FMC 165: Crimes of the Future Written and Directed by David Cronenberg

Full Episode Transcript
This episode of Filmmaker Commentary provides a deep dive into David Cronenberg's 2022 film 'Crimes of the Future,' offering critical analysis, production insights, and a detailed review of its disturbing themes and artistic choices.

Opening and Box Office Analysis
Reginald Titus Jr.: Filmmaker Commentary episode 165. Welcome to Filmmaker Commentary where we cover movies with commentaries from directors who take the time to record them on Blu-ray and DVDs. We also give our detailed insights, so look out for spoilers. We discuss the latest in show biz news along with movies and TV shows that we've been watching. So join Reginald Titus Jr., that's me, and Casey G. Smith, that's me, every week here on Filmmaker Commentary.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yo, yo, welcome to Filmmaker Commentary, episode 165. I'm Reginald Titus Jr. and I'm joined with...
Casey G. Smith: Casey G. Smith.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Welcome back, sir.
Casey G. Smith: Good to be back, sir.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And today we're talking about Crimes of the Future by written and directed by David Cronenberg, 2022. What kind of budget and box office for this feature?
Casey G. Smith: All right. So Crimes of the Future actually comes in on a budget of 35 million dollars.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The budget was 35 million?
Casey G. Smith: 35 million dollars.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: And box office worldwide, a whopping 4.6 million dollars.
Reginald Titus Jr.: If I was to guess, that's an L. You don't even have to guess. That's facts. Those are straight facts. If I were to guess, I would have thought the number would have been the other way around. 4 million dollar budget, 30 million, 15 million. You know what I mean? Not 35 million, I did not see it on the screen.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Where did it go?
Casey G. Smith: There's a lot of visual effects.
Reginald Titus Jr.: 35 million dollars worth?
Casey G. Smith: Building, building this world.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I guess. Oh, these that's most. That does surprise me a little bit, but...
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. That's an L, David Cronenberg. Oh my god. What was, did they get any awards or like what was the sentiment at the time?
Casey G. Smith: Award-wise, so this won a few smaller awards, like the International Cinephile Society Awards for best supporting actress in Kristen Stewart and the best production design by Carol Spier, Demetrius Katsikis, and Kimberley Zharkov. It was International Film Critics Society Best Horror/Science Fiction. Cannes Film Festival, it was nominated for the Palm d'Or. One of Mr. David Cronenberg.
Casey G. Smith: So it did have that prestige of being nominated for the Palm d'Or.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Nominated, no win?
Casey G. Smith: No. There was, it's always tough competition there, but to be nominated is an honor in and of itself.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. And they did market that at the beginning. I saw that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Wow. Distributors, and distributed by Neon.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, you know when it's Neon, it's going to be a little twisted. That's that's what, any time I've seen a Neon film, yeah, it's always. What was that, what was that one with them the the models?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Neon Demon.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, there you go.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, that was rough. Did we cover that one?
Casey G. Smith: I don't know. You know what? I don't think we, no, I don't think we officially covered that one.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That one is, oh man, that makes you just lose hope for humanity, honestly.
Casey G. Smith: No, we have not covered Neon Demon.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Not that I'm complaining.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That makes you just like, where do we go wrong as a people? When you watch Neon Demon. It seems like A24 were like, oh, pass, we'll wait. We only got a million, bro. You can, we got a million. If you want to shoot this for a million, you can do it.
Casey G. Smith: Neon's like, we'll take it. Sean Baker's like, we'll do it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Holy. 35 million dollars, I would never would have guessed.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.

Industry News and Streaming Highlights
Reginald Titus Jr.: But anyway, before we talk further about Crimes of the Future. Let's talk about TV news and movies watched.
Casey G. Smith: According to the Hollywood Reporter, Box Office: Marvel's Ant-Man 3 gets mauled by Cocaine Bear, suffers a record 69.7% drop. Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania may have won the weekend with 32.2 million, but got badly dinged by Cocaine Bear, which opened to a much better than expected 23.1 million for Universal. The faith-based Jesus Revolution also delivered strong numbers. Let's see what that came in at.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Cocaine Bear. I mean, that's a title for you.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, Jesus Revolution, which is named, which came in at strong number three, over-indexed in the South and Midwest. That's about all it gives me on that.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hmm.
Casey G. Smith: But yeah, so...
Reginald Titus Jr.: Box office is still popping.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, seemingly to be coming, uh, coming back around. So, Jesus Revolution did 15.5 million. That's pretty good for a faith-based film opening weekend. That one's got Kelsey Grammer in. I know, I know it, and my, uh, church, they were showing some previews for it, and the, the guy it's partially based on, Greg Laurie. He, he does like, I think Harvest America. He does like a, like some like revival stuff. He, he came and spoke and then showed some clips from the film. It looks, it looks entertaining.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Faith-based films do well because of the grassroots marketing. Any time there's like a, like a well, well-known, even like regionally or locally, uh, preacher, or somebody like that that's actually in the film, they do well because they just get support, like grassroots support. I've seen that, we've seen that with the, um, the war room.
Casey G. Smith: Right. The prayer, was it a prayer room?
Reginald Titus Jr.: It was a war room. Yeah, so they like locally, I mean, everybody was supporting that. I was like, wow. So these films can, can do well because it's an underserved market.
Casey G. Smith: Right. You find, you find your market and you cater to them. Like there's a, I've seen a interest in, and there've been, I've, I've, you know, when I've been in theaters watching trailers, I've seen multiple times things for faith-based films. I think particularly, I mean, I'm usually watching, I don't know, like, you know, comic-based films. They know that there's some kids there, and they'll, not just kids, but families, I should say. And they'll, you know, drop trailers for those. I've seen that numerous times.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I think most notably is The Chosen, the chosen. Hopefully I'm saying that one right, but that one been doing fantastic. Chosen, the chosen. Anyhow.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I thought it would ring a bell. Is that it for news?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, that's all we got for news.

What We're Watching - Casey's Picks
Reginald Titus Jr.: What you've been watching, brother?
Casey G. Smith: All right, I've watched a couple of things. So I wanted to check out, especially, you know, this being the, the, the tail end of Black History Month.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Boom.
Casey G. Smith: I wanted to check out some black content. So, I watched Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which is streaming on Disney Plus. Now, I know for, for many of you, that name will be brand new to you. Uh, I had actually read some of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur's, uh, comic books, uh, a couple years back, uh, just because I thought, okay, cool, we've got, we've got another black heroin out there. Plus, I mean, again, she's a, she's a, a young teenage girl, but she's pegged as one of the smartest people in, in like the Marvel Universe. Like, smarter than Tony Stark, smarter than Reed Richards.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That makes sense. Okay.
Casey G. Smith: We're talking like super genius intellect. And I found out with this show, it's actually, uh, Laurence Fishburne is one of the executive producers on it. I found, I saw a clip online when he was talking on The View, talked about how the, this, uh, show was developed. And I dig it so far. I've watched several episodes. I don't know if you had a chance to, to check it out yet.
Reginald Titus Jr.: No, I haven't checked that one out yet.
Casey G. Smith: Definitely, man, like, have your daughter check it out because this, this is definitely, um, aimed at, I think, giving a lot of encouragement to, to, to young black girls, um, in regards to the, the, uh, like STEM, you know. Science, Technology, Engineering, Math. And Luna, Luna Lafayette, right, Marvel always loves that alliteration. Uh, she, uh, she, she personifies that. But it's got, it's got a lot of flavor to it. Okay, that's That I'd be, I'd be interested to, to, to see So. Yeah, I'd be interested to hear, to hear your take, like how, like what, what do you, what do you think about how that's done. I think, I think it's, it's, it's nicely done. It feels, I don't think it feels inauthentic. I think, I think like they've, because sometimes like when they do those things, it can feel, it feels like forced and kind of cheesy, but.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. And you gotta have the right creators behind it. Um, I know Ludacris, and I believe his daughter, uh, they developed a series on Netflix. It's the, the young girl who, who sings, it's animated, and she's like a rapper. And so that one's well done. My daughter really liked that one. But then another thing came out that was called, uh, Gabby something. That one's on Netflix. She, she digs that one. And then independent production animation, it's called Gracie's Corner on YouTube. That's like, has blown up everywhere because it's independent people that are creating it. This is a girl that's like saying ABC's, and all this that, and doing it to music. So it's not like the, the usual boring melodic, me-she, whatever crap, you know. It actually has some hip-hop flavor to it while they're singing ABC's. It's like, you find like the, the parents like kind of jamming to it. You see them on like the TikToks and all this stuff like, what is this? And then it's got everybody involved. So that's like been like a viral sensation.
Casey G. Smith: Gracie's Corner?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh-huh.
Casey G. Smith: All right, all right. But yeah, so far, Moon Girl, Devil Dinosaur, yeah, a lot of fun, some, some good lessons and it's, it's, it's some cool representation that, that's in the mix of it. So.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. We're going to check that one out.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, definitely. I think worthwhile checking out. Um, I also, I, I last time, last episode, I mentioned I had started watching The Woman King. And so I finished that one. Yeah, pretty, pretty awesome.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Good.
Casey G. Smith: Really I, I really enjoyed The Woman King, the performances, the power. And honestly, after seeing this, when I think about it, if Marvel decides to, to, to, to ever recast, uh, T'Challa, I think John Boyega could absolutely pull, pull it off. After seeing him in this role and seeing him play the role of a king, I'm like, yeah, I could definitely see him as a T'Challa.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, I mean, he's solid, though, just looking at his body of work.
Casey G. Smith: But, like, seeing him like pull off, I'm like, yeah, man, John, John Boyega could handle it. I also watched, uh, last night on, uh, on, um, Peacock. I watched Megan.
Reginald Titus Jr.: M3GAN. Oh, snap.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. My kids want to watch this. Now, let me know what's up.
Casey G. Smith: It's, again, we're talking like Friday the 13th, straight up Friday the, no, excuse me, straight up Chucky vibes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: We just watched Chucky, too, by the way.
Casey G. Smith: Original or the remake?
Reginald Titus Jr.: As a family. The first one.
Casey G. Smith: Oh, the original. How did that go? I gotta, I gotta ask. How did the, how did the young ones handle it?
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, our thing is horrific Friday. So, that's like a thing in the family now. We try to watch like PG-13 films, um, every now and then. Most some horror doesn't fit into their vibe, you know, depending on how much blood is involved and brief nudity, really. That's kind of like the main things that push it to Rated R. Um, but I was like, all right, I think we all, as kids, we've all seen Chucky. My wife, she saw it and was horrified as a kid watching it. And all my kids were scared to watch it except my middle child. He's like, I want to watch. I want to get in here. I want to watch it. Other kids like, no. And I was like, let's go ahead and do it. So, launched it up. They had a blast watching it, you know, they were just like, when he was like run around and stuff like that, they were laughing. It was like that nervous laugh like, I was like, y'all are scared. You're laughing because you're scared.
Casey G. Smith: Yes, sir. Nervous. Try to calm the nerves. This is, this is fun, Dad. This is fun.
Reginald Titus Jr.: They had a blast, though, watching it. I was like, okay, all right, maybe we'll level up next time. So, they, they, they, as a, as a group, they enjoyed it.
Casey G. Smith: Did they, could they handle Megan?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, they could handle, they could handle Megan. Even though like the version on Peacock is apparently unrated, but it's, it's not crazy gory. Like there's there's some death scenes in it, but it wasn't like, yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't that bad. A little bit, a little bit of blood. There's, there's no nudity, none, none of that. And it's, you know, it's kind of dealing, yeah, they'd be able to handle Megan just fine.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, cool.
Casey G. Smith: And, and it's, it's updated. So it'll be a nice kind of, bop.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I also watched, uh, did I mention I watched Be Cool?
Casey G. Smith: Maybe.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I watched Get Shorty with John Travolta. We talked about that from the 90s. But then Be Cool, you told me, was the, um, sequel to that. And I was like, oh, I didn't put that together. And so I ended up watching that, that, again, on YouTube as well.
Casey G. Smith: Uh-huh.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, was it on YouTube? I don't remember. But Be Cool, what? Be Cool. Yeah, Get Shorty was. But Be Cool like, I feel like it's just like a tad bit, just a little bit too late. You know, like sometimes too many years can kind of go by, you know, especially like during John Travolta, during his comeback.
Casey G. Smith: Sure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, but it is dealing with the, um, a older version of his character. So, like he kind of let it slide. So he gets involved into the music industry. And him being, his character being from like a mafia background, he kind of it actually works for him. Um, yeah, it was entertaining. Yeah, I was surprised. I thought I wasn't going to like it.
Casey G. Smith: I remember watching that one just because The Rock was in it. And I, I've still never seen Get Shorty. I just, I just jumped right into Be Cool. I found out there, oh, it's a sequel to Get Shorty. Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I think Get Shorty was better, but Be Cool was okay follow up.
Casey G. Smith: Okay. Be Cool is cool.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: So I've started watching The, the Murdaugh Murders.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, the southern, what do they say? Like a Southern tale, or something. A Southern scandal.
Casey G. Smith: I saw, I watched maybe like the first 10 minutes of that, but uh, so you watched the whole thing?
Reginald Titus Jr.: I'm on, I'm at the end of episode two of three.
Casey G. Smith: Wow.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's, it's riveting. It's, it's, it's, uh, it's, it's engaging. You're like, whoa. Like when you, yeah, yeah, I don't want to, I guess some people might, might know what all's been going down, but it's, you're, you know, hearing from the people that were involved in the family and the, the first part of it. I'm like, whoa. And then, and then when you get to the second episode and how the, the mother and the, and the son are, are murdered. You're like, just kind of getting into that. I may be on the third episode, the beginning of the third episode. But when you hear about the son, he was involved with this boating accident where he was, you know, driving a boat with friends and he was, he was drunk and, uh, one, one of the girls, one of the passengers, died.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And, and he was, uh, supposed to be going on trial and all this kind of stuff. And, and they're, they're interviewing all, like his friends who were on the boat. And they even talk about how when the, once the accident happened, like their power, their family is so powerful that, like the dad came to the hospital and along with his, his dad, like the grandfather who kind of, you know, they're so established, like they were, they were sewing discord and making it seem like another passenger was driving instead of the son. And, uh, even when like the son went to, uh, court, like he, he was never put in a jumpsuit, he was never put in cuffs, like just like special treatment like all the way.
Casey G. Smith: Damn. Privilege and power.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. And so then it's, it's crazy then that he and the mother are the ones that end up dead on the property.
Casey G. Smith: Ooh.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So anyway, that's kind of like where, where I'm at, but it's like, man, it's, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's definitely intriguing.
Casey G. Smith: Yikes.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, the Murdaugh Murders. A Southern scandal.
Casey G. Smith: A Southern scandal. I do declare.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, man, sad what happened to that series. Um, uh, what's his name? Kevin Spacey.
Casey G. Smith: Oh.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's what when you said I declare is what reminded me of.
Casey G. Smith: House of Cards.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Man.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Any rate.
Casey G. Smith: Frank Underwood.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Frank Underwood. Unbelievable.
Casey G. Smith: That show came in so hot that first season.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Like just the like the, We were so excited like when that season ended and then he's like looking at us at the end of that, at the end of that, uh, season and he's like getting closer and closer to becoming the president and he's like, I'm getting closer basically. I was like, dang. Unfortunate. Dang, they, they missed that landing.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.

What We're Watching - Reginald's Picks
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, Horrific Friday, we watched, um, a movie called Mr. Harrigan's Phone.
Casey G. Smith: Do tell.
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's on Netflix. It is about Craig, a young boy who befriends the elderly billionaire, John Harrigan. Craig then gives him a mobile phone. However, when the man dies, Craig discovers that he can communicate with his friend beyond the grave.
Casey G. Smith: Ooh.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And the guy who plays the boy, um, he's the same kid that was in the movie It, the older brother that lost Georgie. So the one that always felt guilty because his brother died. So he's the one that's paying the main character in here.
Casey G. Smith: Nice, nice.
Reginald Titus Jr.: So yeah, the kids, we watched that together. We watched that one first, feature 13. And then we went over to Chucky. Yes.
Casey G. Smith: Chucky.
Reginald Titus Jr.: But yeah, I, I actually recommend this one. This one was good.
Casey G. Smith: Okay. Cool. Uh, I still been rocking through some, uh, mixed-ish as well as, of course, The Last of Us, which is still, man, The Last of Us is, is been good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay. How many episodes before it's done?
Casey G. Smith: I'm going to guess it's going to be between eight to 10 episodes. That's kind of like.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, cuz they're just kind of dropping it weekly?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: That's, I'm going to guess that's going to be the MO. And again, it's, uh, like they occasionally have like the, the violence of them in them battling the clickers, but a lot of it's just the, the story and the characters. And, uh, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it is well done. Very, very well done. Uh, I got caught up, I think I'm fully caught up, but I, I watched a number of episodes of Young Rock, which is a show that I just love. And, uh, that's, that's still good. Like that show, that show hits for me. Just seeing, like, all the, all the actors who are involved and then just going through his, his career and, and now to the point where he, what he was doing his very first couple of acting gigs. Like he, some roles I don't even know about. He, he kind of, Vince had him show up on a couple of TV shows just real, small roles. And then when he hosted SNL, which I show, I remember that, man. I was, I was in college still. I was like, yo, Rock's hosting SNL. I was like, flipping out over that. But he did, he did, he did a really good job. And then from there, then he gets the role in The Mummy Returns.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, yeah, The Scorpion King.
Casey G. Smith: The Scorpion King, which I didn't, I didn't care about The Mummy franchise. Those graphics are horrendous. Oh, now, man, like then, then he gets to The Scorpion King. I tried to watch that like in the past five years now. I was like, no, this is really, really bad. I couldn't, I, I mean, I normally, I can get past visuals, but this was, I was like, Rock, no.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Starter graphics.
Casey G. Smith: But I, I, I did enjoy him in, uh, The Rundown. That's one of his earlier films.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay, that one was solid. That's like, you know, that was, might as well be wrestling, you know, in that one. That was good because it put a little bit of his football stuff in it, you know, just, it felt like a, uh, like a complete character.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah. It's got some good funny moments him and, uh, the, his co-star, I think his name is Scott something. But anyway, but yeah, that's the sub. Anyway, yeah, but Young Rock is, is continuing to, to kill it. Very entertaining. Uh, and Emily in Paris, Cheers, and, and Rap Sh!t.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Oh, did you finish Rap Sh!t?
Casey G. Smith: Not yet.
Reginald Titus Jr.: When he said no, it was a frown on his face. I was like, it wasn't, it wasn't, it's not reflecting the show, I just, I'm not there yet. It's like, I've, I've, it's just, it's been in my list and like, I haven't, I haven't been in the mood to watch this.
Casey G. Smith: No, but I watched episodes, I, I enjoy it, but I, That's funny.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it was like, no, I still have plenty of, the frown was, oh, no. Okay. I misread it.
Casey G. Smith: No. No, it was. Uh, I misread it. No, no. Um, Red Rocket, a movie called Red Rocket. After watching Sean Baker's film, uh, The Florida Project, I was like, I want to check out his most recent film. Red Rocket. Um, it's starring, I think his name is Simon Rex, or Rex Simon. Um, he is a, like back in the day, he was like a, an MTV jockey or something like that. He was like this rising star at one point in time, but I think he just kind of got too annoying for the public. Either Rex Simon or Simon Rex. Look it up. Uh, but anyhow, this is a, the, the actual movie is about Mike Saber, a charismatic con man and washed-up porn star. He plots his return to the big time from small town Texas in the story of an American hustler in a hometown that barely tolerates him. Um, it's good. I didn't think, I don't know what to, I didn't, I didn't know what to expect from it. Um, but yeah, this dude is so charismatic, his character, that people, I don't know if you've met somebody like this in life where they're like, you know they're not going to do the right thing, but they're so charming that you're like, you know what, you'll just give him a, give him a, all right, let's go. Let's go. Give the old college try. Right. You know you're going to get screwed over but you're like, you know what, you're entertaining. You make me feel good. So, why not?
Casey G. Smith: Yes. That's, that's a powerful thing, man. You're like, oh, man. Yeah, it's hard to, hard to say no. Like that super charismatic person.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Red Rocket, that's on Showtime. That's, you know, like the A24 stuff. It's, uh, it's on a million dollar budget, well done, too. Like, from an art standpoint. Some people can take lessons from what Sean Baker's doing. Instead of blowing up the budgets, keep the budgets low because you, you know, you need the, the audience to some of these films can, you know, if they're not supporting, at least you can still be profitable and, and survive to the next film.
Casey G. Smith: Good point. Good point.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You been watching anything else?
Casey G. Smith: Uh, no, man, that is, that is it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: One more. I've watched on Showtime. It's a, a limited, um, it's a Showtime original called Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine. Are you familiar with Tekashi 6ix9ine?
Casey G. Smith: Oh, it sounds familiar, but...
Reginald Titus Jr.: He's a, probably one of the most infamous rappers of recent memory. Uh, Latino guy, rapping, uh, just got involved with just the wrong folks, went down the wrong path, ended up ratting on every single person he could in order to get himself free. He is like one of the most infamous rats. Like to this day, he's I think, according to his lifestyle, he still, he's still rich and stuff like that, but he has to be under constant surveillance because he might die any moment, you know, because...
Casey G. Smith: People are after him.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Dude, these people are serving 20 years, 15, 10, eight year prison sentences because of, because of he flipped. Oh, man.
Casey G. Smith: Are they serving time because they did crimes?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, possibly. But here's the thing, like it's, it's, um, you remember there was something called Rico. And the Rico laws is what got like the mafia kind of caught up. So it was like, if you were even associated with somebody that was in the mafia, you would get caught up in like the whole Rico, uh, law. That's how they were able to finally like shut down the mafia. It was like, dude, just cuz you're associated, 20 years, 10 years. That's So yeah, and so that's how they were able to get, uh, this guy and all his associates. They were real gang members and stuff like that. But, uh, he just got sucked in. He, he just went down the wrong path, man. It's, it's very interesting and sad.
Casey G. Smith: What's the name of it?
Reginald Titus Jr.: It's called Supervillain: The Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine. Where did you catch that one?
Reginald Titus Jr.: On Showtime. And the cool thing, uh, is that his real face? Dude, yeah. Yeah. This is, but this is a, uh, like a, what, uh, character, like you, like your characters, what do you call them?
Casey G. Smith: Created character?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Almost. But it looks like a, like a, what do you call it?
Casey G. Smith: Action figure.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Action figure. It escaped me. So, how they do the documentary is like, they show him regular as an action figure. And then they just start saying, okay, this is what makes an action figure. I mean, not, this is what makes a supervillain. First, you got to have trauma. And so they kind of go through all the things that kind of caused him trauma in his life. And then they start adding different things like, you know, when he starts getting the tattoos, what happens in his life. And then how did he become this character? Because before he becomes this character, he's just a regular Latino guy. You know, living in New York. And then it's just kind of, they showed, they visually show it through that action figure how he develops into this person. Not getting enough love, not getting, not. So it's, uh, yeah, it was an interesting way to, to show how this person becomes who they are known for.
Casey G. Smith: Pretty cool.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And where'd you see this, um, Supervillain?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Uh, Showtime.
Casey G. Smith: Showtime.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Showtime, any time. Yeah. So yeah, that's what, yeah, that one was, I didn't think I would like it, but it was surprisingly good.
Casey G. Smith: Good show, good show. I've also, well, okay, I've also been watching GI Joe Renegade.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: On Tubi, which has been enjoyable. Nice, uh, nice take. Again, say, it's like the A-Team of, of, of GI Joe. It's a small group on the run, and Cobra is a corporation. Okay. But really terrorists still. But yeah, that's, that's been, that's been, that's been cool to see that how they flip that. And different then you come across different characters from the series, but they're like in different capacities. And all of a sudden they, they give them names that they had from the series. I don't know, I'm like, huh, all right, that's, uh, that's a nice little spin.

Crimes of the Future - Synopsis and Initial Reactions
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, today's show is sponsored by...
Casey G. Smith: Natchu Had the Movie by Grinder Miter Films, available to stream on Tubi, as well as Roku On Demand. Please check it out and leave a review.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And now let's jump back into the show. Thank you for tuning in to Filmmaker Commentary. We're talking about Crimes of the Future, written and directed by David Cronenberg, 2022. Let's jump into the synopsis.
Reginald Titus Jr.: As the human species adapts to a synthetic environment, the body undergoes new transformations and mutations. With his partner Caprice, Saul Tenser, celebrity performance artist, publicly showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in avant-garde performances. Timlin, an investigator from the National Organ Registry, obsessively tracks their movements, which is when a mysterious group is revealed. Their mission, to use Saul's notoriety to shed light on the next phase of human evolution. Crimes of the Future.
Casey G. Smith: And if this is your first time listening to Filmmaker Commentary, please know that there will be spoilers. You've been forewarned.
Reginald Titus Jr.: How did you watch this film? How did you find out about it? My god.
Casey G. Smith: Well, before we dive into that, let me rattle off some of the, the cast members of Crimes of the Future. We have one Viggo Mortensen in the role of Saul Tenser. We have Lehi Kornowski as in the role of Juana. Uh, we also have Léa Seydoux in the role of Caprice. We have Scott Speedman in the role of Lang Dotrice. Of course, the famed Kristen Stewart as, uh, Timlin. And one Don McKellar as, uh, Wippet. Along with, uh, Nadia Litz as Router and Tanya Beatty as Burst. Uh, and then also Welket Bungué as, uh, Cope. Yeah, those would be the, the kind of the main, the main players in the, in the film.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Okay.
Casey G. Smith: Uh, I first heard about this from, we were actually, actually in the, in, in our news section. I was, I was like looking for news someday and looking at what was going on at, at, at Cannes. And this film popped up. And then I saw, you know, oh, Cronenberg. Okay, I like The Fly.
Reginald Titus Jr.: But The Fly was gross.
Casey G. Smith: But it was, it was good.
Reginald Titus Jr.: The Fly was gross.
Casey G. Smith: I had The Fly as a special place in my heart.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, it does. That one's good. I, yeah, that was solid.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, so I was like, I was, check out the trailer. And we may have, we may have both watched the trailer here or watched it separately on our vices, but we watched it and I was like, yeah, hmm, I don't know about this one. It looks, I don't know, David.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah, yeah. I don't know, David.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, this one, it, it, it looks dark. Like it was, there were, like, there was something, uh, sexual, but yet dealing with, like, cutting and, and things like that. And it's like, uh, I don't know.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: But that's how I heard about it. But I knew it had gotten some film, uh, or some, uh, film festival notoriety. Yeah. And so that kind of stuck in the back of my mind. And so we, we've been doing this run of film festival darlings. Yeah. And as we were trying to decide, this one popped back up and we said, why not?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Why not?
Casey G. Smith: And, uh, here we are.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Crimes of the Future. How about yourself, Reginald?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yes. When I saw that trailer when you brought it up while, when we looked at it a while ago, I was like, I'm pretty good at determining, I think I'm about like a seven out of 10 as far as determining if a film is going to be good. This one I was unsure, but I was, I was unsure. But I was like, something tells me, dealing with the subject cuz just dealing with the subject matter, it just, it does, it's not appealing to, in my opinion, I feel like it's not appealing to most humans.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it's, it's, this is not for the faint of heart. And even if you're, your heart is very strong, this, this still may not be for you. This one is, is, this one's tough. I've, we've, I've seen, we cover a whole lot of films here on Filmmaker Commentary, and we're sure our audience, you watch all kinds of films as well. You can find appreciation and you can find, you know, things you like or don't like about films and, and, and yeah, you can have different levels of, of tolerance for what, what will phase you or not. Um, this one pushes it. It, it, uh, it does push it. And I know with Cronenberg, there's going to be a certain degree of what people call body horror. Yeah. And this film, you know, was going to let you know that something that was coming. But it's, it's, it's different. Uh, and we're going to dive into kind of why it's different. But, uh, but yeah, and even, you know, we'll get into the, the story behind it. But, you know, I wish I had just rented this film versus making a purchase because I don't, I don't think I'll be going back.
Reginald Titus Jr.: In your collection, waiting to be watched.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, I don't, I don't see myself going back to this film any time soon. Cause I don't, I don't know that there's any additional value I'll get out of it.
Reginald Titus Jr.: I agree 100%.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: All right. Yeah, you're right. I wish I would have rented it. I just bought it. Why did I buy this? That's the question. Um, I just, yeah, I just bought the Blu-ray. But yeah, look at the Blu-ray. The Blu-ray's solid. Like it was clean. Like super like, it's popping. Um, yeah, it's, it's, it's super crisp. You from the very first scene. Like, dang, okay, this looks good.
Casey G. Smith: Yes, it's, it's well shot. I don't think the performances are, are solid. Um, the sound I thought was, like sound, because I, I watched this and I had, I had earbuds, or headphones on. And, I don't know about you, but I, I could in certain scenes, in particular, when, uh, the main character was, was around when Saul was around, I would hear like, like flies like, and it's like buzzing of flies. I'm like, uh, like rotting flesh. Like, what is that? Why are there flies around? But I would, I, this, at least four different occasions where I specifically hear the buzzing of the flies. I'm like, this is disgusting.
Reginald Titus Jr.: That's disgusting. And then him all his coughing and grunting. I'm like, like watching him trying to eat, I'm like, ah, I'm done with this. And that nasty ass chair. I'm like, oh, this is. Cause all the machinery in here is so like organic. It looks almost alien.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, yeah. And it reminds me actually a little bit of the Alien films. Yeah. Because it's like this like almost organic crustacean slash insect-like bone.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, it's like, this is, yeah. It's off.
Reginald Titus Jr.: What did you like or not like? That kind of goes right into it.

Film Analysis - Themes, Direction, and Impact
Casey G. Smith: What did I like? I liked, I liked it. I mean, this is bold. And so I, I, I will give it credit for that. This is, this is bold. And I had to watch some interviews to listen to Cronenberg because, cuz you know, this didn't have, this, didn't have commentary.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Like explain yourself.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, cuz I wanted to get like, what, what kind of, you know, spurred you to do this. And Cronenberg in an interview when I saw on, on The Q, he, he talked about how because there's a lot of cutting open and things like that, and he's talked about how like, he feels like that's, that's any artist. Like, like when you make a movie, that you are taking something from within you and you are pulling it out and exposing it for everybody to see and, and react to. And I'm like, huh, that's. Okay, but he just like, having it kind of literally be on, on display. But I, I understand the metaphor. Yeah. But it's just like you said, a different level people are literally cutting themselves open. Yeah. And, um, Caprice and Saul are, are doing this as, as entertainment. But, yeah, but so I, I, I, I applaud the boldness of, of, of going for it. Because like, yo, this is bold. Uh, but I don't like the way it makes me feel. Like it, it feels like, uh, this is, this is gross. And, and everybody's just a little, I mean, it's, it's a dark future. And I've seen, you know, interesting, twisted, weird character. Everybody, everybody's just a little, a little, a little weird. Yeah. Where you, you kind of want to like them and just like, people are all very weird, very strange. Yeah. Well, I'm trying to find a way to connect to you. The most I, I can, I can say is that I, I, I do like, or, or at least I, I, I feel the relationship between Saul and Caprice. Like they have something that's, like there's, there's passion there. I don't, I mean, I think it's love. But I, I'm not 100%. I mean, I think, I think it is love. She, she, she clearly cares for him. He cares for her. But initially, I was trying to figure out. I was like, okay, what, what, what kind of relationship do they have? Is she just caring for him? Okay, no, they have a performing relationship. Oh, no, they have an intimate relationship. And there's something there. So I, I like that. And I appreciate the performances as a, as a whole. How about you?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Um, what did I like or not like? I did not like just the body, just deconstruction. I guess when I see it. It's just gross. Um, yeah. When it reminds me of the movie Blade, like when the vampires, they have like their blades and they're like cutting open each other's backs and doing like strange stuff. You do that to kind of show like the demons or the vampires and like this is how they get off. And that's it, you know. It's like, you don't want to see a whole movie of it. It's just like, oh, there are those are the bad people. Okay, got it. But this doesn't, this doesn't give you that. It's like, it just keeps going. This, this is what turns, and this in this society, this is what turns people on. And I think again, like, like, like you read in the description, in this future society, people are no longer able to feel pain. Like society has evolved to a point of not being able to feel pain. And so now things that are, um, what would have previously been kind of equated to pain is somehow like pleasurable. Yeah. Even to the point where being cut, performing operations is like, it like, it like is stimulating to them. Yeah. Uh, and that's really hard for most, I mean, I know I know some people get off on pain, right? You have, you know, sadomasochism. Right. Okay, I get that, but this is different where they, they, they register pain differently. Yeah. Um, it's, and to me it's, it feels like the world isn't complete because there's so many questions because I don't feel like this is a world that, even though they say they don't feel or, I, I, I think it needs to be more developed on like how, how do we get here? How It just seems like we're just there and we're just at these different set pieces of these different scenes.
Casey G. Smith: There's very quick exposition that explains like the way the world is. It was like in like one person like mentioned, okay, you know, because this happened and this happened, and then we no longer have this or this or this. I think, I don't know. I think it's when that when the, when the, when the black cop is, is talking to the two people in the bureau who are, you know, cataloging stuff. I think that's kind of when the exposition of how the world is begins to come out and it's like, huh. But I think, one thing that makes you uncon, that makes me, make me uncomfortable, that instance like, the very beginning of the film, you see this mother kill her child. Like straight up like suffocating with a pillow. You're like, oh, that's, that's dark. Dude. And the kid's eating, you know, crunching on, uh, this plastic waste basket. You're like, that's gross. Why are you?
Reginald Titus Jr.: So, like, with that scene, to kind of build it out more, like that, that's the first scene of the film. The first scene is like, you see this water, you see this like broken boat in the middle of the ocean, or the like on the coast. And we kind of step back and it's just a kid just kind of digging in the water a little bit. And it's like, man, this is a beautiful shot, you know, it looks great. And then his mom's in the background like, don't eat any of the plastics. She's like, don't, don't you eat anything in, don't you eat anything out there. And she's adamant about it. Like, really adamant. Like, why is she coming down on this kid so hard? Right. We're on his side already. But you see kids put, you know, like small kids put stuff in their mouth all the time or whatever, and you got, you got to warn them. But this kid, he's like, maybe. Yeah, he's like, maybe eight, nine. You you shouldn't be have to tell this kid that. Yeah. And, and the candy he had, it was like this older candy. He's like, he's just digging for stuff to eat. I guess. Uh, but we don't see that. But then, fast forward, he's in the restroom. Most likely brushing his teeth, right? I guess so, getting ready for bed. But instead, he's sitting crouched down next to the toilet. And he has one of the plastic trash cans, the small trash can, maybe about a half a foot tall. He has both his arms around it hugging it, and he's just biting into it like a Dorito. You hear the crunch. You hear the crunch. And you, and he, and he's sitting there, and you see like this like white film like around around his mouth. Yeah. You're like, what is going on? And, and the mother like, kind of, Yeah, looks good, too, the way he's eating. He's like, dang, trash can't look tasty. He's, he's going in on it. Like, it's, uh, I don't know. Yeah, that was, that was rough. And then so I was like, what is this? Okay, that's why she told him not to eat the plastic, cuz he's like going to town on this trash can. You're like, man, how is his mouth not getting jacked off and all bloody and stuff? But no blood. There's just a little, little white, like stuff that you see streaming down his face. And then so disgusting. Then you see, you know, he's in bed and you see the mother come into the room, the doorway. She's got a pillow in hand, and you're like, no. And then she slowly like gets on top and straddles the kid. You're like, no. And then sure enough, she takes that pillow and pluxes it over him. And the kid starts to, to squirm. No, she doesn't straddle first. She just puts a pillow on him and starts to kick and squirm and then she, she literally like straddles him and then she just lays on top of him. Lays flat. Yeah, that's rough. That's a bad way to go out. Yeah. Uncomfortable from the jump. You're like, oh, man. Yeah, it took a turn real quick. And then he calls and calls a number and literally is saying that the father can come and find the body there at the house, but she won't be there. You're like, what is happening? Yeah, man. So that's how the movie starts out. Um, our main character walks around town dressed like Sub-Zero.
Casey G. Smith: Most be brushing his teeth, right?
Reginald Titus Jr.: Like the shadow. A ninja, he's in a ninja outfit. I'm like, what are you doing? Yeah, I don't know, fashion-wise, I don't get that. But like, this is a, as, as much as people have quote-unquote evolved in this timeline, there's a lot of stuff that's not there. You don't see any cars. That's true. They're just walking around this random town. They say like, like society has partially kind of like broken down. Yeah. But, um, so it's like this dystopian society. Yeah, but you, yeah, but you don't see a lot of the, you all you get, you see these locations, like you go to these these locations and see stuff.
Casey G. Smith: That's what I said like it feels like the world isn't developed and I don't like that. Yeah, sure. I, I can see where you'd want, where you'd want a little more. And again, I'll be honest, like the main character with Saul, I don't quite understand him because, like, all of a sudden when he's, when like, when I first saw him meeting with the cop, I'm like, wait, where he's, he's an undercover, is he an undercover cop? Is he a snitch? Like, what's going on? And then I'm like, so if he's against his performance stuff, is he going to rat out his partner? Is he going to rat out Caprice? Like that, I'm like, uh, I, yeah, that kind of is, is weird to me. I don't quite understand it. I'm like, what are you?
Reginald Titus Jr.: What's his ultimate aim?
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, people like sociopaths or something because they don't feel anything, you know what I mean? Like, does that affect, like, mentally are they that way? They don't have a moral compass. Man, not being able to, like, feel pain. Yeah. I don't know. That's, that's a. And I was like, okay, so it's one thing if they can't feel pain and they're doing all this stuff, but like, what about infections? And, you know, they, they talked about that. They said that people, like they, they've, they're, their immune system is so strong that people don't even wash their hands anymore. Yeah. They mentioned that. People don't even wash their hands anymore. And even like when that, when that guy put down his bar, his little like plastic bar, yeah. And then the other guy was just looking at him, then grabs it, who I know now he was undercover. He was, he was an undercover cop. And he ate that, and then he died of this purple Hershey bar. Yeah. I'm sorry. He made that look good, the way he was eating. I was like, man, I want one of those. No, I don't. You don't. You think you do. Now, I don't know about you, but I, I could see it coming that ultimately Saul was going to have to start eating that plastic stuff. When he, when his throat got jacked up and he couldn't, couldn't swallow anymore, I'm like, oh, he's going to have to turn in that play. He, his, his stool is evolving for him to have to eat that plastic stuff. Yeah. I, I, I had those vibes. I was like, he's going to be a plastic eater. End credits. Wow, Cronenberg. Um, so there wasn't, uh, anything else that you like or didn't like?
Reginald Titus Jr.: No. Okay, not really.
Casey G. Smith: You?

Specific Film Elements - Memorable Scenes, Tropes, and Quotes
Reginald Titus Jr.: Hey, you know, that's it. That's all. I didn't like the movie . And there's very few times when I say that out right, but, uh, this is one of those. I wouldn't recommend this to anybody. Yeah, it's, it's, no. I, I really, I would recommend it for the wrong reasons. Like, hey, you want to see a movie you won't like, check this out. Like I got a, like a short list of movies I could recommend that you probably won't like. This is on that list now.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah, you know, you know what? Uh, in a different light, like when we watched, uh, Irreversible, Yeah, like, like you feel like, yeah, I mean, it's not quite that, like that opening scene with like that that sound that's like, yeah, it's kind of like discombobulating and that's like, that's not a film that I would like, uh, recommend to anybody or go back and, yeah. This is not quite like, like that is like repulsive. Yeah. This is gross, but not like straight repulsive to me like, like that was. That was, that was.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Because that, that one, uh, Irreversible, it felt like it was real in a way. I don't know how they were able to ground it, but it felt real. Yeah, that's yeah. Yeah. This one's different. This is on the short list.
Casey G. Smith: Yeah.
Reginald Titus Jr.: Yeah. Um, yeah, that's all I got for for themes. Uh, there, uh, I do have from a director point of view. Um, he talks about in the special features, in an interview that, um, each project is kind of its own thing because some, you know, with his, um, uh, body of work, we kind of judge him based on the body of work. And there's expectations for the next thing. Every director is different. You know, David Cronenberg is, you know, he mentioned in one of his interviews, he was like, looking at his old work or anything like that. He's like, it's like he's, he's definitely a different director, like other directors like to look at their work, they enjoy, they, you know, you know, they know that the audience is coming to see them specifically from the stuff that they've done in their past and like, what do you have now? James Gunn, what do you have now? Tarantino?
Casey G. Smith: He also is, uh, uh, self-proclaimed, uh, not, uh, nihilist, atheist.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And atheist. But also, also like, I mean, from a belief standpoint, atheist, but also from a philosophical standpoint. I think he also said he was a nihilist as well. Um, just like he sees, he, he, he's, he's fine with the concept of ceasing to exist and nothingness. And what people see as like when they use the term body horror, to him, it's, uh, it's just the body. Yeah. It's kind of how he sees it. It's, it's fascinating.
Reginald Titus Jr.: And it makes sense why, because it's not really a barometer because like, if you, for somebody like that, it's like, what's evil, what's good? There's no barometer. So it's like, life is just life, you know. So it's like, oh, okay. That's why, you know, we're kind of trained to like kind of follow a story of, okay, who's our villain? Who, who's the person that we're, who's our protagonist? Who's this? You know, that's what we're kind of expecting in a story. And but when everything is kind of even, I'm like, uh. It makes us kind of struggle. And that's where we're struggling with this. And even, even with the, even, you know, you said there's, there's really no villain in this.
Casey G. Smith: Nope.
Reginald Titus Jr.: You're like, huh. You know, people have their perspectives and they have their, uh, their motivations, but nobody's really a villain in this. Uh, and it's interesting, I, I, I found it interesting, because even like people's roles are, are, are blurred. Again, like with Saul, I'm like, okay, like, what's, what's, what, quote unquote, side is he on? And I'm, I'm like, I'm not quite sure. And then like with, with, um, Caprice, I'm like, all right, she's doing this thing with him. But then she goes to this one show and she sees this model who's having her face, you know, like mutated, but it's like beauty for her. And invites her to come back to the room or whatever sometime. And then she ends up getting these implants in her. Oh, yeah, Caprice. There's like, dang. Her forehead. So, I'm like, ah, well, not quite as attractive as before. No, no. Yeah, well, again, what's considered sexy in this era is, uh, somewhat, uh, repulsive to, to most people. But this may be your bag. I don't know, but it's just like, and again, the sound effects are all there. Her, you know, yeah. Careful not to spill. But, uh, yeah, but those like those women like just all of a sudden like being these merks. I'm like, are they undercover? Like, I don't know, who's on who's like, what, what, what is their like agenda? It's, it's interesting. Yeah. I, I don't know. That could be a sequel to this. Cause I feel there's more story in this world. And I'm, I'm kind of curious about that. Yeah. You said, you said be more. I'm like, I'm curious about this. A whole world. And then just wow. Everything's so even like, there's no villain, there's no one to root for. It's, this movie is pretentious. There, I said it. Yeah. It's like, it's, it's, but it's, it's, it's so different. It's uncomfortable. I, I, I wonder, you know, cuz, cuz Pearl came out in September. Yeah. I thought we're doing next first. It's got to be Pearl first and then next. Are you sure? Pearl is first and then next follows. I thought it was X. I thought X was released first. Pearl's released in, uh, or maybe I'm off. Okay. One second here. We're digging. Let's look up Pearl. I'll look up X. Okay. Uh, X was released. In March. Yeah, you're right. It would be X first and then Pearl. Booyah. Cause, cuz Pearl came out in September. All right, so. Almost 2023. It was like, right now. Got you. So, so we get X and then, then we get the prequel, basically. Yep. Okay, gotcha. Woo. So, next up, we'll be diving into the world of X. Then, following that, we'll be diving into the world of Pearl. So, if you want to, you know, you know, prepare early, that will be the our next two films, X and then Pearl. And you can catch us where?

Final Thoughts and Outro
Casey G. Smith: Facebook.com/filmmakercommentary. We're also on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher Radio, and Spotify. Please like us and give a review. We're also on Twitter. He is at Reggie Titus. I'm at KCGS Smith 32. You can also catch us on the gram at Filmmaker Commentary. He is at Reginald Titus Jr., that's J R, and I'm at KCGS Smith 32. Until next time. Peace. Respect.