Low Key

Just Mercy, starring Michael B. Jordan as a lawyer who defends a wrongly accused death-row inmate played by Jamie Foxx, is one of many films made available for free in response to the Black Lives Matter protests nationwide. In the latest Low Key podcast, we talk about what the film gets right about racist policing, and what changes we'd like to see in real life.

The discussion of the movie leads to some comparisons of our own interactions with police. Would you believe your two black co-hosts and one white co-host have had very different experiences? Note the extremely long silence when Keith asks Tim at the 34:13 mark in the podcast if a cop has ever walked up to him and asked for ID for no reason. 

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The nerd nightmare is over: the badgering has paid off, and the Synder Cut of the DC Extended Universe’s Justice League will be released as an HBO Max exclusive sometime in 2021.

In the latest Low Key Podcast, we talk about what it all means, and what we want from the Snyder Cut. And great news: This episode features Sam from the Sam Said It! podcast.

The corporate overlords have bowed to the overbeating might of tweets and petitions to remake the underwhelming November 2017 release into Zack Snyder’s intended glory. The remake will be released as either a four-hour epic film or a six-episode miniseries with enhanced CGI, new character designs, and additional scenes to flesh out the story. This is the sort of thing that would normally only happen in a comic book and yet here we are.

So how did this happen? A group of executives from HBO, Warner Brothers, and DC decided to move forward with the project after viewing an unfinished version of the Synder Cut back in early February 2020.

This cut was based on post production work by Snyder that was unfinished when the director had to step away because of a family tragedy. The film was later completed by Joss Whedon and, understandably, had some mixed issues with tone and plot that audiences didn’t enjoy.

Despite grossing $658 million worldwide, it is considered a missed opportunity by avid comic book fans, casual viewers and business people alike. The Synder Cut could alleviate some of the issues around Justice League and become a huge part of HBO Max’s arsenal as the streaming wars continue to heat up.

This episode of the Low Key pod features special guest Mr. Sam P of the Sam Said It podcast (please check him out!) and follow us on Instagram.

1:00: Sam Returns!

1:42: Wearing a mask during COVID-19 pandemic in Texas and Tennessee

5:00: Timeline of Justice League and the Synder Cut 

8:30: Why did audiences not gravitate to the Justice League theatrical release?

11:15: Limitations of the current DCEU compared to the CW Arrowverse

15:22: The problem with creating the Snyder Cut and the R-rated Batman v. Superman.

18:10: Why is the Snyder Cut happening?

21:50: Superman’s insane power level in Justice League

24:00: How the DCEU attempted to mimic MCU’s apocalyptic prophecy and hero relationships.

30:20: DCEU standalone films work better than the team movie.

33:36: “Marvel doesn’t make superhero movies”

38:18: DCEU and latest Star Wars trilogy had no plan

41:20: Should fan criticism lead to massive changes for a franchise’s direction? (listen to this episode of the Movie Maker podcast to hear from the director about changes to Sonic the Hedgehog based on fan feedback)

44:36: Examples of screenings leading to a different final cut.

46:45: Changes to other mediums after a final release (video games, music, etc.)

48:06: Is a four-hour Synder cut too long?

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Netflix does not shy away from distributing stories that give voices to the voiceless - the recently released documentary Murder to Mercy is no exception. The doc shares the story of Cyntoia Brown, a woman who was sentenced to prison for life at the age of 16 for killing a man when she was being sex trafficked at the Nashville, Tennessee area in 2004. Brown told police that she feared for her life and shot the man with a gun inside the house when she believed he was going to violently attack. Fifteen years later, she was granted clemency by the state governor and now works as works as an advocate for helping vulnerable young people who are survivors of sex trafficking. 

The film contains footage from initial arrest up until her release from prison which demonstrates a positive example of what’s possible when rehabilitation resources are available. On the other side of the coin, interviews with the women in her biological family are present, each of whom are survivors of sexual abuse by men in their lives whom they trusted. The generational trauma experienced by each of these women is given room to be explored and considered without a political bend which undoubtedly will bother some critics and viewers. 

A takeaway that hopefully hits home is that more can be done to help create more accountability from how the justice system responds to the issues of domestic abuse and sex trafficking. The lawyers who fought to secure Brown’s clemency mentioned that the case was having an impact on both a domestic and global scale. Stories like these are difficult to watch but they are worth our engagement given their common occurrence. Give the Low Key podcast a listen for our full thoughts. 

Murder and Mercy is available on Netflix now. 

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The new documentary Feels Good Man explores how racists, trolls and incels turned an innocuous cartoon character named Pepe the Frog into a symbol of hate. On the latest Low Key podcast, we talk about how the situation epitomizes many of the problems of the internet, where misinformation and propaganda choke out facts and helpful information. 

Feels Good Man, directed by Arthur Jones, goes deep into the backstory of Pepe. Once he was a simple creature drawn by artist Matt Furie, known by the dorky catchphrase "Feels good man," which Pepe used to explain why he pees with his pants down.

The document shows how this innocuous creature was soon embraced by a depressing online community of do-littles who identify as "NEET" — an abbreviation for "not in education, employment, or training."

When "normies" — including women — invaded their world by starting to embrace Pepe, the social outcasts rebelled, trying to make Pepe as repugnant as possible by affiliating him with Nazism, misogyny, and other repellant ideologies. 

To Furie's dismay, Pepe and hate soon became inseparable.

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Netflix's trippy The Midnight Gospel, from comedian Duncan Trussell and animator Pendleton Ward, might be a model for pandemic era TV shows: It asks the big questions in life without requiring any actors to get too close to each other.

The series is about a scamp named Clancy Gilroy (voiced by Trussell), who uses a butt-shaped simulator to travel to different worlds and interview people for his "spacecast," which is basically a podcast, about questions like what happens when we die, why death is so essential to life, and what it means to be enlightened. You can appreciate it for the deep, philosophical conversations Trussell has with the other beings he encounters (voiced by guests as varied as Dr. Drew Pinsky, Damien Echols, Anne Lamott and Ram Dass), or you can enjoy the insane animated shenanigans, such as the zombie war in the first episode. Or you can enjoy both. The show mixes high and low.

Its formula — interesting conversations brought to vivid life through animation — seems like a very intriguing answer to the question of how to make a TV show at a time when so many of us are in quarantine. Innovative moviemakers could easily script and voice their stories separately, and then unite them through animation.

Does The Midnight Gospel work? We discuss. But there's no question it's thought provoking — The Midnight Gospel inspired us to think about real v. simulated reality, and our tendency toward self-destructiveness. By the end of the episode we've covered everything from Animal Crossing to the Michael Jordan doc The Last Dance to, of course, COVID-19. Stick your head in the simulator and join us.

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Netflix's The Platform has drawn plaudits as the perfect film for the age of hoarding. But is it, really? In one of our most divided episodes, we go deep — Level 333 deep — on whether the main metaphor in the film makes any sense at all.

"The Platform," directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, takes place in a multi-level prison where the inmates are fed via a platform that is initially filled with sumptuous dishes — which the inmates pick clean as the platform descends. Those in the lower cells get less and less, until they get nothing at all. Adding to the fun is the fact that the inmates are switched around, apparently at random, so that they are sometimes on good, high-level floors, and sometimes in the deeper ones, where starvation is a very likely fate.

Tim had big problems with this one; Aaron and Keith saw some merits. Overall, we got very philosophical in trying to decide how, if at all, The Platform relates to the way we live now.

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Memphis is well known mostly for its music and food, rarely getting a chance to branch out beyond that common framing. Netflix’s ‘Uncorked’ is going for something a little different as it follows the story of a young 20-something guy hoping to accomplish his dream of attaining the title of Master Sommelier. His father wants him to stay over the family business, a BBQ joint first started by his grandfather who bootstrapped his way to entrepreneurial success. Go for your dreams or take over the family business with regrets - it’s an age old tale with a Memphis twist. And because two of Low Key’s host are from the Bluff City, a review was bound to happen no matter what.

Among the actoral talent are anchors of black cinema such as Courtney B. Vance and Niecy Nash provide FOILs for each other - accepting a child’s dream (however fickle it may be) versus taking the mantle (and responsibility) chosen for them. Relative newcomers Mamoudou Athie and Sasha Compère have an undeniable chemistry that ebbs positively and negatively in a way that feels genuine on the screen. From the music to the choreography, there’s a lot to like about this music. It’s not perfect as we discuss over an hour but it is worth your time.

And don’t forget to follow us on @thelowkeypod!

Episode Breakdown

2:39 - Overall impressions

9:20 - Does Elijah appreciate his family’s sacrifice?

11:50 - Elijah’s vibe and Mamoudou Athie;s performance

13:00 - A discussion on “nice guys” and “cool guys”

22:40 - How the films handles racial dynamics

26:38 - Memphis representation (city sights, music, and culture)

38:00 - What is the purpose of Elijah’s sister?

41:15 - Covid-19 implications

46:40 - Netflix’s continued commitment to diverse stories

50:23 - ‘Tiger King’ appreciation 

53:30 - Covid-19 impact on Hollywood and celebrities

57:30 - Keith’s birthday and St.Jude donation drive

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DC Universe’s Harley Quinn doesn’t give a f**k about offending people as the first scene demonstrates by showing a yacht full of billionaires robbed and ripped apart. The show is meant to shock audiences. But it also serves as a great example of how R-rated comic book material can allow for an intelligent subversion of tropes and dark humor that reveals why we connect to these broken characters. 

Harley herself shines in every episode in both success and failure as she strives to go from the Joker’s lackey to the first modern female supervillian. It sounds simple enough but the show reveals an actual truth of comics - female supervillians are non-existent with our only example suffering a face worse than Arkham.  A crew for Harley is assembled to help her become noticed by the Legion of Doom, leading to hijnx that are often hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t already seen the show although we try on this episode. 

The mature content in animated DC films seems like an intentional way to set themselves apart from Marvel’s relatively kid-friendly animation. Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, scheduled for release on May 5, 2020, has a R-rated trailer that imagines a worse case scenario for Earth where heroes lose and die to Darkseid’s army. Marvel wins in Hollywood but struggles to reach the high bar set by DC’s animated films and shows. Harley Quinn is another example of DC getting it right. Come find out why for the next 47 minutes and don’t forget to follow us on @thelowkeypod.

Episode Breakdown

1:33 - Overall impressions

6:30 - Best moments in the show

13:12 - Talking the show creators

16:16 - Subverting classic characterizations of heroes and villians

19:44 - Worst comic book movies of all-time

24:13 - Is the show entirely in Harley’s head?

27:50 - A tangent to Scrooged (1988) courtesy of Carol Kane

29:52 - Final thoughts on the show

33:20 - Keith and Aaron convince Tim to watch Netflix’s ‘Love Is Blind’

39:55 - Keith asks about a neighbor problem

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Candyman has aged very well: The 1992 story of a son of a slave who is murdered for loving a white woman — and reborn as a hook-handed slasher — looks at racism with an unflinching honesty missing from a lot of our racial dialogue today. It skillfully, scarily connects the bigotry of old with the bigotry of what was, at the time of its release, the modern age.

Candyman returns in June with a Jordan Peele-produced reboot, and we here at the Low Key Podcast prepared by watching the original. Revisiting Candyman reminds us how much and how little has changed since 1992 — and, in some ways, since 1892.

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Zoë Kravitz might be the single best person on earth to star in Hulu's High Fidelity, an update of the John Cusack movie of the same name: Her mom, Lisa Bonet, was one of the stars of that film, based on a Nick Hornby novel, also called High Fidelity.

You've probably gathered that High Fidelity lends itself to adaptation. The novel, released in 1995, was set in London, and featured a record store owner named Rob, reeling from a breakup. The movie, released in 2000, was set in Chicago and featured a record store owner named Rob, reeling from a breakup. And now the show, released this past Valentine's Day, is set in New York and features a record store owner named Rob, reeling from a breakup.

Except now Rob is a biracial woman, and record stores are more nostalgia dens than thriving Gen X businesses. Unlike the previous Robs, she's dated both women and men. But all three Robs love lists, and obsess over their Top 5 worst breakups to figure out what's wrong with the common denominator in all those relationships: Rob.

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