ANNIHILATION: self-destruction, trauma, and cancer in the shimmer - Four Play Ep. 2 (Cosmic Horror)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- Alex Garland's 2018 film Annihilation continues the Cosmic Horror theme on Four Play, as Richard, Monte, and Thorin discuss the themes that evolve beyond the shimmer. Is the film about trauma, the experience of cancer, the fundamental human drive toward self-destruction? The Four Play crew also digs deep into the symbolism embedded in the film and how the beauty of the production design, soundtrack, and cinematography helps to create a compelling alien world. The ending has been critiqued as enigmatic, but if feels a bit too straightforward for our hosts, who left this film wanting a bit more mystery. And also more of Oscar Isaac's acting.
Four Play selects four iconic films from a theme or genre to meticulously analyze and place in their proper historical context. Hosted by veteran esports commentators Richard Lewis, Duncan "Thorin" Shields, and Christopher "MonteCristo" Mykles, Four Play showcases both legendary Hollywood movies as well as hidden gems outside the mainstream. Be sure to watch along with our hosts each week to get the most of each conversation!
Editing by Adanion
Art by Atantalas
Watch Four Play on Spotify with video: open.spotify.com/show/6EYVLm1...
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0:00:00 - Channel updates and intro to Annihilation
0:12:06 - Underlying themes of self-destruction, trauma, and cancer
0:28:06 - Responding to criticism about the film
0:35:50 - Soundtrack, cinematography, and production design
0:40:20 - Should the narrative have been told with the interrogation framing?
0:54:27 - Unravelling the end of the film
1:11:40 - Why we picked Annihilation and our final opinions
#moviereview
#lastfreenation
#podcast - บันเทิง
Hey, everyone! We hope you’ve been enjoying the new show and will subscribe, like, and leave a comment on the channel.
We’ve been introducing more edited and visual elements into the LFN culture content, so please let us know how you’ve been enjoying our non-esports channel and if there’s anything you want changed or improved. Thanks for watching!
Love the edited and visual elements added into the vids. Lasts long enough to serve as a reminder/reference while not disrupting the flow of the Podcast. Keep the great work coming!
It is everything i dreamed of and more.
I just hope that you are reviewing the count of monte cristo eventually. For obvious reasons.
The edited elements add so much to the content, loved the idea!
I absolutely love it when you edit in the exact things you are referencing. It refreshes the memory and makes the viewing/listening experience more tangible. Much appreciated.
I enjoyed this past 3 episodes very much good job I hope in next version of Cosmic Horror even tho its overplayed in a way we get Alien or Aliens depending in what part you guys love more .Been watching you 3 guys for a long time this is refreshing in opening a new view of whats your point of views in in other regards not just games. Would love if you also did this with books but I dont know what kind of audience you would have for that. Cant wait for new genre of movie reviews also I think it would be fun if u did 3(each one picks one movie) + 1 of the viewers picks that would seem interesting to you guys. Please continue doing this I am very much enjoying this content.
If you ever do a review so to speak of movies made from like music albums or inspiration from that I would really really love to hear your guys opinion on The Wall movie of the well,you know what record 😅
Plus the banter is always spot on 🤟
Thank you for making this series guys. I think this is going to become my favourite show on LFN.
Just finished the Four Horsemen with Harsha. Now time to watch some FourPlay
Usually you start with Four Play
Not if you're going back for more 😅@LastFreeNationCulture
Richard gives great insights from the novel in this episode that really helps in understanding the movie. I read the novel first and I am so glad he brought out the important points from it.
My guys. This one was a trip. Hitting the freeze pipe before this one made the experience pretty terrifying.
Bro. When Thorin described his potential ending, I was too fried man hahaha
Would love to see a month on Historical Epics. Kingdom of Heaven (DC), Alexander, Troy etc.
This is definitely going to happen because I want it
Watching these guys analyze Kingdom of Heaven would be fantastic
+1 on this, that'd be amazing!
Thank you guys for putting this series together! Outside of the podcast, it has brought my brother and our fiancés a lot of joy in first time watching or revisiting of these films. We've set aside time for us all to have discussions and deep dives into the films before you release the podcast. It has also been really cool to have this series as a way to introduce my partner to your content as well, since she isn't particularly interested in esports. I am grateful that this series has created a sort of film club for my family and we are looking forward to following along, hopefully, for many episodes to come.
It was definitely the hope that people would be interested in following along with us with a film per week and a change of pace in terms of genre every month. Due to the enormous amount of content these days we figured it would be helpful to give some guidance and create a shared experience for people. Thanks for watching!
I'm with Richard on this one, I actually really like this film. The script has plenty of issues but the atmosphere and mood of this movie are awesome. Like Thorin pointed out, this one is very reminiscent of Stalker, which I'm all about.
Whoever did your cosmic horror themed backdrop, deserves a raise. Love the new content!
Editing for both episodes so far is clearly on point, it greatly enhances the viewing experience. One of the only podcasts from you guys which i'm actively watching not just listening. Format is great, love the talk, keep 'em coming.
So glad this show exists could listen to you three talk about anything
I like Monty's representation in the background poster: "for this podcast you won't need eyes to see"
I've started to grow out of esports over the last couple years, but Ive watched summoning insight and Four Horseman since their inception. I love this channel because it gives me a reason to keep up with Monte, Thorin and Richard despite my estrangement from esports.
Love the series, looking forward to the next one!
Look forward to these every week
This show is just amazing, thanks!
Im glad this podcast is a thing, it gives me an excuse to watch movies that i may not have seen otherwise, Keep it up Lads!
Love this series, keep em coming guys
Love this show! Keep it coming boys!
Richard, THANK YOU. When Monte said the next category was going to be 80s Vampire movies, I was wondering if someone was going to acknowledge how queer coded vampires are historically. Everything from you know... ALL of Carmilla to Dracula himself likely being analogous to Oscar Wilde when he was put on trial for "gross indecency" which was the British legal way of saying "homosexuality" back then. Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde were historically close friends. How that DNA has filtered through the genre over the years is an interesting discussion to have in and of itself, and it is almost silly to deny it when the two stories that created the genre itself are about a character that is most likely based on "allegedly" gay man and a canonical lesbian.
The Lost Boys episode is going to be a trip.
Loving this series
Greatly enjoy these videos!
I love this series glad to have you guys to do this, help me expand my movie experiences.
Amazing video and series. Thank you for all the content!
Really loving this Fourplay content! Went and watched Annihilation so I can listen to this :D
I didn't expect this kind of content at all, but it's great!
Awesome series, thanks lads
MonteCristo nailed it. We're generally more attached to movies that genuinely tried something and failed than to GENERIC_PLOT_MOVIE_1 that is otherwise a nick flick.
Trying new shit and giving a sound and image experience to your audience is, I feel, the essence of great cinema. The personal appreciation doesn't really matter.
This is amazing!
Great series ! Love it
these are absolute gems btw. The episodes will be timeless and its great seeing you guys interact outside of the blackhole of esports
I appreciate you for 'making' me watch this movie again.
- In particular you guys picked up on details I blew past, so kudos on that :)
Had a lot of fun watching the movies, thanks for the recommendations and content
This series is a gem. The analysis makes me bust up with laughter
I could listen to you guys talk about movies for hours
Been watching all the content you make barring some of the lec stuff. Absolutely crushing it and hope you guys continue to grow and be successful. I also hope youll cover stormgate on its debut.
Love these. I hope you guys do a weekly or monthly bookclub series too ❤
best lfn series so far
and that is saying a lot, consiering all the bangers you guys keep on rolling out ;)
Cheers, much appreciated!
I’ve been really gaining extra appreciation of Richard from these.
"hear me out" - my favorite richard line
Love the series keep it coming . I also like that you had different views about annihilation gave the episode more interest for me .
The visual edits are fire
The song at the end where Portman sees the 'Alien' 36:12 is from the German band Moderat (The Mark - Interlude) and not the original movie composer funnily enough. They do expand on it since the actual song isn't that long. It's just a perfect song for that sequence.
Moderat is so sick in general. For those who don't know them, "Bad Kingdom" is a great track to start with.
Thoroughly enjoy the variety brought by having different people, not just picking something everyone loves & how differently it seems some of you approach movies in general. Great format, great execution. Cannot wait for more. Keep it coming gents!
Great content!!
Great vid once again 👍
Gonna watch the movie sometime this week and gonna come back to this awesome podcast
Favorite podcast atm
Loved this
I dont really ever comment on youtube videos but this show is fantastic. I watched the movie for the first time before watching this, and getting to hear what you lads think makes the whole "movie watching" experience a whole lot better. I have to agree with Duncan in the sense that Annihilation was more of an experience rather than a "good" movie.
Really loving this podcast. Edits in for reference are always on point. I hadn't watched this movie since its theater debut, and definitely forgot how in your face it was with the storytelling prior to rewatching it for this episode. The comparison to rewatching The Thing from the previous week was definitely night and day. Still a decent watch though, I think I did enjoy it a little more the first time around though. Really looking forward to next weeks episode, Event Horizon and Sunshine are two of my absolute favorites in this genre for sure. Gotta find an excuse to watch Sunshine sometime!
love this new content. Hope you branch out into other genres, and mediums!
Like this show a lot already!
Interesting string of symbolism to point out.
The book Lena is reading is about Henrietta Lacks. A cervical cancer patient who had samples of herself taken by John Hopkins (without her knowledge and permission). Ultimately used to create the first "immortal" line of cells, known as the HeLa line.
This ties together cancer, the importance of Lena being from Johns Hopkins, the idea of something taking your cells or DNA without you knowing, and the idea of infinity or immortality.
I had only watched this film on streaming in 2019 and really enjoyed it, didn't pay any attention to what it's reception was etc. Hearing that this is a maligned film and people were expecting Richard to dunk on it blew my mind.
Another great episode, can't wait for more!
Love this series, I would listen to this trio discuss just about anything
Imagine Thorin going ham about geometry, "the joke is, Pythagoras-"
great series, im super hyped for event horizon!
Despite not being a fan of most things sci-fi, I have to say I really liked this movie. I went into it without seeing the poster and not knowing at all what it was about. It had its flaws, and you guys pointed them out rightfully in the episode, but I think for a 1-time watch it was definitely worth it.
Thanks for this, guys. Watched your sicario episode. Now my friend and I are gonna watch annihilation tomorrow. I saw annihilation in theaters and I love it. Don’t agree with everything you guys said but I also agree with thorin’s take on it being an experience. We also watched sunshine tonight because of this review. Hopefully you guys will double back on that, I’d love to hear your takes on that.
I have enjoyed this discussion. I haven't seen the movie in a while, so the edits help a lot. We watched Stalker and this back to back, which was a hell of a movie night. I can't say I watched it as analytically as you all, but I did enjoy the movie as an experience. I do agree setting it up as an action movie limited it more than necessary.
Although it wasn't the best it was certainly an interesting watch for me, I agree too that the sound design and also the visual/graphical design was very well done for the movie. Good episode 👍
Great stuff as usual guys, thanks for the content!
The piece of music from the end of the movie that you mentioned is "Moderat - The Mark - Interlude". It's the first song on an absolutely banger album.
Keep up the great content!
Love this series, the discussions are great. Annihilation slipped through the cracks for me on release so I always wanted to catch up on it, but I failed to do so until I wanted to see it to watch this episode. I really enjoyed watching the movie, for all the reasons this episode touched on. Even though I was technically born in America I was still able to understand the movie without anyone explaining it to me while I watched. Now I need to go check out these 1 star reviews, because that part was cracking me up.
YES ANOTHER ONE!
While watching the movie I remembered how you contextualized The Thing in a paranoid cold war era and how that evidently plays into the themes of the movie and all that. So I was thinking how the movie may have some kind of reflection about nowdays and the shimmer made me think about the internet in a way. The idea of something suddenly appearing and completely distorting our self perception and specifically for us zoomers who got introduced to the online world at a very young age, kind of resonates with me.
Love this show
Its fun to see rich, monte and thorin talk about things other than esports
Watched this with my wife on Sunday. It's interesting to see your perspectives on this and great fun to pseudo watch along with you guys. Can't wait to keep going to the next ones
Happy to have you and your wife along for the journey!
@@LastFreeNationCulture "and your wife' caaaareful
monte always brings the tact
Amazing, finally geting Richy Lew to review movies (hes a media student).
As long as you guys will be doing these, ill be watching them
Great series
My new favourite show on the LFN Network :)
Amazing drawing the book defferences by Richard Lewis
I saw this in theaters just thinking it was gonna be an action flick with a little bit of sci-fi and it really blew me away tbh, one of the best movies I've seen in a theater
Banger series
This is another awesome movie
Didn't think it was a great movie but definitely left me thinking about it.Thought the visuals at the end in the lighthouse were really well done,the sphere along with that score really gave me a flashback of a really strong psychedelic trip.
Good discussion about the themes of the movie. I am not going to add something to it because I think you hit most points, but it made me think about if you ever will check out games in the same vein. Two kind of recent games that came to mind for me are Observation, which is much more SciFi, and Signalis, which is very much Cosmic Horror (e.g. The King in Yellow is very prominent in it). Maybe another idea for your channel, shining light on some overlooked games. Keep up the good work!
I remember seeing this movie in theaters. Me and my friend went in knowing absolutely nothing about the movie, the trailers just made it seem like a cool scifi movie where people were recounting their experiences after having explored a jungle (and obviously something happening). I remember we came out of the movie thinking it wasn't very good. I remember making a joke about refracting something over and over again, cause so much of the movie felt like it was just ramming the theme of refraction down your throat.
It's interesting that you guys wanted the story told linearly, I thought it would have been better told as entirely as a person recounting what happened. Then you have the questioning of it you believe them, what really happened and that way they wouldn't have to give a "reveal" at the end.
side note: I think it shows this movie was more recent by how much they were explaining while you were watching it; this could've easily been a top 20 movie/experience of all time if they explained less / let you just watch without holding your hand so much
Banger
love these so fucknig much
Would love a series on neo-noirs in the future, awesome show I'm watching movies in a genre I'm not normally interested in.
I personally saw the lighthouse as a core trauma/experience within someone and the shimmer as the commitment to face it. Plunging the depths of ones subconscious can be scary. Those on the outside say that nobody comes back once they go in, and I feel that when you decide to face your inner turmoil you kind of are changed forever and are not the same person as before. I think this perspective is also relative to the interrogation framework on which the movie is placed. It is a very personal journey and I found it interesting how they materialized the death and rebirth of one from their former self.
The tacked on "action" scenes lacked any form of narrative thrust IMO, and could have been reframed to flush out the other character's motivation a bit better and removed some exposition scenes. For example, Cass, whose daughter had died, maybe she gets killed and they find a diary she poured her anxieties into. I don't really need to know about her as a character, just more about her purpose without it being exposed so bluntly. Also the Anya girl, who hits on Lena early on, they could have explored her anxieties a bit. Perhaps she became an addict due to her lack of self acceptance. Her tough girl attitude a mere façade in place of a scared girl afraid to face her fears. Instead she just gets fucking gored by manbearpig, which was a big tonal shift and kind of off-putting. It just shows she's not trusting and paranoid, rather than portraying things from her perspective in which the viewer can draw these conclusions based on her motivation for entering the shimmer to begin with.
On a final note, I found it interesting listening to you all discuss 'art' itself, and I believe it can be seen as relative to what one looks for in a film. Personally, I find myself interested in a creator's vision or motivation when creating a piece, whether it is a paining, movie, etc. Growing older has given me a deeper sense of appreciation for the creation process itself, and not solely on the finished product. I guess it comes down to what one is looking for. Some like paintings for how they accent their wall. Perhaps it may be techniques used, or a style that draws the person in. Maybe it's the significance the piece had on society, or a reminder back to the time in a viewers life. Each person is unique, and I gotta say it was great learning a bit more about you guys. Much love and looking forward to future episodes!
Loved the episode. I'd be curious to see your review of infinity pool. I watched when it was first released and its definitely a unqiue movie
Cant wait for the next one, Event Horizon is so good
Would love for you guys to check out Les Grand Bleau or the deep Blue in english. My all time favorit movie. Love the show!
Loved this episode because I missed the big themes of the movie, this series has given me an itch to watch more films and get into the movie space! One aside about the visual component of the podcast that distracted me a bit and sorry for pointing this out, Monte's window is too far to the right, it has a bigger gap on the left side compared to Thorin's right.
Lets go!
Fucking loving this series.
Made me want to go watch ex machina rather than annihilation😂 love the new show keep up the good work!
I don't know what genre this would fall in for the series, but I feel like you would enjoy Live Die Repeat
NICE
Comment for the algo, great stuff as always
This film reminds me of a game Returnal. What a fucking great game.
Watched the movie with my wife so I could finally watched this but fucked up and watched it high and boy was that a trip
Cannot wait for Event Horizon!
My thoughts on next series after cosmic horror: The Wire (each seasons), best horrors of 80's/90's, best super hero films
I get the point of the genre now but its just entertaining to see detective X monsters. But thats where you come in. ❤ I'm just kind of sad that it seems when shimmer is gone, the mutations don't stay or reduces in effect. Oh hey i was actually less irritated by the scientific hygiene, the opposite of that 1 star review. 😂