What We’ve Been Watching Episode 005

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of "What We've Been Watching" features Reginald Titus Jr. and Casey G. Smith discussing recent film and television content, including "Invincible," "The Boys," several documentaries, and unique video content. They delve into character developments, unexpected plot twists, the impact of historical events on film, and even the nuances of streaming service features, providing a rich commentary on diverse media experiences.

Opening Thoughts and Invincible Developments
Reginald Titus Jr.: What we've been watching, episode five. Welcome to what we've been watching, a spin-off of Filmmaker Commentary. We will cover the latest content we've consumed from movies, television, and streaming platforms as well as more. As always, it's hosted by Reginald Titus Jr. and Casey G. Smith. Let's jump into the show.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What's going on, sir?
Casey G. Smith: What is going on, Mr. Titus?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hey man, you know. Another— I don't even know what to say. I'm so used to like doing the other podcast. Um, I don't even know what to say, bro.
Casey G. Smith: How about this, Reginald? What have you been watching?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm glad you asked. All right, so one of the first things is Invincible. You had talked about Invincible, I don't know if it was like on the last podcast.
Casey G. Smith: For sure I did, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And I realized that I didn't watch all of the previous season. It was maybe a few episodes in, and I'm like, oh, what happened? You know, I just like, feel, I don't know what happened, it just kind of like fell off. So I had to go back and watch that whole season and finish that up, I was like, oh wow, this is great. And now I'm in the current season, I'm not on the current episode, but spoiler alertish, if somebody's listening and you know, just fast forward maybe 20 seconds. I'm on the episode, um, when he's in hell. And he's helping out Satan, and then the, uh, once they, you know, Satan gets his crown and he's like the big guy again. And then the guy bows down, and then our main character's like, I'm not bowing down to Satan. I'm not bowing down to Satan, dude. I was like, I was like, thank you. I was like, I was like, you're helping the devil. We have gone, we've gone to different places in this.
Casey G. Smith: So, I, I, I may have mentioned this in the previous episode that there was one episode that was kind of, uh, not so much like that episode, it's like the, like at this point, I think the lowest, like rated episode, rated episode of Invincible.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, people felt, you know, a certain kind of way about it. Yeah, it's like not necessarily it's like a side plot.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, it's like a side mission, yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, and it's, it's still dealing with, you know, our guy, uh, Damon, uh, whatever, the, you know, the detective dude. So we'll, we'll see what kind of seeds that plants for later on, but.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, and it probably, it's probably important to have that background of going through his character, his character arc. I switched that around. Um, and so like when he appears in the city, we have more of a history with him versus just being some hellboy coming up.
Casey G. Smith: That's true. The best part about that episode was that we see Mark get his, his original Invincible costume back.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah, that's right. And the guy was like, good for you.
Casey G. Smith: I was glad to see that. I'm like, you know, the blue and and black is cool. I like the OG colors.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What would, and what was the reasoning? Cause I had forgotten the reason why he switched to all blue.
Casey G. Smith: Um, because of the.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What was he just trying to be different or was it like a different, uh, uh, universe that he seen in?
Casey G. Smith: I've rewatched like the whole series multiple times. Uh, it was after, I think it was, it was obviously after his dad left. And I think he was just ready for, ready for a change.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Yeah, I couldn't remember like the, the, if that was the reason or, um, yeah, I can't remember.
Casey G. Smith: I think, I think it was after he came back from like getting his brother, like getting Oliver. Yeah, but for some reason he felt, I think, oh, no, it was after he started after he stopped like officially working with Cecil. And then he said, you know, it's, it's time for a change and that's, yeah, that's when he changed up the the costume.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, I see. I see.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, I won't spoil anything for you, but I'm, I'm a little further into Invincible and those that are that are that are current, uh, I can tell you this, the next two episodes are, yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'll be watching those this evening.
Casey G. Smith: You're, you're, you're in for some good stuff. It's, it's some, some big things happening and yeah, it's, it is, Invincible is moving right along.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The episode where I'm at right now is, um, his dad's in the sky and what's the guy that's?
Casey G. Smith: Allen the Alien.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Allen the Alien is right next to him. Play that voice is okay, I thought it was a, a friendly voice that we know. Uh, but that's where I'm at, like it ends there and it's like, what the? And then that's it, discover his girlfriend's pregnant and, you know.
Casey G. Smith: That's right. And her powers are fritzing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it was kind of funny because she had made some coffee for him. Remember she had made some coffee. He tastes it, he's like, all her stuff is turning into goo.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. It's like, ooh, that's a bad. Developments. Pregers.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Pregers.

The Boys, Streaming Pet Peeves, and "Privileges"
Casey G. Smith: But also on Amazon Prime, since we're talking Invincible. The another adjacent superhero show that has come back for its final season is that of The Boys, season five. Have you dove into season five yet of The Boys?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I was intending to and I just ran out of time.
Casey G. Smith: Understandable. I won't.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I so, I can say this though. I was watching Invincible and I just fell asleep and it was playing in the background. And then I just hear yelling, and then I'm like, what, what was going on? It's episode two of The Boys. I was like,
Casey G. Smith: It will roll, it'll roll on through.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, like this.
Casey G. Smith: At least Netflix would be like, are you sure you're watching this? But it was just, it was rolling, it was, it was rolling.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That auto play.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, sometimes it'll skip.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Which I don't mind. I actually prefer the auto play, but I just fell asleep and it just ran through all of Invincible and then it went straight into The Boys and somebody's yelling bloody murder in the middle of my rest. Mm.
Casey G. Smith: I, here's a feature that I want from streaming services. I know of, of recently we've been, we've been introduced to all the international credits that show at the end of shows. I want to be able to skip that. Like, skip an intro, let me skip international credits.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hmm. Oh.
Casey G. Smith: Like now like you have you have you have the, the, the English credits playing but then now it gives you all the, all the different countries and all the different.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's on too.
Casey G. Smith: It's, it's, it's everywhere. I want the option to skip that. No shade to those that put in the work. Hey, great, fantastic, but I don't listen to your version of it. So, once I see the English credits, I need to be able to move on so I can get to my next episode. Yeah. Now, most, most will have kind of a countdown, a timer or whatever, but sometimes some platforms need to tighten it, tighten it up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Tighten it up. Yeah. Oh, and.
Casey G. Smith: Nonetheless, that's just a pet peeve. Yeah, it, it has become a pet peeve. But what's not a pet peeve is season five on The Boys. So the first two episodes that have dropped, uh, are what you, what you would expect.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What you came here for, right?
Casey G. Smith: It's, it's doing what it's supposed to do and out of it. Out of it, yeah, there are gonna be more great memes produced. There's, there's one line I'll say that that that comes out of the first episode. It's just Homelander. He's in a this new position of power. And again, they are parodying, like The Boys is so good at like kind of holding up a mirror and and the way they've adapted it from the, the comics, they, they keep it current with what's happening in the in the world.
Reginald Titus Jr.: In our politics.
Casey G. Smith: Exactly. And so there's one thing where he says, uh, have you seen the memes that they have of me? And you know, for the, for the actor Anthony Starr, uh, throughout his portrayal of these these past five years, there are some great memes that have come of, of, of Homelander and his various expressions. But yeah, with just him saying that, it's a very kind of meta moment, but yeah, it's, uh, there's there are going to be a lot of deaths this season. And, uh, yeah, the, the, the very start of these first two does, does not disappoint.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nobody's safe.
Casey G. Smith: Nobody is safe. But yeah, The Boys, season five, if you know, you know, but hide the children and the pets. And, uh, let's go.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it's one of my guilty pleasures this one. I'll say Invincible and Rick and Morty.
Casey G. Smith: Mm. Um, so I just just watched, I thought I had watched this, but it it's on my list now, apparently I didn't watch it, but I just watched it. Um, it's a trailer that's on HBO for a show called Privileges. And it's a woman who's working at the Citadel Hotel, and as she's working there, she's discovering there's things that are going on with the clientele. These are like a higher end clientele. And she's being kind of led in. She's seeing these things go on, like people have like these, these sexual things that are going on, or there's like people being murdered, or there's like clues that are being left behind and she's kind of been, um, thrown into a position where she has to find like certain evidence for somebody and she's actually on parole and she shouldn't be doing some of the things that she's doing and it gets her into trouble as she dives into the underworlds of the Citadel.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Ooh, okay, okay. Um, a trailer that I saw was for Hulk Hogan: Real American, which will be debuting on Netflix later this month in April. So Netflix obviously has a a partnership with WWE and they've not only are showing Monday Night Raw on Mondays, but they have a whole vault of WWE previous pay-per-views. But they also have a couple of documentaries like Mr. McMahon and, uh, the WWE Unreal and now they have Hulk Hogan: Real American, which is of course, of course, chronicling the career of one Hulk Hogan. And they have footage of him being interviewed that obviously was taken this right before he, he passed away. And of course, there's gonna be various interviews with various wrestlers. So I'm, I'm very excited to, to dive in and watch that when it drops. I'm, I'm a, a fan of wrestling and the wrestling business. And however people feel about Hogan now in 2026, it's undeniable that in his heyday in the '80s, he was it was huge. Hulkamania was truly running wild and a big proponent in, in wrestling's expansion into the masses. So yeah. Yeah, Hulk Hogan: Real American.
Casey G. Smith: I saw that, that he's kind of throwing the, oh yeah, throwing the poles.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Real American.
Casey G. Smith: We'll see about that. Um, no, but I was like, that's on what, what that's, uh, Netflix?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Netflix. Yes, sir.
Casey G. Smith: Um, this is so random. It was a Coinbase, um, commercial. And the commercial was done in the style of like a Grand Theft Auto, uh, video game. And they did a whole like behind the scenes, like 40 minutes behind the scenes of how they were able to do that. So they had all, you remember how the faces looked on like, um, uh, 007 GoldenEye, like where you close up on somebody's face? So they wore masks with that face on. So they had probably like 200 extras with these mask on. And then the way they walk, they're like walk a certain way. I was like, this is brilliant. It looks like a video game, but like there's something kind of off about it because it's like real people doing it. So it's a Coinbase, uh, commercial done in the style of a video game.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All these NPCs roaming around.
Casey G. Smith: Pretty much. So basically it's like a NP, he, the guy's an NPC and he breaks free from the NPC life.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Going into Coinbase transactions.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, and it's like equal freedom. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nice, nice.

Documentaries, Martial Arts Action, and TMZ's Controversial Segment
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, another, a movie that I watched today. Again, this was kind of a random watch. I was spending some time on Amazon Prime and I pulled up, uh, In the Line of Duty 2: Supercop. Okay. Have you seen any of the Supercop films?
Casey G. Smith: Supercop?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Supercop.
Casey G. Smith: I don't think so.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So these are, I, I, I would assume they're maybe shot in in either Hong Kong.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, okay. Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And but these are like, man, like where you get, there's like, there's two really amazing female martial artists from this time in the, in the mid '80s.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, so this is from the '80s?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, wow.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So one, one is this one, one white, white lady. I think she's British, but she has like shorter hair, but she's a badass. But I've, I've seen, I've seen, I'm sure you've seen highlights of her fighting.
Casey G. Smith: I know who this is.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And the other is, is this one Asian female, her name is Cynthia Khan.
Casey G. Smith: I remember old girl. She was like an American Ninja and other stuff, right?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, yeah, I assume so.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Like, yeah, she was like our girl.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, they, but so, yeah, so, so I watched, yeah, In the Line of Duty 2.
Casey G. Smith: Supercop.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it's the time loads of these films. But it's, plot is not worth a rip. Like the plot is, is, is, is, is.
Casey G. Smith: I've probably seen it and didn't realize I've seen it. But I just don't know the name of the movie.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, well, it's interesting because you see, I saw some images on IMDb and it, it showed like some of the different key art for different countries and the name changes, right? It's, it's. Okay. It's, uh, you know, Supercop in one territory, it's, it's something else in another territory. It's interesting. But anyway, in here it was called In the Line of Duty: Super, In the Line of Duty 2: Supercop. There's maybe like three or four of these. And I don't think I've seen the original. But it was entertaining. The fight scenes, man, it's practical effects, choreography is great.
Casey G. Smith: Is there a scene where she's fighting the Asian lady and they're like next to a taxi or something like that? Uh, and it's nighttime.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I don't think, I don't think in this one. I don't think that was there. But there was one scene where at one point, she's fighting and she literally the, Cynthia Khan jumps on a table like no, no, there's there's a, she's fighting this guy and there's a piano where the, where you know, the you have the, you have the thing that can kind of the key cover that covers all the keys. That is like pulled up and she's fighting this guy. No, no, it's not that part, it's the part right above that of the piano. And that part is flipped up. She jumps into a splits onto the piano. So she's jumping backwards, but lands in a splits, not like a Van Damme splits, but more like us. She's kind of like.
Casey G. Smith: Like her face is towards the one of her legs where her face is going.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Exactly. But she's still like twisted towards the guy. So, so she's in that splits and as he's kind of trying to stab her, is when she makes that jump and so his hand is forward. And as he does that, the way she lands, she knocks the the the the handle of of of the the panel of that piano cover down on his wrist. So he has to drop the weapon. I was like, it, it was smooth. And it was, but it's just, it's so fast paced and the the dubbing is what it is. And some of the sound effects don't hit where they quite should but but the the the action hits hit. But but sometimes like this, like, okay, that, that should have been a sound of running water there. But but entertaining. And, uh, again, don't watch it for the plot, but watch it for the action.
Casey G. Smith: I love it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: But yeah, uh, once again, In the Line of Duty 2: Supercop. Streaming on Amazon Prime.
Casey G. Smith: All right, all right, that's a that is random. What made you go there?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, I had finished watching Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, uh, about, uh, Giannis Antetokounmpo, the, the basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks. And it just kind of showed as one of the things that was showing. I was like, huh. I was kind of just scrolling through and I was like, what the heck?
Casey G. Smith: Okay.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Just hit play. And away we went.
Casey G. Smith: Okay, I can dig it. Um, I watched another podcast, uh, The Pivot Podcast and they were interviewing Gary Owen and it was called Black People Famous. Okay. And and and people are still amazed at how he has like this strong like black followers and community that just love him. And, uh, he kind of just breaks down like, you know, his his love for the community. You know, both of his wives, his ex-wife and his current wife are black. And, uh, his, and he's got a chance to see like other entertainers grow or like like football player, that's why he's on The Pivot Podcast. These are, uh, ex-NFL players that are on this podcast. But because he's like such a huge Bengals fan, you know, Chad Ochocinco was the officient at his wedding. Oh, wow. Because somebody like didn't, I forgot who he had. I think it was 50 Cent. I think 50 Cent was supposed to officiate his wedding or something like that, couldn't make it. And Chad Ochocinco was like, I'll be there. And he has like this long history with Ochocinco because they would, um, while he was on the, you know, on the comedy during that time, when Ochocinco was around, they like hosted this event like every week. Um, for the players and people in that city. Nice. And so it was like kind of cool to see, you know, you know, his his development over these years. But yeah, Gary Owen's Black Famous.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's, that's pretty cool. He, he has stayed consistent through the years and hey, he found, found, found his audience.
Casey G. Smith: Mm.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, another thing I've watched that I I just alluded to was again, Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, just chronicling the the career of Giannis Antetokounmpo. I need to see it again, but I I I had it down when I was watching it because I saw it so much. But, wow. Shout out to my man Austin, who I spoke to this week and who recommended this to me. I've seen Giannis playing for the Bucks, right? He's, he's.
Casey G. Smith: Swolled up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: 100%. But to see his story from where he started, his family moving from Nigeria to Greece and being considered like illegal immigrants that could have been like deported any time and Greece is not always like immigrant friendly, if if you will. Yeah. And even like there was a group there that was specifically kind of attacking people for race, stuff like that. Is.
Casey G. Smith: Most countries are.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it was, it was, it was something to see, but him and his his four brothers, uh, his parents at times not eating, but making always make always making sure that the kids were fed. His parents just selling stuff like on on the beach, just whatever. Like they were, it was, it was hustle and grinding and and uh, Giannis saying, I've been selling stuff since I was four years old. And they didn't have internet and so they said they would go to the internet café and they would, you know, panel money.
Casey G. Smith: It's been a while since I've been to an internet café. Oh, yes, I used to go to one in Arlington.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, nice, nice.
Casey G. Smith: But they would go there and they would pay and they would watch, they would watch, you know, NBA highlights. Wow. And see Iverson and Kobe and Jordan, uh, and they just watched these highlights and they were like just, wow. And so Giannis started playing ball like with his with his dad, they would play basketball. But then he just got locked in and got serious. And the, the key was this, he looked up how much money does Kobe Bryant make?
Casey G. Smith: Oh, that's like the wrong stat to put in.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, no, but that that was the exact thing he needed.
Casey G. Smith: He needed that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: When, when he saw that, he was like, whoa, he makes that much for just playing basketball. He said, you know, if I could just make you a quarter of that, you know, just playing. He goes, he goes, I could, I could take care of my whole family. That was his goal to take care of his family, get them out of their situation.
Casey G. Smith: Honorable.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And he started putting in the work. And so you just you just see his journey and you see how thin he is. But he picks up the game. It literally, you talk about a natural. He was a natural. He picked up the game and then all of a sudden before you know it, he gets on a, a team in in Greece and then the Bucks see him. And they end up drafting him in 2013, I think it was the the draft he was a part of. It's hard to believe he's been in the league that long. Like, oh, wow, he's been in the league for me. Anyway, but it's, it's a beautiful documentary. And to see that and now like all, like three of his brothers are on the same, two of his brothers on the same team as him, which blows my mind. Like, what? Like, I.
Casey G. Smith: It's kind of like the, it's a different circumstances. Sure. But in American, uh, The Ball brothers, uh, Lonzo Ball and what he did, creating a whole strategy on how to get them into the league.
Reginald Titus Jr.: For sure.
Casey G. Smith: And but the, I think the biggest strategy was putting LaMelo in, uh, to play on a, on a foreign team. And they develop instead of going to to college and playing for free or whatever, go and play with these girls, yeah, play with these grown men.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Overseas.
Casey G. Smith: And get paid to do it. Yeah. And they were already, you know, good. They were already good. He didn't need any of the money. He wasn't barely getting paid anything. But he but the the way that the foreign people develop is different than the American. They have their fundamentals down. Oh, yeah. And, uh, they're paid professionally. So they're already ready for the game by the time they get drafted.
Reginald Titus Jr.: 100%. I mean, you look at Wembanyama, you look at, you know, Luka, I assume went up through the same kind of system. Joker as well. And again, these are some of the the top players in the league, right? Uh, Joker multiple time MVP. Now you see Giannis MVP, uh, in the league before. Uh, I'm sure Luka, Luka is probably in the running for MVP as well. Um, anyway, so, but yeah, seeing Giannis, seeing his his love for his family and just the the journey, it's just beautiful. Like you talk about the American dream. Yeah, absolutely. Like he, he has experienced in coming here and bringing his family over. Yeah, it's called Giannis: The Marvelous Journey. Amazon Prime. Worth checking out.
Casey G. Smith: Um, totally random video that popped up on my YouTube. It's nine minutes long. It's a TMZ video. Okay, okay. Uh, what's the guy on TMZ? It's Harvey, I think that's his name. And the, the brother that's always next to him with the with the dreadlocks.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I don't know their names. Sorry, sir.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, no worries. Um, but they're always breaking like news, you know, like from the Puffy Daddy stuff to the Epstein. They're, they're, yeah, it's kind of. It's the world we live in. Junk food, uh, stuff. But anyhow, they have a guy on there. His name is Dan Bilzerian. Dan Bilzerian. Um, well known kind of like rich nepot baby kind of, uh, person. He has like kind of like mohawk, dark mohawk with this big old beard. He's like known for like poker and like being on Instagram showing like all these models and doing all this stuff. Anyhow, he's, I think he's running for, he's running for some office in, uh, in Florida or whatever. And so he's kind of making his rounds. And he's wearing a T-shirt. He's swole, like he's probably, he's like probably like in his late thirties, early forties, if that, if that. And he has nothing to lose, meaning he doesn't care about what people say about him cause he's been through like a lot of stuff. And he doesn't care what people think about him. He's financially like free, independent. And so when it comes to political talking points, when you listen to all these different outlets, you can tell who they're controlled by by the things that they won't say. Uh, especially when it comes like certain wars and things like that. It was like, hey, we're gonna keep our hand off that, or we're gonna only only talk about this specific thing and not step on the toes of the people that run this. Uh, and so they bring him on and they start talking about, about, uh, they start talking about Israel. And then he says his what he feels about it, you know, about the regime and things like that. And then Harvey, he's Jewish. So he was like, he took, he took offense to what he was saying. He said, well, um, what about what you were saying about, you know, cause everything that they were saying was like, it was just like facts, you know. Like, it's stuff that people are like scared to say. And he's just just listing it off. Well, I hear what you're saying, but what about what Israel's done. He's like, list it off and then Harvey's like, all right, whatever. I can't think of the brother's name. He's like, well, I don't know if that's fact or whatever. He's like, no, this is, these are actual facts. And then then Harvey brings out his thing, well, what about this? And you are calling this guy that came on the fat Jew or something like that. And then and then, uh, Dan's like, I would, you're taking it out of context. I wasn't using it as like, you know, as, what's it called when you, slur?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Slur?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, like a racial slur. I wasn't saying it like that. But Harvey's trying to like pin him, pin him down to that. He said, it's like, and then Harvey was like, it's like saying the N-word. And then and then, you know, you got the brother right next to him. And then Dan's saying, so you're telling me that you was like saying n****r. And then he, this is live. And so, and you know, when like people say things live, like people start laughing like in the back, oh, are you hear somebody's like, oh my God. And so like, you see the like the interns, the people that are on the computer like, like doing this. The brother's face like kind of drops a little bit. But I was like, dang, like he dropped the hard R. But like him saying that proves that it's not the same thing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Because the whole atmosphere changed when, when, when he, when he said it, the.
Casey G. Smith: Well, the guy's making argument that these words are, they're the same. But the fact that you can't, as a Jewish guy, you can't say n****r. You say the N-word, but you can't say fat Jew. And so by him responding say, so you're telling me these are the same words? And then and like draw, it was just like, it was like this like kind of trending thing that was on YouTube, uh, a few days ago. I was like, this is very interesting. But I do, I was like, usually I don't approve of, you know, somebody just dropping that word like that. But this actually proves a point. And and then two, um, just people not being scared to kind of, like, voice their opinion because in media recently, I've I've been seeing that a lot of people are controlled by certain groups of people. And you can really tell. You can really tell and it's starting to get sad. So anyhow, that was just that was super random that just popped on my feed. I just like, let me jump into this random thing.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.

From Classic Courtroom Dramas to Collector Culture
Reginald Titus Jr.: So speaking of how people can handle the truth or not, I watched on Tubi a few good men. Ooh. I had never seen it before. It always been in the zeitgeist. Absolutely. And I've seen that clip of of Jack Nicholson saying, you can't handle the truth. That's true, ain't it? Totally out of context. I was like, okay, I know he's in a courtroom and but what what is this? Yeah. What what is this? So, I, I finally queued it up and watched it. So, a few good men starring Demi Moore, our man, uh, Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, they are our main players. And it's a military drama, uh, about something that's happened in, uh, place in a military base that's just off Cuba, based on a soldier dying, them trying to find out what exactly happened and who potentially made the call for what happened. Anyway, very, very, it's it's a good movie. It's it's it's fascinating. It's a courtroom drama. And, uh, who else is in it? Kevin Bacon also. Of course, I can't forget Kevin Bacon. But.
Casey G. Smith: Footloose.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Solid film though. And I can see why it had so many so many accolades and, uh, recognition. But yeah, a few good men streaming now on Tubi.
Casey G. Smith: And one of those lines that always gets referred to.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, sir. Okay. Another random channel. Bodycam footage. Okay. So, it's called like the best of bodycam. And we follow, um, uh, an officer who was at an airport. Somebody had lost their iPad. He's like, man, this guy's a worker at the at the airport. He's like, man, I can't find my iPad, it was just here. And but I think we could find it by doing like the alert to to find it. So the closer you are to the device, it starts beeping and stuff like that. And so they go into, they he follows him onto an airplane. Onto an airplane and they're like, they're hitting a button and then something starts ringing. They're like, looking around. They think it's a woman. They's like, hey, you seen an iPad? She's like, uh-uh. And then they hit a button and then some guy that's like off to the side like kind of hiding a little bit. His bag starts ringing. And then the person next to him, they don't know they're on camera. So the guy next to him his face lights up like, oh, snap! They got him. And so, sorry, you coming with me. This dude, he's acting like he can't, like he doesn't understand English, he's bilingual, but he's acting like he doesn't understand English. What? What? He's like. Oh, and then the officer's like, don't worry, we'll find somebody that can translate for you. We'll be right back. So they got him in the back and they just start grilling him. They so they take that dude to jail. They take the they got they get the guy's iPad back and they take Yeah, they take this dude to jail. I was like, this is awesome. This was entertaining and and it's and it's satisfying too. You know what I mean? It's like, uh, this bodycam footage like kind of shows you like, oh, this is how you can kind of handle yourself or find devices or like how to, you know, this is real life stuff cause that dude was using that iPad for his work. He was like a contractor. Right. Oh man, that was funny. Um, funny and sad at the same time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Glad they caught the ba caught the thief.
Casey G. Smith: Yes. All right. So, uh, another thing that I've watched, this, this was really my favorite thing that I watched, uh, between, uh, the last episode. It was on Netflix and it was called Breakdown: 1975. Oh. I I like historic documents that especially that deal with different decades, like there's some by CNN that deal with the decades, the '60s, '70s, '80s, etc. I really enjoy those. I like getting that slice of life of what was happening during those times. But Breakdown: 1975 specifically highlights and speaks to what was happening in that year of 1975 in America. The kind of the the the anxiety, the crime, the It was, it was, it was a rough time in America. You talk about like maybe the the disillusionment of the American dream.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, 1975 that was happening. You Watergate had just happened. It was the first time people were really like, wow, can we trust government on on a mass scale? Uh, you have again, the crime, you have the, uh, the oil crisis happening. So, you know, the cost of oil is is insanely high.
Reginald Titus Jr.: When did Vietnam?
Casey G. Smith: Vietnam was still going on. Uh, as well and that was becoming even more and more unpopular. Just So, out of this like old Hollywood is is is is is really dying down but all of a sudden now there's room for all these new voices. New filmmakers who are who are willing to explore elements of films that really hadn't been. So you get some really new new films that come about. And so this this is exploring kind of why those new films came out and that the kind of the impact that they had from, uh, like Towering Inferno. They, they, they list a number of them, but it was so, I found it so awesome. I was like, this is.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Really?
Casey G. Smith: Awesome. I, I, I, I love seeing that and, uh, I want to find and see Towering Inferno and you get interviews with some of the people that were a part of those films. But yes, the whole thing is just talking about these different films that arose from that time. And the impact that they had in the new voices, the new directors that were coming out, you know, Dog Day Afternoon is another one that I've that I've I've started watching years ago, but I I want to go back and revisit because I've heard about it so many times with Al Pacino. And it's based on a real story, like a real guy who, who goes to rob a bank and, you know, the police, the police are there outside and the crowds are outside and they're like cheering the guy on. And they're talking to him over the on on the phone and he gets on the news while he's talking on the phone and he's like, man, I'm just I'm just fed up. I can't I can't find where, ya ya ya. Anyway, but Dog Day Afternoon is is a kind of a classic from that time.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, the taxi driver come around this time.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, they're they're talking. I think Scorsese, they're talking to Scorsese and just kind of what that meant. But yeah, it's, it's, it's reflective of all that. But yeah, uh, Breakdown: 1975, fantastic, uh, it's just it's just one documentary. It's not like a series, it's just one. It was a quick quick watch, but I was I was quite riveted. I was like, man, this is Dyn-o-mite!
Reginald Titus Jr.: Dyn-o-mite! What uh, what, what platform again?
Casey G. Smith: Netflix.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Netflix. Speaking of Netflix, I saw a trailer for a famous soccer player. I think his name is Ronald. Ronald.
Casey G. Smith: I think you mean, you mean to tell me that that's a foreign name? Ronaldinho. Oh man, I'm jacking his name up. R O N A L D I N H O. Hopefully I'm saying this right.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Ronaldo?
Casey G. Smith: Ronaldinho. Oh, man. Sorry about that guys. Like, you ain't real, uh, you got to look that up for me. I, I'm I'm sure I'm saying his name incorrectly.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You keep talking, I'll, I'll look it.
Casey G. Smith: Okay. So the trailer, um, he, he's brown complexion, um, come from Latin, Latin backgrounds. He's got like this long hair, like this long curly hair. Sometimes he like, he's kind of known for like that hair whenever he's like kicking these soccer balls and in there and things like that. World renowned, like probably considered like one of the best soccer players or football players of all time. Uh, but they just kind of follow his like crazy life and his his trajectory of his career. And I'm sure it's gonna be like kind of like similar stories of like humble beginnings and then also like, you got, you know, when you're on top of the world and you can have literally anything that you want, especially in this field because you're talking about one of the most popular sports in the world. Um, and the and the money and the women and everything that comes, uh, with that. Um, looks interesting. Um, it's when I when I when I saw the trailer, it was all subtitled. So it's it's in their language. Uh, but it look it looks interesting. Um, and I'm sure I'm saying his name incorrectly. Ronaldinho. Yeah. So about that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I couldn't find the.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, so I just saw the trailer. So, uh, enough. I'm like, all right, I'm gonna put that on the list of possibly things to watch.
Reginald Titus Jr.: But that's coming soon to Netflix.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. On Netflix. Okay, okay. Very cool, very cool. Um, I also, again, this is, this is, this seems random. I don't I don't even know how I came across this, but I watched on also on Prime a movie called Spy Games. Oh, that sounds familiar. This is, uh, from 19, this is like in the '90s. Either late, no, this is, this is definitely '90s. Cause it it stars Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. Oh, wow. Yeah. That that's a heck of a pairing. Where Redford is like a CIA operative and Brad Pitt's like a junior operative. They they met like in Vietnam. Uh, Brad Pitt was like a sniper and Redford kind of took him under his wing. And I watched the trailer first. I was like, oh, this is pretty interesting. But the trailer was misleading because the trailer will make you think that they're working together the whole time and throughout the film. They are not. There are a series of flashbacks that happen here and there, but.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Little trickery.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Uh, but , the film was was was pretty interesting. But yeah, if you're into kind of spy thrillers and just I wanted to see Redford and and Pitt kind of acting alongside each other. Uh, God rest you know, God you know, rest in peace, uh, Robert Redford, one of the one of the greats. But but yeah, but but it was just it was it's interesting to see, you know, Brad Pitt on his come up, work with Redford. And then there was another film I saw, I didn't watch, but I saw just on the key art of a film with him and like Harrison Ford. I'm like, man, Brad Pitt was working with like all the greats. But it was also directed by Tony Scott. But it's called Spy Games. It's on Prime. That's how you know it's good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, sir.
Casey G. Smith: At least for.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. One of my last ones, um, again, YouTube. I've just been playing stuff in the background, so random. Do you remember a guy named Kevin Trudeau?
Casey G. Smith: Yes, what do I know that name from?
Reginald Titus Jr.: He used to come on late night selling stuff. So like, like back in the day, I'll say like late '90s and stuff. He has a book called Debt Cures. Yes, Debt Cures. Um, also he had one about food. Uh, he had another one about like the medical industry. And but what got him, the thing that people don't realize about him is like he was already like a multimillionaire from like different businesses and things that he was in. Were some calling him like a snake oil salesman?
Casey G. Smith: Is he get that reputation? Possibly. Uh, yeah, I would think so. If you judge him based on the infomercials, for sure. Uh, but the thing is he was a businessman before those infomercials. So it's it's a he's like kind of like a different case. Um, his his main thing that got him popular was like his memory. And he like sold like this memory product to help you with your memory and things like that. And that's what got and somebody convinced him to get do an infomercial and sell your book. And he started selling the the memory techniques that you use to remember a lot of things. And, uh, that's what made him a multimillionaire from infomercials. And what got him locked up was the medical cures. Um, so he started to kind of like exposing the industry about, you know, the science and the foods and things like that. And people have been saying like, hey man, you need to like chill out. This is going to get you in trouble. This is one of those things, it's like going off the after the pharmacy industry. It's like, this is one of those things that's going to get you killed or locked up. Just because of who you're dealing with. And he, he kind of, so he I don't know how many years it's been since he's been released, but me and my wife, we've been following him for a long time. He's like one of the best salesmen ever. This dude can sell you anything because of his enthusiasm and how he wraps up the thing he's trying to sell into a story that you're going to follow along. And then you're like, yeah, you're listening, and then hit you hit you for $29.99 you can get you.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Close them.
Casey G. Smith: I was like, this guy is great. He is one of the best salesmen ever. But, um, one of his biggest things that he's been doing is like showing people how to be like in the same frequency of like, you know, uh, affluency and like how to think like how higher level business people think it and one of the stories that he told was that, um, there was this guy who was a gambler. He always but he's like a multi-multi-millionaire. And he would always go to, uh, Las Vegas to gamble. And it was in the tabloids or whatever that this guy would always lose like $15, $20 million and things like that. And so these were always making the tabloids. And then, uh, he uh, so, uh, Kevin Trudeau's like, so you're going to you're going to Vegas, huh? He's like, and the guy was like, yeah, I never lose. And then he said, well, I saw the tabloids and the guy's like, I know what you're thinking. Um, but, you know, just come along with me and I'll show you I'll do the thing. And so he went with him, Kevin Trudeau went with him. Long story short, the guy lost like $20 million. And then.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. Wow.
Casey G. Smith: And then, uh, and then he the guy says, so, he says, so you're like, you lost. And he said, no, I never lose. And then he said, what's today? And then Kevin's like, Wednesday or whatever. He's like, no, it's the last day of the of the month. So, he said, this casino that we're that we're gambling in is like publicly traded. And so, what I do is depending on if I lose or I win. He invests in that casino. He purchased it that night going into the next thing cause it's going to either be a bump or a drop depending on how good he was. And he makes hands over fist the amount of money that he lost in the shares on the when it goes up or it goes down the next day. And that's why he's like, I never lose. It doesn't matter if he loses or wins, he's going he'll double up. So if he won at the casino, he'll also double up on the on the short it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. And so, I was like, oh my God, I was like, the like people operating on levels we can't even think of. Yeah. You know what I mean? Especially if you're like programmed a certain way, he's like, you're not even trained to see this. So anyhow, I just thought that was amazing. So like Kevin Trudeau has like all these like stories like similar to that, just throughout he's like just giving out information on YouTube, just giving out.
Reginald Titus Jr.: This, this is like his YouTube channel.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, his own channel. And he also like interviews with different people about it about certain things and he's very positive about like, like his prison sentence and things like that. Cause one guy I was listening to him talk on a podcast and the guy's like, yeah, but you served like eight years, man. Weren't you like pissed off? He's like, no, the judge pulled me to the side and like, hey Kevin, you need a you need a, um, what was it called? Accept the deal because I'm going to go against you on this thing. And Kevin Trudeau said, by the way, that's illegal for a judge to pull me to the side and do that and tell me that they're going to do that. That's illegal. But that's the judge was like, this is above me.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. Oh. It was a system that. Dang, that's that's that's wild. That is.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. Huh. He said, the judge was like, this is above me. I'm going to no matter what you come up with, I'm going to rule against you. You need to come out with a plea deal or just get ready for prison. So he took the prison in it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Was he at like a, a kind of a light prison, you know, like, not like like federal.
Casey G. Smith: So that's what the guy was saying. He's like, you went to this jail, like kind of like the Martha Stewart thing. He's like, no, I was in a in a cell with a guy who murdered his last cellmate. He's like, yeah, there was like, you know, I was when I was transported and things like that. Uh, it was like sketchy stuff going on. Things like that. And yeah, I went to this other facility, but these are criminals that are that are locked up.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So what was he, what was he charged with? What was the?
Casey G. Smith: They found some kind of loophole in the in the book and the, uh, the cure, one of the the food books that he he had. They found some kind of loophole saying that he violated FAA or some something like that. But it was like, it was kind of like bogus, but they.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow.
Casey G. Smith: Sure, sure. They can make it stink.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. And so that's what got him locked up.
Casey G. Smith: So the one thing I remember about about Trudeau from the book that I had Dead Cures, just it had it had I had the audio the CD for it. And I remember him saying that he would sit around with his friends and they would just kind of like thinking grow rich. But they they would just think about ways to kind of manifest money coming their way. And that was like one of the it was before I had read the think and grow rich, but the first time I heard somebody like talk about that. At the time I thought it was like, that's weird. But, you know, later on, you know, read all these things, I'm like, well, maybe not so much. But, uh, last thing I'll mention that I've been watching, and I just started watching this. Uh, again, shout out to my man Austin for making the suggestion. But it's a a show on Netflix and I've just watched the first episode, but it's an it's an it's kind of got me very interested in going back. It's called King of Collectors. They have. Yes. They have three seasons on Netflix and it's based on a company that specifically helps, uh, value and and, um, auction various sports and collectible memorabilia.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's a trip to see how what kind of stuff people collect.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, the very first episode, they are that they they were kind of it a a celebration of of Jackie Robinson was coming up. And so they had a combination of a a bat that he had used, uh, to the like a jersey he had worn. Um, they are trying to get him to to to sell this jersey like up until then, like the highest jersey that had ever been auctioned, I think had gone for like five million. But the person who was having it co-signed and auctioned, he wanted $10 million for it. They're like, uh, but the the auction went as high as $7 million. As far as I've gotten the episode, you know, continuing the next episode, so we'll see. But there was some Beanie Babies, uh, oh man. Just super fascinating. I'm like, this is interesting. And so I know then they're gonna get into some, you know, sports stuff is cool, but that's not my my bag. But I'm more, I'm more the the comic book kind of stuff. So I'm, I'm interested to see some of those things come into play, which I've heard they, they will. So, but yeah. No one has ever read this book. It's pristine. It's filled.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You get those things graded and co-signed and, uh, yeah, I mean, there's, there's some all kinds of collectibles. Like one was the there was one they're talking about like the the the former president for president, the former barber for presidents, uh, like Dwight Howard, uh, Kennedy, uh, LBJ Johnson, and Nixon. Like, while he was cutting the hair, he actually saved some of their hair. Oh my God. So, he's got got hair hair to sell. Follicles and strands.
Casey G. Smith: That is horrible. Like that's witchcraft stuff. Like leave this brother hair alone.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Well, they they just wanted.
Casey G. Smith: They start itching, they start barking like a dog. What's going on?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. But, but also like he, he's coming across some different celebrities. Like the the guy who owns the company, he he met up with Drake and they were doing like these, uh, open boxes of like NBA trading cards. There's just this one. Oh yeah, that's becoming a thing again.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. There's just one specific trading card that was made that has like, uh, like three versions of the NBA logo that was like on like, like uniforms that players wore. And there's one, there's one, it's like this triple one that LeBron card. And it has three different versions of the NBA logo, like the actual stitched pattern from jerseys that he wore. And that's like this Holy Grail card. And this guy's trying to find that. So, he was on a a live thing with Drake opening those things up. And then he gave Drake a box of like old NBA tops. Oh God. Playing cards for him to open up, you know, to go through. And he, he literally, while he was opening up, he he got a a Jordan rookie card.
Casey G. Smith: Oh yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, nice. Yeah. Anyway, but yeah, it seems super interesting. But it's called King of Collectors streaming on Netflix.
Casey G. Smith: Good stuff. That's a good note to end on.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes, sir.
Casey G. Smith: And that's what we've been watching.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Until next time.
Casey G. Smith: Peace.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Respect.