Ep. 892 - Hope

David Chen (0:19)

Hello, everyone, and welcome to The Filmcast, a podcast about movies. I'm David Chen, and 20 years ago, we had Johnny Cash, Steve Jobs, and Bob Hope. Now, we have no cash, no jobs, and Bob Hope is dead.

But we're still going to review Hope today. Joining me today is Jeff Cannata.

Jeff Cannata (0:39)

For the first time since 1977's A New Hope, we've got a new hope.

David Chen (0:48)

Those are, of course, all vague and oblique references to the fact that today in the podcast, we're going to be reviewing Hope.

And I know what you're probably thinking, hey, where's Devindra Hardawar? Well, due to scheduling reasons, he couldn't be with us for the whole episode. Of course, he was not going to miss our Hope review. He'll be on for that. And he'll also be on for part of what we've been watching. So you can look forward to that. But before we get to any of that...

Jeff Cannata (1:12)

If you clap loud enough, he will appear.

David Chen (1:13)

That's right. That's right.

I do want to mention, of course, we're just going to talk a little bit about what we've been watching this week before we do some weekly plugs and then get to our review of Hope. But first, let's talk about a couple of emails.

This one comes in from Philip, writing into Slashfilmcast at gmail.com. Philip J writes in, Hi, hope you're well. My eldest daughter, Camille, is in a poetry club at her public magnet art school. As an aspiring writer, she devours books by the dozen. She read over 20 books last summer alone. Her personal media diet is generally centered on teen genre fiction reviews and criticism. During the hour plus commute we have most mornings at her school, we've been listening to the expat files on Dave's Patreon channel. Shout out to the expat files. And also to The Filmcast. Podcasts have given us a great way to bond. We use the shows to talk about current events and pop culture for her college level courses, which require more discourse and general knowledge. But she slowly become a bigger and bigger fan of the show, often asking when the next After Dark is dropping, what your takes were on an episode, from a back catalog episode she missed. And through it all, she has developed a healthier relationship with media consumption and criticism, something that she is now bringing to her role as the submissions editor of her school's literary magazine. Mind you, she is 15 years old.

Jeff Cannata (2:33)

Amazing!

David Chen (2:35)

But the real Cherry on Top...

Jeff Cannata (2:35)

If you're listening, congratulations, that's incredible. Yeah, that is awesome. Keep reading. It's wonderful.

David Chen (2:41)

But the real Cherry on Top happened earlier today. Imagine my utter shock when she wrote and performed two limericks at her slam poetry club, totally unprompted. She gave context, giving credit to Jeff Cannata for the format and performed the two limericks in front of a crowd of her peers, which was met with enthusiastic applause.

Her teacher wants her to review more...

Jeff Cannata (3:03)

Limericks never fail, people.

David Chen (3:05)

That's what I know.

Her teachers want her to review more media for the school's publication, exploring more poetic formats. We're also proud owners of a signed copy of Best Summed Up. I've sent many family members Jeff's personalized limericks over the years through Cameo. And I'll never forget the birthday dedication from my brother-in-law that you read on air that I heard while I was in the midst of running 40 miles for my 40th birthday through the hell that was the pandemic. Thank you so much for giving us so many things to be grateful for. You've made a lasting impression. Does this mean I should upgrade to Money Horse now? End quote.

Yes.

Jeff Cannata (3:38)

But also what an awesome email. Thank you. That's very warms the heart. Makes me very proud. And I do love the fact that the teacher's like, I would love for you to do more reviews, maybe different poetry types.

David Chen (3:56)

Have you heard of Free Verse? Explore other. Haiku perhaps?

No, I'm sure it was very kind the way the teacher did it. But yes. You know what limericks are? They're crowd pleasers, right? Like it's true. It's a common, it's kind of for everyone, right?

Devindra Hardawar (4:18)

Yeah.

David Chen (4:19)

But you know, that's why-

Devindra Hardawar (4:20)

Poetry for the masses.

David Chen (4:21)

It's true for the masses. It's for the masses. But there are other forms as well, and we hope Philip's daughter enjoys exploring all those as well. But yes, wonderful email, Philip. Thank you so much for that. Well, Jeff, I sent you, I read the nice one. Uh-oh. Here comes the pain.