger
09:12degree practical effects and writing. I think this is just a solid film. I think anyone
09:17can watch it without seeing any of previous Star Trek. The characters are all set up well.
09:23The practical effects make, even though it's from the 90s, it's kind of that grace period
09:28where we get into CGI and practical effects are on their way out but it's a nice mixture
09:32of both. The film still looks really good to this day. I think the flight of the Phoenix
09:37which is the first human warp ship, making its first test flight is a brilliant sequence
09:43and I think all the characters, it's something that all the elements hit home and when they
09:50get together for the finale it just really works well.
09:53And you've really sold it to me because that's why I like Stargate because there were no
09:57predecessors. There wasn't a sense of you have to have seen the three or four film versions
10:03before it. I could just watch it fresh and enjoy it for what it is although of course
10:06there was the subsequent TV series. But in this case it sounds like a very similar experience
10:13for you. I suppose you've made a good case as to why Stargate isn't really just sci-fi
10:18but from the way you've described both of these films there's definitely a common link
10:22between them.
10:23Yes, so I think as I said with Stargate it's more that adventure and seeing a whole new
10:29plane and that's what got me interested in the adventure side of things and then this
10:33movie is kind of showing me that optimistic, because Star Trek has always been optimistic
10:38but to have this film drag optimism and showing that bright future that we can work towards
10:44through all this dark themes of body horror with the Borg and the founder of our bright
10:53future being a drunk who had never wanted fame in the first place. It's somehow how
10:58this film managed to drag that optimism and then show it on display at the end when James
11:06Cromwell's Severin Cochran meets the Vulcans for the first time and that future starts.
11:12It's like watching a documentary and seeing history happen in real time. It's like,
11:17oh well now we know where this comes from, now we know why this future is so bright and
11:23why it's so good because these people have actually made an effort to better themselves
11:28and the world.
11:29Fantastic. Well that's about all the time we have for this first half of the show. However
11:34before we go to the break we have a Kent Film Trivia question for you at home.
11:40Which short film was shot within Maidstone Studios? Was it A. The After, B. The Wonderful
11:46Story of Henry Sugar or C. Strange Way of Life? We'll reveal the answer right after
11:52this break. Don't go away.
12:06Hello and welcome back to Kent Film Club. Just before the ad break we asked you at home
12:11a Kent Film Trivia question. Which short film was shot within Maidstone Studios? I asked
12:17was it A. The After, B. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar or C. Strange Way of Life?
12:24And now I can reveal to you that the answer was in fact B. The Wonderful Story of Henry
12:29Sugar. In addition to Maidstone Studios the film's hospital scenes were shot in the
12:34Maidstone Power Hub. Did you get the answer right?
12:38Well it is time now Alex to move on to your next chosen film and you've gone for Red
12:44vs Blue Restoration.
12:49So I know we talked about two starter films already and I'm afraid to ruin that streak
12:52of introducing this one but Red vs Blue is the only film that I've chosen which employs
12:59is also known as machinima, a process of using video games and animation to tell a story.
13:07So this Red vs Blue is actually the final ever film in its continuity made by a company
13:15called Rooster Teeth who went under last year and this is capping off 22 years worth of
13:20storytelling which started in about 2003 I want to say and encompasses about 18 series
13:25and so many other shorts.
13:28I think I can honestly say that this is all news to me. I don't think I'm familiar with
13:32this whole story. So 22 years?
13:34Yes. I've watched everything from start to finish and it's kind of nice to know that
13:43the company that started, that Red vs Blue started ended with Red vs Blue. It's basically
13:52a series of following a group of people who are basically always in a simulation, simulation
14:00troopers and they've just a wide variety of personalities on the Blue and Red team, hence
14:06where the name comes from. It's basically a character for everyone in that show.
14:12How much of a sort of cult or niche following, because it's obviously my ignorance that I'm
14:19not familiar with this, but I'm wondering now why I haven't heard of it because it sounds,
14:23as you've been describing it here, it sounds as though, I mean the Hunger Games sort of
14:26came to mind as you said that, but it feels like there's a template here that can really
14:31work.
14:32Yes. So Machinima, which is like I said a process of mixing video game and animation,
14:38it's been going on for a while and Red vs Blue kind of pioneered that and it's towards
14:44a very niche audience, mainly video game people and those around the Halo series of
14:51games, but as it gets further on it kind of develops its own plot and more into animation.
14:57So it's not very well heard of, but to those who know it and the community that watch it,
15:03it's very big to them.
15:04So obviously there's a bit of a parallel with some of the earlier choices that you had where
15:09you have a TV series that either came before or after the film, but talk to me around the
15:14film here.
15:16So the film, it's basically an ending because the last series they had wanted to do because
15:24of the TV show, because of the company that it went under, they had to quickly put a movie
15:27together and this, it feels like, it's not the best film, I'd say it's a nice seven out
15:34of ten film, but it's nice to have an ending towards it and I think even though that's
15:40some fans will go, hmm, it does give a definitive ending for the quite large array of characters
15:45in the entire show.
15:47Because there's always that question isn't there as to whether a film can spoil a series
15:51or a series can spoil a film, I mean you can go into detail on some of the characters,
15:55but this sounds very different in terms of what you were saying about the very machine
15:58element to this.
15:59Yes.
16:00So is this very different from most of the cinema that you're familiar with, I mean this
16:04sounds as though it sort of works in its own orbit.
16:07So most of it was recorded in a game called Halo Infinite where they used a theatre mode
16:16which is basically like an artificial camera to record players moving around and doing
16:21stuff in the game and then they constructed that and then using 3D animation to do things
16:27that the game can't.
16:29So it's very different in the terms that this is a completely digital production but it's
16:34not like traditional 3D animation or 2D animation, it is basically two people in a room with
16:40an Xbox filming something.
16:43So it's not the sort of thing you'd go to the multiplex to watch in that sense?
16:46No, it never got a theatre release, it was released on a streaming service, unfortunately
16:51that streaming service went under with the company so it's on Amazon at the moment but
16:56as soon as it came out I made time to watch it basically because I had such a long history
17:04with Red vs Blue and it's what got me into doing my own machinima as well.
17:09So it was like saying goodbye to an old friend and it was nice seeing it getting an ending
17:15and knowing that I can kind of move on.
17:17And was there a real sort of sense of evolution from the very beginning because you mentioned
17:21over the course of 22 years?
17:25Yes, seeing these group of basically comedy actors evolve into quite well written characters
17:33and seeing how they ended up in this, it's kind of like they've gone from wise cracking
17:39jokesters to kind of semi-competent soldiers, they're not competent or whatever but it's
17:45nice seeing that group of characters finally get an ending and basically no more evil plots
17:54or anything.
17:55Are there a lot of people who are really into this, you mentioned you saw it on streaming
18:00but were there many people who also thought we've got to catch it while we can, especially
18:04if the company was going under?
18:05Yes, I know it's quite large over in America than it is over here but I was watching the
18:12forums on Reddit and Facebook and seeing all of them going, there's a movie coming out!
18:17And then we basically, most people started watch parties to see it and do live reactions
18:23so yeah, it was quite big in that community.
18:26I don't think it made much of a dent outside of traditional cinema and whatnot but it was
18:32quite large for the community it was put into.
18:35Great stuff.
18:36Well it is time now Alex to move on to your final chosen film and you've gone for Twisters!
18:42I know, this is quite recently I've seen this film but I've seen the original with Bill
18:46Paxton.
18:50This film I can best describe how I describe Glenn Powell, his big grinning idiot energy
18:55Every time he grins I'm like, I feel like grinning too.
18:59I've had a problem with recent cinema with going back to using old IPs or overindulging
19:04in the universe and then this film coming out of nowhere basically and then me going
19:08oh, for a pre-established film series I think this is pretty good.
19:13Because I saw the original in 96, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Carrie Elwes and then I've
19:18seen this twice actually at the cinema because it's very recent and I did like it, the way
19:23also it frames that they're watching a movie and then the tornado rips out the cinema and
19:28I know some people who had a real life experience in America where that happened in a movie
19:32theatre and there was a real sort of tornado or a typhoon.
19:36But how does this compare to Twister from 96 first of all?
19:40I think this one, it felt a lot less tense than Twister but I think it makes up in charm
19:49and personality I have to say.
19:51There was not one moment where I was like, where's the tornado?
19:55I think it was very well laid out and I like the Glen Powers character and I forgot her
20:04name but it would be the two sides of the cowboy tornado chasers and the insurance company
20:10trying to figure out tornadoes.
20:12I think there's two very good set goals and then we've got that nice British journalist
20:17kind of making sense of everything.
20:19This film wasn't hard to follow and I think that's what I enjoyed most of it, just sitting
20:23back going, ah, tornadoes destroying stuff, great.
20:26But also the way in which the weather can be a character in that sense and they're chasing
20:29something which could be ephemeral but of course it's wreaking this sort of havoc.
20:33When I first saw this, I did see it twice, I thought how unlikely that suddenly you're
20:37going to have the whole town taken out and then a few minutes later in screen time it
20:42happens all over again.
20:44But this is a phenomenon which is very familiar and of course having that British journalist
20:48as you say chasing this when he doesn't know anything about the phenomenon really and I
20:53could relate to that because I was watching something that may or may not be true but
20:57I kind of bought into its premise.
20:59Yes, I think tornadoes, especially they have, I mentioned how it's gotten worse with climate
21:05change over the years.
21:06I think it's still quite a relevant subject and they treat the tornadoes even though there's
21:09quite a fair few of them in this movie, they all treat them with the same fear and reverence.
21:16I think seeing the tornadoes start, it's going around and then the destruction afterwards
21:22I think still shows us how deadly they can be, especially with the beginning scene with
21:28the group of students being sucked up into this tornado, that's still in my mind even
21:32though that's kind of like the first five minutes.
21:34But there is that thing about chasing something ephemeral because it could be a person, it
21:38could be a character.
21:39I mean in previous episodes we've had guests choosing things like the Greatest Showman
21:43but there is something in this about the fact that they're chasing something which is dangerous.
21:47But they're trying to almost sort of humanise it as well or use human technology to control
21:51it to save people's lives.
21:52So they're not just chasing this because they're like the equivalent of free soloing, they're
21:56actually chasing something here because they want to make a difference and that's not what
22:00you see.
22:01The Glenn Powell character, at first he just seems to be sort of cocksure, full of himself
22:04but actually there seems to be a more tender human side.
22:07Yes, I think they did a really, they could have just gone, oh he's just some tornado
22:11chaser who's just a bit dumb.
22:14But the way they show the worst aspects of him first and then kind of loop that back
22:19around to being his best aspects.
22:21So him selling t-shirts with that t-shirt money going to providing food and stuff to
22:27the victims of the town we see that's been destroyed.
22:30I think them humanising his character and then showing why he chases tornados and stuff
22:38to raise that money.
22:39I think that's a very good way of showing that the tornadoes can be destructive but
22:45with people like his character they can kind of help support the victims.
22:50Now tell me something about the audience because you obviously saw this at the cinema.
22:52Yes.
22:53Now were you watching this with a big audience, did that make a difference?
22:56Did you expect this to be a film as good as it is for you?
22:59Yeah, there was a lot of gasps especially with all the destruction.
23:02I think the end bit where the tornado rips into the cinema.
23:07I think the fact that people still get frightened by tornadoes and the amount of ooh-ahh in
23:12the audience was...
23:13Because I did that as well.
23:14I was like wow.
23:15This is...
23:16And it's to get this reaction and hearing this reaction from an audience post-Covid
23:20when cinemas were quite low and then seeing how full this one was and then seeing them
23:24saying the same reaction I had.
23:26It's like that's great.
23:27Even though these tornadoes are completely horrifying it's great that they're having
23:30the same reaction I am.
23:32Brilliant stuff.
23:33Well I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today.
23:35Many thanks to Alex Marsh for joining us and being such a brilliant guest and many
23:39thanks to you all for tuning in.
23:41Be sure to come back and join us again at the same time next week.
23:45Until then, that's all from us.
23:47Goodbye.