Transcript of my conversation with Sandro Luketic & Benjamin Mason 5/19/2021

(0:18) Hey everybody and welcome to Beer Googgles double E double O double G. Today I have (0:24) two special guests on from the BS Bargain Bin podcast. I've got Ben and (0:31) Sandro, but I'm only saying it because it's in alphabetic order. How you (0:36) gentlemen's doing today? Doing real well, thanks a lot for having us on man.Yeah (0:41) yeah, thanks for having us. We had a blast doing our podcast so I'm really (0:44) looking forward to jumping in on yours now. Well thanks for joining.I'm really (0:49) happy to have you on. Last, well I guess it was released this week. Today is the (0:53) 19th and I believe your podcast or the one we did together will be released (0:56) tomorrow.Correct. And it was on a small, a little blockbuster movie known as (1:04) Airborne and it was beautiful and I'm so grateful. Thank you for having me on your (1:09) show.No, it was great man. It was awesome to have you on and thank you so much for (1:13) that recommendation. It's a movie that I had seen the box art for in old video (1:18) stores for a long time but never actually sat down to watch and I can't believe I (1:22) missed it for this long.So tell me a little bit about BS Bargain Bin podcast. (1:28) What is this concept all about? Go ahead Ben. Sorry about that.No, originally it (1:37) started off with I had been living in Ontario not far from Sandro and then I (1:43) had to move to Nova Scotia and it was a way for us to stay in touch on a weekly (1:48) basis and talk about something that I love anyway. I'm a really big movie guy (1:52) and I love showing people film that they might not encounter on their regular (1:57) viewing habits. So there's a lot of B movies on there.Some could argue Z (2:01) movies. But yeah, Sandro came up with the idea that we should like sit back, relax, (2:06) talk on a weekly basis and just kind of put stuff out there and it's been (2:11) going for quite a while. Well, I say quite a while, probably about around 30-ish (2:14) episodes now.It's just a lot of fun. It's great to dig up some old movies and put (2:20) Sandro through the torture of my favorite films. Yeah, I'm learning so (2:27) much about Ben every week we do the podcast and most of it is that I (2:31) thought he had good taste in movies and I was wrong.So what movies did you guys (2:38) watch together as friends before you started this? Is that where you got the (2:44) wrong assumption, Sandro? You thought you and Ben would watch (2:47) like Terminator 2 and be like, oh he has good taste in movies. Well yeah, I mean (2:51) Terminator 2 is my favorite movie of all time. Well look at that.I'm not (2:55) psychic or anything. And when we got together, obviously it felt pretty (3:02) different because we would watch whatever movies Ben had in mind, you know, like (3:07) anything from Zombievers to Tucker and Dale versus evil or whatever it's (3:14) called. I think the difference was that when he was still in Ontario, we would (3:18) get together and actually watch the movies together.So regardless if it was a (3:22) good or bad movie, it was still fun because we were together. Now it's a (3:27) completely different experience because I'm watching these primarily by myself (3:32) to prepare for the episodes and I have no one to crack wise with. So it's kind (3:38) of a Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode when you were together.Now (3:44) it's a serious like breakdown and a dissection of the art. I don't think he (3:49) would call a lot of what I recommend art. I mean, I made him watch Zombievers (3:56) which we haven't covered on the show yet.We watched Spookies, which I still think (4:02) is hilarious and he will forever hate me for. Oh, such a terrible movie. Why do (4:07) you even bring it up? How many minutes will you never get back, Sandro? We're never (4:13) gonna review that movie simply because I don't feel like doing two half episodes.(4:19) Oh, it's great. If you look into the history, it's like a mishmash of (4:22) different parts of movies, different parts of productions, and obviously it (4:26) does not work out well. But hey, it's getting a Blu-ray release soon so you (4:29) never know, buddy.I might bring it up. So it's like John Travolta's Gotti that we were (4:34) trying to say? Oh, that I will not do. So you guys met.How did you meet? You guys (4:43) hung out and then obviously you parted ways. What's your origin (4:48) story? How did the two of you cross paths? Well, I mean, Ben is a huge movie guy and (4:55) I'm really big into video games. So naturally, we met working at a bookstore.(5:01) Perfect place. Is it one of the ones where they sell used video games (5:07) and things like that as well or is it all retail new? Oh yeah, no retail new. (5:14) Ben, I don't know if you want to get into it.I mean, he was from Nova Scotia and (5:18) came to Ontario. I don't know. Ben, you go for this one.Yeah, I moved to Ontario with an (5:27) ex-girlfriend and ended up finding a job at this bookstore that was maybe a (5:31) five-minute walk from my apartment. It just worked out really well. And I was (5:38) just the guy working in receiving and Sandro was on the sales floor and we (5:40) just kind of hit it off.And then it was pop culture reference one after the other (5:44) and making wisecracks about everything to each other, about each other, about (5:49) other people. And it was just a very organic build to the friendship. And we, (5:53) yeah, we've been friends ever since.Very cool. And how long ago was that? Oh God, I (5:59) don't remember. 15 years ago? Yeah, 15 maybe.Yeah. So it was like a 40-year-old version (6:04) kind of like when you were Seth Rogen, Ben and Sandro. Not that you were the (6:09) virgin, but you would have been the sales floor.So you'd have been either Paul Rudd (6:12) or what's-his-face. Funny enough, I actually was working in receiving before (6:19) Ben got hired. And then I got moved to full-time like head of fiction and Ben (6:25) got hired in receiving.Okay, so you actually opened the door for Ben? (6:31) Probably. I mean, he owes everything to me. So I would say this is probably one of the most... (6:38) The one great thing I do have to say about that store though is just (6:43) outside there was a secondhand film and audio like CD store.It's an Ontario (6:53) chain called The Beat Goes On. And you would always go in there and find the (6:59) most amazing, hard-to-find movies for cheap. It's like the people that ran the (7:04) business didn't know the worth of what they had, like the value.So you go in and (7:08) buy a movie for $5 that if you tried to buy online would probably cost you a (7:12) hundred. Yeah, because they never went on eBay, right? Exactly. There's some collector (7:16) value to them.But they also had a bunch of shit movies and that's right up my (7:21) alley. So yeah, I'll get like a $5 classic but I'll also get $2 garbage film and (7:26) watch that more often. That's how I found some of the best.That's how I (7:30) started my Corey Haim collection actually. A Corey Haim collection? Yes, sir. (7:35) Is blown away in that collection? VHS.Okay. Not DVD. Yeah, look, it's young (7:44) Nicole Eckert.You can't go wrong. Yeah, they got married, didn't they? I don't (7:48) remember. Or they were dating for a long time.They didn't get married. Never (7:51) mind. I've actually got some stories with that because I've I interviewed (7:56) Taj Jackson, who's Michael Jackson's nephew.And Corey Feldman is kind of (8:01) interlaced a little bit with the whole stuff that was going on. I have his (8:05) autobiography. I'm looking at it right now.Have you seen? Have you seen the (8:09) documentary? The two truths for the? Yeah, my true. Yeah. It's interesting.(8:15) Yeah. I don't know the claim because I can't take the claim. But there are some (8:21) other ones with evidence that are more corroborated.It's really interesting. (8:25) Yeah. What a dark chapter in American pop culture.A little bit, right? Yes. So (8:32) this collection of this collection, hey, now it obviously must have some Feldman (8:37) in it because they hang Feldman. Oh, yeah.Paradox or whatever. I don't know what (8:42) the hell you call the phenomena. Our record, the Feldman name.Yeah, the two (8:47) quarries, whatever. Yeah, the correct. Let's go.Yeah. What is your favorite of (8:53) your collection? And is there one that you don't have yet that you are on the (8:57) hunt? Oh, do you need me my favorite with the two quarries or just now with (9:03) Haim? Because you have a Haim collection. You mentioned a Haim collection, not a (9:07) Feldman collection.So I really do love Prayer of the Rollerboys. It's one of my (9:13) all time favorite movies, not just very good. A guilty pleasure.Well, they're (9:18) all kind of guilty pleasures. What am I talking about? But I really do love (9:22) Snowboard Academy, but I also love Jim Varney. So though Ernest in a Corey Haim (9:28) movie, I'm sold.I think the one I'm looking for right now is probably (9:36) Demolition High. I have Demolition University, but not the first one. I'll (9:40) probably treat myself to that sometime down the road.(9:44) How about you, Sandro? Do you have the Feldman collection? No, Ben's name (9:52) I'm not really a person with a physical media collection at this point. Back when (9:58) I did, I was collecting Arnold Schwarzenegger movies and I'd gotten it (10:03) up to about 22 or so. And but then I stopped.I just stopped buying physical (10:09) media. It wasn't really for me anymore. Unfortunately, most of my DVDs also got (10:14) stolen out of a storage locker.So even my old movies I don't have anymore. (10:18) Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Well, luckily, I gave Ben the movies that he (10:22) wanted out of the collection before they got stolen.What was it? Encino Man and (10:26) Varsity Blues. Two classics. Yes, sir.I don't want your life. No wheezing the (10:33) juice. All right.Best Van Der Beek moment is in the is in the music video (10:40) Blow with Kesha. Oh, he's in the entire movie. It's the best music (10:48) video ever.I've never even heard of this Kesha Blow. It is you. You'll never (10:54) you'll you'll you'll thank me.All right. Once you shut it down, it's worth the (11:00) four minute or whatever thing it is. It's great.Do you know they call they call (11:04) him Jane Vanderdush? I mean, come on. It can't be that. Do you know the (11:08) comedian Tig Notaro is? Yes, Tig.Yeah. In Star Trek Discovery. And yeah, the (11:15) comedian.Yeah. Well, she's notorious for not knowing pop culture well. And I (11:21) saw a video on YouTube of her having to guess through a series of questions who (11:27) the celebrity next to her is.And it's Van Der Beek. And she has the roughest (11:33) time trying to figure out who he is. It's awesome.That is amazing. Is it on (11:37) YouTube somewhere? Oh, yeah. To check it out.That's beautiful. So so then you (11:45) guys split up now I'm assuming you're no longer at the bookstore, Sandro. And (11:48) obviously, Ben, you've moved away, right? Yeah, I'm still working with the (11:52) company.Just a different branch, obviously a different location. But it's (11:57) a it's Yeah, it's good. I like it.Did you like the opportunity to get and be in (12:02) different places? Have you moved around a lot in your life or? Not really? No. I (12:07) do love the different opportunities. I kind of worked around mainly Halifax in (12:12) Nova Scotia, through the bookstore company.And now the now defunct HMV. I (12:17) ran five stores for that company in Nova Scotia and Ontario, of course, me (12:22) and, you know, physical media, especially when it comes to film, of course, I'm (12:25) going to be there. So I moved, I moved to Ontario, I moved back to Nova Scotia, I (12:30) moved to Ontario, and now back in Nova Scotia.Yeah, I've moved around a bit. (12:35) I've worked at a few different places. But Sandro, you've pretty much been (12:39) all life.Yes. Since I was four years old. Yeah, I've been in the Kitchener, (12:44) Waterloo, Ontario area.And that's where you found me. And that's where you left (12:48) me. Are you still with the company as well? Sandro? Or did you? Oh, no, no, no, (12:56) that was just I had just finished university and fire you.So why you left? (13:03) I think I left before Ben, if I'm not mistaken. I think he was still in (13:11) Ontario and still there when I left. But no, I'd finished university and I didn't (13:19) really know what I was doing with my life.And I just needed a job. So bookstore (13:24) retiring, had a full time job was something to do for the time. And I (13:30) think I was only there a year or so, maybe.Then I went to, you know, EB (13:36) Games, which would be the sister store to what you guys know as GameStop. (13:41) Yeah, is it Electronics Boutique? That's what it started as, that it used to be (13:49) Electronics Boutique. And then they just changed the name to EB.You know, the (13:54) implication being that it was Electronics Boutique, but it wasn't (13:56) actually an official abbreviation. The name was legally EB Games. (14:01) Okay, it's like LG was Lucky Gold Star, and they called it life's good.They (14:06) just lied about what it was. (14:08) Is that the origin? I always wondered about that. (14:11) Yeah, yeah, the old and if you look up old Lucky Gold Star, like the product was (14:16) crap.Like it was just really cheap. It wasn't just inexpensive. It was (14:19) literally cheap.But they've come a long way. They made a lot better product now. (14:25) Kind of like the origin story of JVC.(14:27) There you go. That sounds about exactly right. And it is a Korean company, just (14:32) like Samsung started out like as a value brand or an inexpensive brand.And (14:36) work their way up Kia, Hyundai, they're all they're all crushing it in the (14:40) manufacturing side for sure. (14:44) So BS Bargain Bin, you guys review movies. Do you each have your favorite (14:49) review that you've done so far? (14:52) Ooh, tough one.(14:54) We know your favorite movie. (14:57) Yeah, we've been lately we've been getting into laughing fits. And I don't (15:03) know if that we're just kind of finding our groove now or if I just pick really (15:07) bad movies.But I'd say one of my favorite that we've covered has been the (15:13) Ninth Gate. Johnny Depp film. (15:16) Were you talking about the whole movie? (15:18) The No, the recording we did.The movie was just great for you and I to cover. (15:23) I mean, podcast. Yeah, which movie podcast or which movie review or (15:27) podcast review? Have you done that you like the most, Andrew? (15:32) Um, I'm still just a little baffled by Ben's answer.Oh, because the Ninth (15:39) Gate review wasn't one of our best ones. It just had a really good five minute (15:45) stretch of nonstop laughter. But the rest of the episode was it was all (15:56) right.I don't know if I'll call it the best. (15:59) Favorite not best. (16:01) Are we doing favorite? (16:03) I'm saying this one just because and Mark, I'm sure you have this moment to (16:08) where especially recording as long as you have that moment where it just kind (16:12) of clicks and you're like, I know what I'm doing here now.And then you just run (16:17) with it. And then the following episodes just that energy is carried over into (16:21) those. That's where all made sense is that one laughing fit in the Ninth Gate.(16:26) I get it. So that's what put you on the tracks. Yeah.Now you're just on cruise (16:31) control in a weird way. Like it's kind of like the 10,000 hour rule, but it (16:35) might not have taken 10,000 hours for you. (16:37) Exactly.I can't disagree with Ben on that one that that that laughing fit in the (16:43) Ninth Gate, which is still one of my favorites. And I can play back and I will (16:48) start laughing uncontrollably was absolutely the turning point for us. That (16:53) was when we did find our like start to find our groove.And it did kind of click (16:59) in and make sense. And this idea that I had when I came up with the podcast, it (17:06) felt like at that point it was no longer an idea. It was now a product.(17:12) Yeah, I get what you're saying. And like this kind of like when I when I moved to (17:17) Nova Scotia, I had to quarantine for two weeks and it was a great way to keep (17:24) myself sane. And then it actually started turning into a lot of fun.And then with (17:30) the Ninth Gate, it really clicked as like this is a staple in my life now and I (17:35) need to keep doing this. (17:37) That's cool. Yeah, that's not one that one of the episodes you meant you referred to (17:42) me to listen.So I have to listen to that one next. (17:45) Well, I mean, I can I can see where Ben was coming from in regards to that being the (17:49) favorite. I mean, if we're just talking about best for like quality, then I would (17:53) say they're probably the the two that I recommended to you, which we put out back (17:57) to back.And I thought that was like just two solid weeks of maybe not Ben's (18:03) favorite, but just like we knocked it out of the park twice in a row with Tough (18:09) Turf and Cutting Class. (18:10) They were two episodes that were I think I described to you they were the best (18:15) representation of what we want this to be. (18:18) Yeah, exactly.(18:20) So, yeah, yeah, well, I'll check out the ninth grade. (18:23) Yeah, I mean, they sounded great. (18:24) I really I really enjoyed them.(18:26) So like I said, it's why we reached out and connected to do one together. (18:30) And obviously while we're talking now. (18:32) What what what what led you to to the BS Bargain Bin podcast, I'm curious.(18:39) I think it was a tweet that either I think, Sandro, you'd put out about asking for (18:45) movie recommendation. (18:46) So I recommended Airborne. (18:49) And then and then I said, hey, I watched it eight thousand three hundred forty two (18:53) times.I think I'd be happy to jump on if you want. (18:57) I mean, I don't want to I don't want to impose, but I'm happy to do that because I (19:00) think this is fun. (19:02) Did you already follow us or did did it just somehow? (19:06) Not at all.It just popped up in your feed somehow. (19:09) Popped up somewhere in the feed. (19:11) I have no idea.It's it's synchronous, gentlemen. (19:15) Synchronous events. (19:18) But we've been covering a lot of my favorite, like I said, B to Z list movies.(19:26) You're obviously a film fan as well. (19:29) What are some of the staple movies in your in your catalog, in your library that you (19:34) love, that you think most people wouldn't really appreciate as much as you do? (19:38) I'm going to give you three movies that are my absolute favorite, and they have my (19:44) least favorite act or female actor in them. (19:47) OK, that that actor is Andy McDowell.(19:51) Oh, all right. (19:52) Those three movies are Groundhog Day, which is obviously just a great, phenomenal (19:58) movie. Multiplicity and Hudson Hawk.(20:03) I love all of those movies. (20:06) Those movies are three of my apps, like it's kind of the breadth of the comedy that I (20:11) just love. All those movies are phenomenal to me.(20:14) Yeah. Multiplicity in their weird way. (20:17) Yeah.Michael Keaton is one of the most underrated. (20:21) I know he's made these comebacks and he's like genius now or whatever. (20:25) He's always been genius.(20:26) Always when when he was in Pacific Heights and played that creepy bad guy in that. (20:32) Oh, he's so good. (20:35) I mean, gung ho, Mr. (20:36) Mom, Mr. (20:37) Mom.Sure. (20:38) The list goes on and on, right? (20:41) I'm trying to remember, too, was it he was in Jackie Brown, right? (20:46) Yes. He was the FBI agent in that.(20:48) He was. That was kind of his that was kind of his resurgence. (20:51) That was like his Travolta Pulp Fiction moment.(20:54) Yeah. And a little bit of a resurgence again. (20:57) Yeah.And that tied that movie in with that Clooney Lopez movie. (21:01) Oh, God. It was weird.(21:03) He played the same character in that. (21:04) It linked the universes together, much like his recent turn as the Vulture. (21:09) I'm very curious to see Morbius now.(21:12) Yeah, this is going to be interesting. (21:14) So but to completely answer your question, that's like my set of movies that I really (21:19) love. But Hudson Hawk is just awful in its greatness.(21:24) Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man with Don Johnson and Mickey Rourke (21:31) and big John Studd of WWF fame (21:35) as Jack Daniels, one of the Baldwin's, but not one of the good Baldwin's. (21:39) Daniel Baldwin is in it. (21:41) Yep.Tier Carrera coming out of Wayne's World or going into Wayne's World. (21:45) I forget which one it was. (21:46) I think it was coming out of love that movie.(21:49) And I have that movie on Laserdisc. (21:51) Such a good movie. Also.(21:55) Giancarlo Esposito. (21:58) From Breaking Bad, Gus. (22:00) Yes.Yeah, absolutely. (22:02) Yeah. There's others there, too.(22:05) Who is the villain? The main villain? (22:08) Yeah, it's Tom Sizemore. (22:09) Tom Sizemore. Yeah.(22:10) Yeah. Michael Mattson. (22:13) Michael Mattson Jr. (22:15) Is what I like.(22:15) Mattson Light is what I like. (22:17) Always confuse those two growing up. (22:19) Yeah.Mattson from like Reservoir Dogs (22:24) and Sizemore from like Saving Private Ryan. (22:27) Obviously, this movie as well. (22:30) God, talk about like life imitating art.(22:32) That dude has some serious drug problems. (22:35) Who? But yeah, that's another movie I like. (22:38) And then like, you know, I just like bad movies, but I love great movies, too.(22:42) Like Aliens, obviously. (22:44) How could you not? Predator? (22:45) You know, stuff like that. (22:48) Have you seen a movie or heard of a movie called Boss Level? (22:53) I have not.(22:55) It's a new film that stars Frank Grillo as the lead. (23:00) The villain is played by one Mr. (23:02) Mel Gibson. (23:06) Have you seen Nobody with Otakar? (23:09) No, but I'm very familiar with it.(23:11) They bombarded us with the movie, you know, previews and stuff. (23:16) Combine nobody like the action and wit of nobody (23:20) with the plot of Groundhog Day. (23:25) Oh, is that the one where he has to relive the day? (23:28) It's on Netflix, right? (23:30) It might be now.(23:32) I think. OK, I'm familiar with it's either Hulu or Netflix. (23:36) Yes, I have heard of it.(23:37) It's a very fun watch. (23:39) I will have to watch it. It's on my list.(23:42) So, Sandro, I have a question for you, if I if I may, sir. (23:46) Sure. I mean, I didn't know half the stuff you guys just said (23:50) of your 22 Schwarzenegger films.(23:53) Yeah. Which which was the pride of your collection? (23:57) Well, obviously it was Terminator two. (24:00) That is it was junior.(24:02) Don't lie. (24:04) I've never seen junior. (24:05) It wasn't twins.(24:06) I've never. I love twins. (24:08) I don't know how you can not love twins.(24:10) I mean, and jingle all the way. (24:13) I like jingle all the way. (24:15) I don't know if everybody does, but I mean, he definitely has some great (24:19) comedy movies when it comes to things like twins, kindergarten cop (24:23) jingle all the way.(24:25) But for me, it was the action that really drew me to him. (24:28) So things like Terminator two, Commando, Predator. (24:32) Oh, Commando.(24:34) So good. (24:35) Cole had to split. (24:38) But when I said I'd kill you last, I lied.(24:42) My favorite running man. (24:44) Running man's amazing. (24:45) I love Dawson, Richard Dawson, (24:49) and that he's so family feudish in that he's perfect.(24:53) Our family. Yeah. Family feud.Yeah. Yes. Family feud.(24:56) Yeah. He was a guy that kiss all the the female contestants. (25:00) Yeah.And he comes from a hoag of Hogan's Heroes fame. (25:04) But who was he? (25:05) He was he was in Hogan's Heroes. (25:07) He played he played the British guy in Hogan's Heroes.(25:09) Oh, my God. That's Richard Dawson. (25:12) Oh, my God.I have to go back. Yeah. (25:14) It's a light bulb moment, my friend.(25:15) You will change your life when you realize some of the stuff (25:18) that other people have been in. (25:20) Do either of you guys watch or have watched Robot Chicken? (25:23) Yes. Right.Seth Green fans all around. (25:26) Seen it in the past. Yes, but not.(25:27) I can't say that I'm proficient in it. (25:30) They did one sketch that was Hogan's Heroes, (25:32) but it was Hulk Hogan and his friends, other wrestlers like Roddy Piper. (25:37) Oh, that I can't wait.(25:38) I'm looking that up as well. (25:40) It's just pro wrestlers trying to escape a POW camp during World War Two. (25:45) So it's Andrew.Yeah. (25:47) Did did they close the time loop in any of the Terminators (25:50) or are there still questions? (25:52) Oh, there's an answer. (25:53) There's so many problems with the Terminator plots at this point.(25:59) Quite frankly, though, if you're watching it to be (26:01) mentally stimulated on the scientific side of it, (26:05) you're in the wrong place. (26:07) You should just be watching it to to see the action. (26:10) And that's about it.(26:11) Can you rank the Terminators? (26:16) That is tough. (26:18) Is it two? Is it two one salvation? (26:21) And then maybe four, three, two. (26:25) I don't know what the other ones are after that.(26:28) Genesis was not really good. (26:30) And this fate one was not so good. (26:33) Well, I mean, I would put three at the bottom myself.(26:39) OK, it's definitely two and then one. (26:41) I don't think that's even debatable. (26:44) Yeah, it's just that middle where we kind of get mixed up with salvation, (26:49) Genesis and what was the last one called? (26:54) Dark Fate.Dark Fate. (26:56) That's Dark Fate, which actually wasn't too bad. (27:01) I think maybe you guys should review Terminator three.(27:04) No, no, that was a bad movie. (27:07) I would say probably then Dark Fate, Salvation and Genesis. (27:12) OK, Vandy, you have anything to add to that? (27:18) I wouldn't mind doing an episode on on three.(27:21) I really like Nick Stahl. (27:23) I know it's a bad movie and it just kind of (27:26) proves the point that the story was pointless in the first place. (27:31) I'm kind of curious, Sandro, with your with your gaming knowledge, (27:35) I've only ever played one Terminator game (27:38) and it was the Terminator for the Sega Genesis and it was hard as shit.(27:43) Have they done any other Terminator games that you would actually recommend? (27:47) Because I know they did like what? (27:48) Robocop versus Terminator. (27:49) But anything after that, I'm completely in the dark (27:51) outside of the the T2 track shoot like the rail shooter arcade game. (27:56) Are you serious? Yeah.(27:58) I just put out a review for Terminator three weeks ago. (28:06) We're very close friends. (28:08) I don't know if you could tell.(28:09) I'm glad you guys are so close. (28:11) It's beautiful. (28:12) Good to know that you partake in my life outside of the bargain bin.(28:15) Thanks, bud. (28:16) Oh, yeah, that definitely wasn't a plug by any means. (28:19) Did I just start the beginning and the beginning of the end of you two? (28:23) Is that what we just did? (28:24) Your origin and it's over.(28:26) Oh, man. (28:27) And I'm going to put a stamp on that one with exclamation mark of spookies (28:32) and Terminator three double review episode (28:36) double review. (28:39) Nay, triple review.(28:40) In regards to your question, though, Ben, this newest Terminator (28:43) that I just reviewed, it's OK. (28:46) It's not amazing, but it definitely has a very Terminator feel. (28:51) Outside of that, there really hasn't been anything (28:55) notable to play in regards to Terminator since like maybe Robocop versus Terminator.(29:00) And even then you play as Robocop, not as the Terminator. (29:04) And that we're talking Genesis Super Nintendo days. (29:08) Beyond that, like it's not a franchise as well represented in video games.(29:13) So, Sandro, speaking of this, (29:15) we've taken a little bit of a side side tangent to video games. (29:19) What is it? What is one of you to have another project, right? (29:22) You have another podcast and a website that you work on. (29:24) What's that called and what does that entail? (29:27) So that's actually called Pixel Opinions.(29:30) It's kind of a similar story to bargain bin (29:35) in that when I left the bookstore, I went to EB Games for seven years (29:39) and moved on from there because, well, EB Games and GameStop (29:44) don't necessarily have the best reputation and it's not all undeserved. (29:50) So I moved on to the wonderful world of insurance, (29:55) but I was still in communication with a lot of people I worked with (29:58) and we were talking about how we miss just talking about video games all the time. (30:04) Guys were saying, well, I'd love to do a podcast.(30:07) I'd love to do some writing. (30:09) And I just like the BS bargain bin said, you know what? (30:12) Let's not just talk about how we want to do it. (30:15) Let's just do it.(30:16) And I sat down, no knowledge of how to make a website, (30:20) sat down in front of like a free web maker and made a website. (30:25) And now, five years later, we're doing pretty well. (30:30) That's awesome.(30:31) So do you have a pretty decent following or do people know you? (30:37) Um, I don't know if they know me, you know, in general, know of the show. (30:42) It's a humble, it's a humble little thing. (30:44) The website is not the most popular, (30:49) primarily because I don't think people want to read stuff anymore.(30:54) What's reading? (30:56) I don't know what that is. (30:57) Exactly. (30:58) But we do video reviews for all of the articles that we do.(31:03) And, you know, on YouTube, we have the modest 1500 subscribers. (31:09) Some of our videos up to 30 to 50,000 views. (31:14) And again, this is like like with Ben, (31:18) I don't necessarily do it to run a successful website (31:22) as much as my friends that are also into video games.(31:25) It's something for us to kind of carry on together and have a hobby (31:29) and and, you know, get some free video games. (31:33) That's pretty awesome. (31:34) So you actually review them on this show? (31:38) I'm sorry.(31:39) You review them on the show? (31:41) Well, we do actual structured video reviews where we'll write so that (31:47) companies will ship you their games or you'll request them. (31:50) Or how do you get how does how does that process work? (31:52) Well, that is a whole process. (31:54) And it's changing.(31:56) It's becoming a lot easier for people now. (32:00) When I first started, and we're not even talking that long ago, five years ago, (32:05) it was find PR emails, however you can (32:10) try to reach out to companies and make contacts and hope that they respond. (32:16) Now, as we've kind of in the last generation moved to a lot more digital stuff, (32:21) there's websites that you can get registered for.(32:25) You have to be like validated, obviously. (32:27) And then you can just have almost like your Amazon shopping cart and request keys. (32:33) And you may or may not get them, but it's all digital.(32:35) And it's a lot more automated, less personal. (32:39) So there's some good and bad with it. (32:43) Sure.All right. (32:44) I have to bring something up here, too. (32:47) Yeah, Sandro.(32:47) Sandro was talking about how he's not really a collector of physical media anymore. (32:53) And that totally works for him in the realm of video games. (32:56) I myself, I have to own a physical copy of movies.(33:00) But Sandro, why why do you think that you're more comfortable (33:03) just having digital copies as opposed to physical? (33:06) Is it a space issue or is it just you go through them (33:08) and never really go back to them? (33:10) Like why? Why digital more than physical for you? (33:13) And Mark, this question is coming for you, too. (33:16) I mean, obviously, a big part of it is convenience. (33:20) I know back when I started, if you got a Nintendo game to review, (33:24) you would have to ship the copy back to them sometimes (33:27) after you finish reviewing the game.(33:30) Now they just send you a code and it's yours and you don't have to think about it. (33:33) You don't need shelf space. (33:35) It's just a lot more convenient.(33:38) Fair enough. (33:41) Mark, how many physical copies of multiplicity do you own? (33:45) Probably three. (33:47) Oh, really? (33:48) A multiple.Yeah, I'm a collector of physical media as well. (33:52) Good. I've got I've got about 50 laser discs still.(33:56) And it's funny because I haven't had a laser player forever, (33:59) but I've been on eBay scouring, looking for just a functional one. (34:03) I finally found one for like, you know, 50 bucks or something. (34:07) So I popped in Star Wars and it worked like, oh, it's beautiful.(34:12) It's like it was like Nirvana. (34:15) And like the the quality is what the quality is. (34:18) I know I know what it is.(34:19) And I know that it makes grinding sounds when it's playing. (34:21) But it's a laser disc. I love it.(34:23) It's part of the experience. (34:25) It is. So I've got I've got thousands of movies (34:29) of all different formats.(34:31) Same. I love it. (34:32) And I still have HD DVD as well.(34:35) I don't I didn't throw that out either. (34:37) Oh, wow. Yeah, I was I was an early adopter, so I was never a Sony (34:43) Sony proprietor guy.(34:44) And they had the they had the beta. (34:47) Yeah, I tried. Remember the memory stick.(34:49) They tried that with the memory. (34:50) They tried it with their car. (34:52) They had a like not fire.(34:54) I think with fire, it wasn't fire, but it was like one of the plug in, (34:58) you know, one of the plugs. (34:59) And I'm like, screw that, man. (35:00) And then when Sony came out with the Blu-ray, I went Microsoft Toshiba.(35:04) I went HD DVD. (35:06) And, you know, Sony's movies went out because they had so many (35:10) to put out on Blu-ray. (35:12) Well, and that's a weird thing, too, because Microsoft was pushing (35:17) HD DVD so hard, but they were.(35:20) But the Xbox couldn't play them. (35:22) You had to get an like a separate. (35:25) I have two of those.(35:26) And I have an old I have an old Xbox just to play them. (35:31) I've never seen one. (35:32) What do they are they like comparable to Blu-ray? (35:35) Yeah, I have an I have an Xbox.(35:37) I have an Xbox 360 still. (35:40) And I have what's called an HD DVD player, which is basically just (35:43) an HD DVD drive that's in an external USB connected drive. (35:49) I mean, it's pretty basic.(35:50) Yeah, it is the same quality. (35:52) It's actually as good, if not just a little better. (35:55) I don't think it held as much data on a disc, but they were still earlier.(36:00) Right. They didn't get any more iterations. (36:03) And being.(36:05) A physical media collector like myself, like I love throwing an old VHS (36:09) and like the last VHS tape I watched was Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (36:12) not that long ago and just seeing like the visual noise and knowing that (36:17) there's going to be a tracking issue at a certain point almost adds to the movie (36:22) for me and Sandro with with digital copies of games or like emulators and (36:27) ROMs and whatnot, do you is there still a nostalgia factor for you (36:31) or is there like like do you miss holding the old NES controller (36:35) or is it just as long as you can play the game? It's fine. (36:38) I miss smelling it when you open the box. (36:41) Well, I mean, you're talking about two different things here, Ben.(36:45) Retro gaming versus the digital media. (36:47) It's not like you have digital Super Nintendo games. (36:52) Yes, there's emulators, but I don't, you know, I don't like those.(36:56) They as you ask, they don't feel authentic. (37:00) That's why I still have a Super Nintendo for older consoles. (37:06) I didn't get rid of a lot of the things.(37:09) I didn't collect them, but I also didn't get rid of what I did have. (37:12) OK, it's just more into the new generations that I I like getting, (37:17) you know, digital. (37:18) And to be honest, one thing you learn (37:22) working in video games, moving into these generations.(37:25) When I was a kid and I went to Blockbuster to rent a game for the Super Nintendo, (37:28) one of the most exciting parts was driving home and flipping (37:31) through the instruction booklet, you know, on the way, anticipating the game. (37:36) Started getting into newer games. (37:38) You open the box and there's a leaflet advertising other products.(37:43) You know, it just it it's not the same. (37:46) And print and print with a website that you can access codes and stuff. (37:51) Yeah.Sometimes even just don't forget the website. (37:54) Yeah. Sometimes even just the manual will be (37:58) like an option on the launch screen of the game.(38:02) But I'm already in the game. (38:04) I don't want to look at the manual now. (38:06) Unfortunately, a lot of newer gamers these days aren't going to know that excitement.(38:10) You know, you think back to like the Legend of Zelda manual (38:13) from the Super Nintendo link to the past, and it was thick. (38:17) You open it up and no, seriously, like it was just. (38:20) It was just exciting.(38:22) It's not the same anticipation at this point. (38:25) Yeah, they definitely streamlined the physical production down. (38:28) I get that for sure.(38:30) It's the same for me. (38:32) And like buying physical media where you buy a Blu-ray (38:36) and it doesn't even have the director's commentary on it. (38:38) But I have a subscription to a service like Shutter (38:41) and they'll upload two different files.(38:44) You can stream one, just the movie, one movie with the commentary track. (38:48) So I guess it is kind of taking away from actually buying that physical media then. (38:55) Changing paces here a little bit for both of you, a question (39:00) staying on the topic of physical media, the favorite video game or movie that you (39:06) you own a physical copy of.(39:08) Sandro, I'm assuming you're going to pick a video game, Mark. (39:09) I assume movie, but I'm curious. (39:12) Mark, I'll pick video game.(39:14) Sure. Yeah. Mm hmm.(39:17) Mike Tyson's Punch Out original Nintendo. (39:21) Nice. I was I was gifted it.(39:23) I was in a bad car accident in 1988 (39:27) and I was bedridden for nine weeks. (39:30) And someone gifted me a Nintendo and I still have it. (39:35) That's amazing.(39:37) It's like, you know how like the white over time becomes like yellow beige ish. (39:42) It is the most off color game console you'll ever see. (39:47) But the control, the original controller still work.(39:49) You have to kind of judge the the cartridges a little bit, (39:54) but everything still functions. (39:56) How about you, Sandro? (39:57) Mm hmm. I don't know.(40:02) My mentality is that I don't put as much value into it. (40:05) I would say maybe not even my favorite, (40:10) but one of the more memorable ones was one Christmas. (40:13) My brother in law got me a copy of the anniversary (40:17) collector's edition of Clerks, (40:20) and that really got me into Kevin Smith movies, (40:24) which I'm a big fan of now, or at least I was for a time (40:28) before things like Tusk and Jersey Girl came out.(40:34) Yeah, yeah, I'm with you on that because I'm from Philly. (40:36) So those Kevin Smith movies were huge to us. (40:41) Yeah.And I just remember that that collector's edition (40:44) I got was was kind of almost like a shifting point. (40:48) But another one that I always loved just that I found was the special edition (40:55) two pack of Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer. (41:00) Oh, my God.That's amazing. (41:03) I'm a massive Conan fan. (41:05) Really quickly, did you, Sandro, with Clerks, (41:09) did you ever see the director's cut where it didn't end so well with the ending? (41:14) Yeah, and I'm not a fan of it.(41:16) It's weird, right? (41:17) Obviously, it doesn't make sense canon wise because you wouldn't have had the sequel. (41:21) But obviously, I did was also put out before the sequel. (41:26) So I think that it would have.(41:28) I mean, that alternate ending is on the collector's edition that I got, (41:32) if I'm not mistaken. (41:34) Yeah, that's what I was asking. (41:35) I thought it was.Yeah. (41:36) Clerks X, right? (41:38) Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's on there.(41:40) And sorry, I was just going to say that that ending is one of the rare scenarios (41:47) where I can honestly say the ending would have changed the entire movie as a result, (41:54) because I totally agree. (41:56) You very and you very quickly look back (41:59) in that final moment at what had led up to it. (42:03) And it doesn't feel like the same comedy you were signing up for with the (42:08) I don't know, the theater friendly version you get (42:12) such an impactful difference.(42:14) But I'm glad they went with the one they went with. (42:18) Yeah. Total buzzkill.(42:20) That would have been. (42:21) Yeah, it would have been an interesting way to end a movie (42:24) that's all about a slice of life, though. (42:26) I totally see why that would have been an original ending.(42:29) But I certainly see why. (42:32) Yeah, I certainly see why it was, (42:34) you know, thought about or at least, you know, the concept was tried. Yeah.(42:39) But yeah, it would definitely change the entire film. (42:42) And that's a movie I think that everybody can rewatch (42:44) at least a handful of times and still enjoy. (42:46) But knowing that would be the ending that you're going to get, (42:49) I think that would have cut down the rewatch value pretty quickly.(42:51) I would agree. (42:52) That being said, I think everybody should see that ending, (42:55) just not on their first viewing, (42:58) because the other thing that it did for me, aside from highlight (43:01) the fact that the movie would have been drastically different, (43:03) was actually kind of heightened my appreciation of the version (43:08) we actually got just to, like I said, just to see what it could have been. (43:14) I don't know.That contrast adds a lot to it. (43:18) Yeah, for sure. (43:19) What about you, Ben? (43:20) What about what's your most cherished collection, video game or movie wise? (43:25) It would be a movie, and it is far from my favorite movie.(43:29) It would be a rental copy of the Betamax release of Top Gun. (43:37) And that is because when my dad framed. (43:41) Yeah, right.(43:42) I have it. It's on a shelf, but it's it's displayed prominently. (43:47) But it was the first time where I was like, wait a minute.(43:51) You can own a movie. (43:54) Like this, like we could I can collect these. (43:57) I can just watch a movie when I want to.(43:59) This is I don't have to go to the theater. (44:02) This is amazing. (44:04) And that's what that's what set off my my movie collection.(44:09) My and what is the collection at? (44:10) Like, what would you do? (44:11) You know, the numbers of VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, blah, blah, blah. (44:14) Do you know all the it is cataloged? (44:17) I don't have a current tally, but it's definitely over 5000. (44:22) Beautiful.Yeah. (44:24) And you went to you went to school for that, right? (44:26) I yeah, originally I went to school. (44:28) I did a degree in English and history and then went back for what a waste.(44:34) Yeah, I know. Right. (44:35) I originally wanted to be a teacher.(44:37) Well, you speak English great. (44:39) So I think you're doing well. (44:40) I am wordsmith.(44:42) It's it's worth the $100,000. (44:45) But then I went back for a business and television production management. (44:50) Yeah.Hold on a second. (44:51) Mark, you realize we went to school in Canada, right? (44:55) I don't know the numbers, man. (44:57) I just throw numbers out there.(44:58) Don't don't shit on me for our shitty system. (45:01) Wait a minute. How much is education cost in the United States? (45:04) It's expensive.(45:06) So one semester of university when I went. (45:11) So we're thinking around 2000, (45:16) early 2000s, one semester is 2000. (45:19) No, no, no.I'm saying in the year 2000. (45:22) Obviously. Oh, yeah.(45:23) It's been a long time since I've been in school. (45:26) But I got it. (45:27) When I went to university, (45:29) which I believe you guys just call it a college, maybe.(45:33) Sure. College, uni, university, whatever you want to call it. (45:36) All right.Now, because we have college and university, (45:38) I don't know what the hell junior college is for you guys. (45:40) I'm not going to pretend to know American (45:44) educational formats, but we don't have an education fair. (45:47) One semester.(45:49) So half a year of university cost me twenty four hundred dollars. (45:55) That's cute. Yeah.(45:57) Yeah. I think I spent five thousand a year when I went. (46:02) That's yeah.You guys are cute. (46:03) Yeah. It's about five to six thousand if you take into account books.(46:06) Right. Because you're looking at tuition somewhere around twenty five hundred (46:09) and then, you know, five to five hundred to a thousand for books, (46:12) depending on what you're taking. (46:13) Obviously, English, it's a lot more in history.(46:18) Well, I would I would think a basic place nowadays (46:20) is probably in the twenty thousand per semester range. (46:24) Holy shit. Why? (46:27) Yeah, it's probably up there.I'm (46:31) I think I think it's up there. (46:33) I don't know. That's crazy.Yeah. (46:37) We don't have great people like Jordan Peterson teaching our youth. (46:41) So, oh, that's a tonic.(46:44) Can we talk about him or do we not? Is he a hot button? (46:48) Here, he's pretty controversial. (46:51) That's what what's the opinion of him in the States? (46:55) Well, it's controversial as well. (46:56) I mean, I would think it's just a split.(46:59) So here it is. Average coast cost of college by state. (47:03) So in Arizona, in-state tuition.(47:05) This must be semesters eleven thousand to twenty out of state tuition's (47:09) twenty nine thousand seven fifty. (47:12) So in-state is much less expensive, but still over ten thousand. (47:19) That's insane.(47:21) Yeah, that's what these numbers are now. (47:22) I just pulled the first thing up. (47:24) So that's crazy.(47:25) I don't want to get all crazy. (47:27) It's like you don't want people to get educated. (47:30) No, no.Why would we want that? (47:32) We're spending, you know. (47:34) Well, the reason I bring up Jordan Peterson is because he makes a good point. (47:38) He talks about college tuition, for example, in the United States (47:41) is skyrocketing, but no one's getting paid more.(47:44) It's it's like 80 percent administration fees now. (47:47) Because they're paying off all these lawsuits and all these things (47:51) that are happening. (47:52) And it's all basically.(47:53) Yeah, it's all judging. (47:55) It's like judging to make it run. (47:57) It's all like the red tape to make it run, not the actual.(48:00) You know, the point of it is to learn, not to administer. (48:05) Yeah. Yeah.(48:07) But it's interesting. (48:08) Yeah, it's an interesting look at the system needs a reset. (48:13) It really depends on what side of it you're looking at.(48:15) I mean, true to the to the attendee, it is their education (48:20) to the administrators. (48:22) It is a business and they have to keep the business going (48:26) as well as make make the dollar. (48:29) So it's unfortunate that, you know, (48:33) potential future is compromised or inaccessible to people (48:37) so that somebody can make a dollar now.(48:41) Yeah, I feel like it's sad that you monetize something like knowledge. (48:45) I mean, here in Canada, tuition is so cheap that Ben and I can waste our time (48:49) doing things like English degrees. (48:51) Yeah, this sounds amazing.(48:54) Now, I'm left out in a way that (48:59) most people that want to go to university (49:01) can afford to go without the necessity of scholarships (49:06) or grants or things like that. (49:09) They do exist and they do help a lot of people. (49:11) But I feel like with the upbringing I had, (49:15) if I were living in the U.S. (49:17) and trying to go to school, that never would have happened.(49:20) Yeah, the student loans are ridiculous. (49:22) Yeah, I know people with tens, tens of thousands of dollars. (49:28) That's so unfortunate.(49:29) I mean, sub sub 50000 is low. (49:33) No, no joke. (49:35) That's really sad because what is sad? (49:38) Ben and I went to school for three, four different degrees and (49:43) do not have that kind of debt at all.(49:47) Yeah, well, I hate you guys. (49:49) I hate Canada as well. (49:50) Now, I used to like you guys.(49:53) If it makes you feel any better, I got three degrees (49:56) and like a genius, got three useless ones. (50:00) Does that count for anything? (50:02) No. Oh, because I got a useless one and paid a lot more for it.(50:06) Oh, I actually I went to college for aeronautical science and flight (50:12) and I'm actually I'm actually a licensed pilot, (50:16) commercial, multi instrument rated. (50:19) And I had a near miss (50:21) and I hit a piece of a plane break off in flight. (50:24) I come back to back flights and I quickly reevaluate is right.(50:28) Coming out of college, I quickly reevaluated my life. (50:31) That's absolutely terrifying. (50:33) Yeah.Scared the living crap out of me. (50:36) Can you go more into that? (50:38) You said you had a piece come off of one. (50:39) Like, what were you flying? (50:42) So if you've ever seen like the small single engine, (50:45) you know, four seater like a Cessna.(50:47) So it was like that. (50:49) And the front of it, there's a little cone shaped thing on the front (50:52) where the propeller is for aerodynamics is called the nose cone. (50:57) Well, I was ferrying a plane from Philadelphia to like West Virginia (51:01) and it was cracked.(51:03) And on my inspection, I'm like, hey, this is crack. (51:05) They're like, I was just out of college (51:08) and any hour that you could get was like gold. (51:11) So like you couldn't turn down flying, if you know what I mean.(51:15) So you took whatever you could get. (51:17) And I'm like, this thing's crack is like, that's cool. (51:19) You guys will tape it up and you'll be fine.(51:22) So it's like February. (51:23) And I'm over a place called the Smoky Mountains, which is between, (51:26) you know, like the Appalachian Appalachian Mountains, kind of that whole. (51:30) Yep.Trail. (51:32) And the plane starts buffering pretty heavily. (51:36) So I started looking for a place to land (51:38) because it's always good to land under power than not under power.(51:42) And I'm like, what the heck's going on? (51:44) And all of a sudden it's like, think and you're kink (51:47) and a piece of the nose cone had split off (51:51) and actually hit my landing gear underneath, did not go to the windscreen. (51:54) Thank goodness. (51:55) But when, yeah, I hit the hit the landing gear, which was a fixed gear.(51:59) So it wasn't like it didn't damage or anything. (52:01) It just kind of bounced off it still. (52:04) I was able to actually get it to the destination, land it.(52:07) But yeah, I was I was pretty scared there for a second. (52:12) Now, doing something like like your your flight school simulated engine failure, (52:18) I'm sure that's something you had to go through. (52:20) Absolutely.(52:21) Were you ever just full on terrified, like, I can't get this going or you're like, (52:25) all right, well, this is just, you know, this is how you learn. (52:29) I, I would shit myself every time. (52:32) I'm not going to lie.(52:33) Like, it's weird. (52:35) I had this weird thing is in the plane. (52:37) I'm OK.But like at night up to like when I was going to fly, I was terrified. (52:44) Like I had this anxiety that just and I don't know if I ever (52:48) should have really chosen it or not, but I really I, you know, I was committed. (52:52) So I really gave it everything I had.(52:54) And then when these like incidents happen, they happen so close together (52:58) right after graduating, I'm like, you know what? (53:00) Let me let me take a step back. (53:03) Now, did that change your your feeling on flying in general? (53:07) Like, do you still travel by airplane or are you absolutely OK? (53:12) Yeah. And it's funny because like none.(53:13) Yeah, none of my experience has me afraid of flying. (53:17) But I didn't think I could handle it. (53:20) Fair enough.Yeah. (53:22) I'm OK to admit my shortcomings, man. (53:25) Do you have a fear of heights or anything? (53:26) No, no fear heights or anything like that.(53:29) What are you afraid of? (53:31) Oh, gosh, probably. (53:34) Like I, I don't like insects and bugs like that. (53:37) You should probably not live in Arizona.(53:39) Well, yeah, Arizona has scorpions and I've knock on wood. (53:42) Not any had any in the house, but a lot of people have had it in their homes. (53:45) And that that freaks me out a little bit.(53:48) You have stuff like rattlesnakes and tarantulas, too, right? (53:52) Yeah, we have rattlesnakes. (53:53) Tarantulas aren't too bad. (53:54) But what we brought over are the camel camel spiders.(53:58) Oh, God, no. From Afghanistan. (54:01) Because what they got in like the duffel bags and when they were stationed there (54:05) and out here, the the desert is very similar.(54:08) So they thrived when they came, you know, when whenever they got came over here. (54:13) So it sounds like a nightmare. (54:16) It sounds like a knock on wood.(54:18) I haven't. I haven't. (54:19) It's not like it's like we're not in the wilderness, man.(54:22) I mean, we're in a metropolitan city here. (54:24) We're pretty big, I guess. (54:26) Yeah.See, I think it's what number six in the country (54:29) of of the of the United States or something. (54:32) Number six. Is it that big? (54:33) Yeah, it's pretty big.(54:35) A couple of you know, one one million plus. (54:37) I always wanted to go. Yeah.(54:38) OK, so the population of your city is about the population of the province (54:42) I live in. All right. (54:43) There you go.Well, come on over. (54:45) Doors open at any time. (54:47) If you get out to Arizona, reach out.(54:49) I grew up in the forest and (54:52) of course, growing up in the forest means you're growing up around hunters. (54:57) So my family is full of them. (55:00) And my uncle bought and converted an old school bus (55:04) into a mobile hunting camp.(55:06) Oh, that's cool. It's amazing. (55:09) Yeah, it was amazing.(55:10) It had a series of bunks in the back. (55:12) It kept some of the seats and like face faced them together. (55:15) So you could put a table in the middle and that was your like hangout (55:18) couch dining area.(55:19) There was an old wood stove and everything. (55:21) It was great. (55:22) Now you have that and it's stationed in the middle of a forest.(55:28) You're going to get some creepy crawlies in there. (55:31) I had a wolf spider pop out of the (55:37) the the wood chest and that's the one with like 23,000 eyes. (55:42) Oh, dude, I've never seen a spider (55:46) that just turned and it was like it looked at me.(55:50) And then the front half reared back and it charged me on its hind legs. (55:55) So I just yeah, I tore to the front of the bus (55:58) and like ripped open this old school bus handle to get the door open (56:03) and just dove to the ground and rolled. (56:05) And everyone's just outside staring at me like a complete idiot.(56:09) But yeah, there's a massive spider that was like half the size of my hand (56:12) that decided I'm going to chase this kid. (56:14) Well, that thing's creepy. (56:15) I'm looking at them.They don't look like fun. (56:17) No, but camel spiders. (56:20) No, I'm not going to Arizona now.(56:24) Screw that. (56:25) I didn't want you to come. (56:26) That's why I said it.(56:28) So I don't have anything to contribute to this because I. (56:33) Don't have fear, nothing. (56:35) Oh, no, I fear everything. (56:38) I just mean that these at one point I lived in a rural setting (56:43) just outside of KW.(56:45) And the most I saw was like field mice and garden snakes. (56:49) So I can't contribute with that. (56:51) Although I did have asshole friends.(56:53) Does that count for anything? (56:55) Yeah, I still remember. (56:58) I still remember because I lived not on a farm, but in a farm area. (57:04) Right.(57:04) But ours was just a like just a house on a plot of land there with my family. (57:08) And I went to go see Jeepers Creepers. (57:11) If you remember that one.(57:13) Yeah, I went to go see it. (57:15) I was, you know, a university student and we went to like a 10 o'clock showing. (57:19) I didn't drive.(57:20) So I had to get my buddies to pick me up and drop me off. (57:24) There was about a 20 minute walk from my house. (57:28) You would have maybe passed three other houses, cornfields.(57:31) And at the top of the road was an old meat packing plant. (57:34) So a slaughterhouse. (57:37) After the movie, my friends thought it would be hilarious (57:40) to drop me off in the parking lot of the meat packing plant (57:43) 20 minutes away from my house in the middle of the night (57:46) after I just finished watching a movie where college students (57:50) were run off the road on rural streets.(57:54) That's a beautiful thing. (57:55) Yeah. No.(57:57) So I had to walk home for like 20 minutes and every time the wind blew (58:01) and it rustled all the cornfields because, I mean, it was stocks of corn (58:05) above my head on both sides of the dirt road. (58:08) I ran a little bit. (58:10) And the only reprieve I got from the cornfields was the little bit (58:13) where it opened up to a forest on the one side.(58:18) So your friends are dicks. (58:20) Oh, yeah. (58:23) Did you think that they might? (58:26) Yeah.Were they not friends? (58:27) Were they just called bullies back then? (58:31) Were you the picked on guy all the time? (58:33) Keep in mind, this is also the time where things like jackass (58:37) were very popular. (58:39) So no, no, I'm not even kidding. (58:42) Like, no, I get it.(58:43) I'm from Philadelphia. (58:44) We got Bam Margera. (58:46) Like, you know, you got Uncle Don Vito over there (58:48) talking about his thing over there with with Bam and eight.(58:51) There was a period of time when that was at the peak of its popularity (58:55) where its primary demographic of 18 to 35 males (58:59) treated their friends like assholes because it was funny. (59:04) Yeah. They all capital of Thailand, each other.(59:07) So, yeah, that's (59:10) maybe that's why I don't like movies. (59:13) Because I got stuck 20 minutes to walk 20 minutes home (59:17) after watching Jeepers Creepers. (59:19) I mean, Jeepers Creepers, when I was watching it, it wasn't that scary.(59:25) After the fact, it felt a lot more terrifying. (59:30) Being at the top of a meatpacking plant parking lot at night, (59:34) have a knock 20 minutes. (59:35) Yeah, that doesn't sound like a fun place that I'd want to be.(59:38) I think this is this is kind of where the fun demographic (59:42) or dynamic between Ben and I comes from. (59:45) The fact that we do a movie podcast because he knows everything (59:49) and anything about movies, actors, directors. (59:53) And I don't know shit.(59:57) I think that's what makes the magic work, though. Right, guys? (1:00:00) Oh, yeah. (1:00:01) But it also like makes me subject him to movies (1:00:03) that I think are amazing that he just hates.(1:00:06) Well, it's it's also fun for I mean, the listener gets to hear (1:00:10) the take of someone who's very well in the know, (1:00:13) as well as the take of someone who is literally taking the movie (1:00:17) for face value because they don't know. (1:00:21) I totally get it. (1:00:22) I've been doing my podcast kind of monologue lately, (1:00:25) and I'm the one who doesn't know.(1:00:27) So now no one on the podcast knows. (1:00:31) What was what was that like for you (1:00:33) going from having a co-host to doing mainly things solo? (1:00:38) I hate it. Yeah.(1:00:40) Yeah, I miss I miss my buddy. I really do. (1:00:43) It's just I like the conversation.(1:00:45) And my it's I feel like I've lost a lot more traction, to be honest. (1:00:50) But, you know, it is what it is. (1:00:51) So I have to shift and pivot.(1:00:53) And I kind of I'm kind of seeing how I want to move forward with it. (1:00:57) You know, but that's part of the process, I guess. (1:01:01) Now, I know that anybody listening to us right now (1:01:03) has been listening to your show for a while.(1:01:05) But do you mind letting us know how you started into everything? (1:01:10) Oh, sure. So. (1:01:13) Five years ago, no, six years ago now, 2015, I had a psychic experience.(1:01:20) I don't know another way to say it. (1:01:22) I was I had started getting suicidal ideations (1:01:27) and I started (1:01:30) wanting to really want to leave this place. (1:01:33) That was my lowest point is when I started having those thoughts.(1:01:36) So I sought some help with a therapist. (1:01:39) And the guy was what's called an NLP therapist (1:01:42) stands for neuro linguistic programming. (1:01:45) And they do more hypnosis and more like meditation (1:01:48) and kind of get in your subconscious and figure out, (1:01:51) you know, some blocks from your past.(1:01:55) That could affect your future. (1:01:58) So I go into my first meditation and there I saw (1:02:04) it was a it was a Thursday night (1:02:07) and I saw a black man in a suit at a podium (1:02:10) looking to shake someone's hand to the right. (1:02:13) He looks to the left to shake another person's hand.(1:02:16) And I saw a gunshot go off. (1:02:18) And I came out of this meditation or this thing that we were doing. (1:02:21) And I'm like, I think I just saw.(1:02:24) This guy gets shot. (1:02:27) And a week later was a shooting in South Carolina where (1:02:31) it was like a church shooting where nine people were shot. (1:02:35) Some white supremacist, racist guy walked in and shot like nine people.(1:02:41) And the head of the church was a guy named Clementa Pinkney. (1:02:45) And in April 2015, there is a (1:02:49) there's a video of him doing this gesture that I saw. (1:02:53) No.And it's like, (1:02:56) it really shook me because I didn't think anything of it till the guy told me. (1:03:00) So like my therapist told me. (1:03:03) I didn't even you know what I mean? (1:03:05) Like, you know how some people like go down the rabbit hole of I feel special.(1:03:09) So I'll figure out that I'm special. (1:03:12) That didn't happen that way for me. (1:03:14) Like, I'm burdened with it.(1:03:15) So since that moment, I've had nothing but. (1:03:19) I get moments of experiences of things that happen. (1:03:23) Crazy, man.Yeah, that's incredibly intense. (1:03:27) Yeah. And it's really weird because like I come from science, (1:03:32) so I'm a skeptic at heart, like the stuff that I experience.(1:03:36) I'm like, how there's no way that I could have imagined this, you know? (1:03:41) So like here, one of the examples is license plates are very unique. (1:03:45) Right. You can only get one.(1:03:46) Right. So each in or in the United States, (1:03:49) you can have 50 of one type of license plate, so they're very unique. (1:03:54) I'm at lunch or dinner with my ex-girlfriend at the at the time, (1:03:59) and I start quoting Dr. (1:04:01) Seuss, I look at her, I go, you know, I would not eat this with a goat.(1:04:04) I wouldn't eat this in a boat. Right. (1:04:06) So I just start goofing around, (1:04:07) like just completely out of the blue pops in my head.Right. (1:04:11) We were on our way home. (1:04:12) We literally pull out of the restaurant.(1:04:14) I turn left and we're approaching a light (1:04:17) and there's a car that wants to pull out onto the main street. (1:04:20) Well, we're coming up to a red light. (1:04:21) So I let the car out in front of me.(1:04:23) The license plate is DRSC USS. (1:04:26) Oh, my God. And the whole back is like littered with like Dr. (1:04:30) Seuss stickers.(1:04:31) So like the the weird the weird synchronicity is like, (1:04:36) not only did that have to happen, like I had to let that person in front of me. (1:04:40) The only reason I let that person in front of me is because I was coming up (1:04:42) to a light like the timing of all that happening doesn't seem (1:04:47) random, if that makes sense. (1:04:50) Oh, completely.(1:04:52) So I've been on a quest to try to figure it out. (1:04:56) I don't like. (1:04:58) So what happened is after that, I really got into stuff.(1:05:02) I work with a really serious guy, my therapist. (1:05:07) And I went to a meditation one day and the guy never breaks character (1:05:12) like he's always very stoic. (1:05:15) And and when we have a conversation, he's always like sitting there stoic.(1:05:18) Right. So it's the end of a conversation. (1:05:20) I had a I had a vision in a meditation the night before.(1:05:25) So as I'm leaving, like, oh, hey, I just had this meditation. (1:05:29) I saw X in my vision. (1:05:32) And his eyes got all wide and he's like, (1:05:35) what, like it's almost like he broke character, like what the heck he goes, (1:05:40) what? And I go, oh, I had a vision.(1:05:42) I saw this guy in my meditation. (1:05:44) I just do a meditation yesterday and this vision popped in my head. (1:05:48) And he goes, I have a call with him.(1:05:52) He's a very good friend of mine. (1:05:53) We have dinner every once in a while. (1:05:55) I can't say the name because he's very prominent.(1:05:58) Like everyone would know this person. All right. (1:06:01) So it's just one of these weird things like heat.(1:06:03) The guy was shocked, like that I saw that person. (1:06:06) You know what I mean? (1:06:07) So like it's stuff like that. (1:06:08) So I the reason I came up with the show, (1:06:11) Knocked Conscious was like it knocked me conscious, like it woke me up.(1:06:15) It didn't knock me out. It knocked it woke me up. (1:06:18) So that's kind of the concept behind that.(1:06:21) That is incredible. (1:06:23) Yeah. And then the beer Google's one is literally like the proof is (1:06:27) we are very dichotomous people, like we have the ability to both.(1:06:32) Create and destroy, right? (1:06:34) I mean, so the beer Google's one is like a total mess around one (1:06:37) that I just joke around and make fun. (1:06:40) And it allows me to to have two sides of my personality show. (1:06:45) Very interesting.(1:06:46) Well done. Well done. (1:06:48) Well, thank you.Oh, thank you, Ben. (1:06:51) Thank you. (1:06:52) Yeah.But do you guys have any other projects (1:06:55) on upcoming on the future besides the bargain bin? (1:06:58) Or are you guys going to shift or do something other than movies after a while? (1:07:02) Or what are your what are your future plans? (1:07:05) Um, it's something we haven't really talked about a lot. (1:07:08) We're still kind of riding the wave of this. (1:07:10) It is relatively new.(1:07:11) It's only been about six months that we've been doing this. (1:07:14) I would love to record. (1:07:16) I love recording.(1:07:17) Anyway, I had a podcast years and years ago that was doing all right. (1:07:21) I just love being able to talk. (1:07:23) I love being able to perform.(1:07:24) I love having a microphone in front of me (1:07:28) without somebody like Sandro. (1:07:29) Sandro is the motivator, for sure. (1:07:31) And you can say that about bargain bin.(1:07:33) You can say that about Pixel Opinions. (1:07:36) He gets everybody in line without him. (1:07:40) I would not be doing this even though I would want to.(1:07:42) I just wouldn't. (1:07:43) He is like the key for us to be recording. (1:07:48) Sandro, is there anything you feel like you would want to be doing differently (1:07:51) or another branch you'd like to investigate, something new you'd like to try? (1:07:57) Um, at this moment, I'm just happy with what we're doing.(1:08:00) Uh, first of all, thank you. (1:08:03) That was very nice of you. (1:08:04) And surprised it took being on a podcast for you to say something nice about me.(1:08:10) Um, I think the, the beauty of doing public criticize in private. (1:08:15) I think the, um, I think the beauty of doing a podcast, uh, that's surrounding (1:08:20) movies, especially older movies or movies that, um, just didn't get (1:08:26) necessarily the recognition that they should have, or we wanted them to is that (1:08:32) there's going to be no shortage of content to talk about. (1:08:36) Um, so any sort of shift that would take place would be purely out of (1:08:40) desire, not out of necessity.(1:08:43) Um, movie wise, we could probably go forever. (1:08:46) They ain't going to stop making them and we'll never run out of ones to talk about. (1:08:52) Definitely not run out of bad ones for sure.(1:08:55) Yeah, I, I want to touch on Ben's nice compliment of how I get things going. (1:09:02) Cause the irony is that the podcast he used to do with his other buddies that I (1:09:08) had no part in, uh, zombie dolphins from space was actually one of the things (1:09:14) that motivated me to start pixel opinions. (1:09:17) Um, because I heard Ben doing it, he was having a good time with his friends.(1:09:22) And I thought, well, I can do this with video games. (1:09:25) And then it was the knowledge that I amassed with that, that allowed me (1:09:29) to make BS bargain bin happen. (1:09:31) So Ben kind of indirectly made BS bargain bin happen by doing his first podcast.(1:09:37) You guys are just magi-ing each other all over the place. (1:09:42) Did you, did, did you cut your hair Sandro so that you could sell it for a (1:09:47) chain for, uh, for Ben's a pocket watch? (1:09:50) No, no. (1:09:51) I, I just shaved my head cause I'm balding.(1:09:55) There you go. (1:09:57) I was trying to help man. (1:09:59) Hey man, I know who I am.(1:10:01) I know what it is. (1:10:02) I can't, I can't change that. (1:10:04) Uh, as soon as the, uh, hair on the top started getting thinner, I just started (1:10:08) growing my beard out more and more.(1:10:10) Perfect. (1:10:11) Well, we've been, uh, we've been in this about an hour and a half almost. (1:10:16) Welcome to the time warp.(1:10:17) That's how it works. (1:10:19) Is there anything else you guys want to talk about or share? (1:10:21) I'm, I'm sure we can have a future episode, uh, down the road, but, uh, is (1:10:25) there anything you guys wanted to share? (1:10:27) Finalize, share all your, uh, socials and all your cool information, (1:10:31) how to get ahold of you guys. (1:10:34) Ben, you want to do that? (1:10:35) I don't want us to talk over each other.(1:10:38) No, this is your area, buddy. (1:10:39) This is your territory, not mine. (1:10:41) What are you talking about? (1:10:42) Um, I don't even know what our website is.(1:10:45) Um, no, I guess, uh, shut up. (1:10:52) This is why you should be doing this. (1:10:55) Um, you can find the podcast, uh, at anchor.fm slash BS bargain bin.(1:11:01) Ben's right. (1:11:02) We don't have an actual website. (1:11:03) Um, but we did start putting our podcast up on YouTube as well.(1:11:09) Um, not so much so that there's something for people to watch cause the actual (1:11:13) footage shown is not fantastic, but just another medium where they can find the (1:11:18) podcast. (1:11:19) Um, so that's probably the two best places. (1:11:21) Otherwise you can hit us up on Twitter at BS bargain bin or even on Facebook.(1:11:26) Uh, we try to be a little more active on there or at least make announcements. (1:11:29) We're going to be doing the monthly fan pick for review, which is something that, (1:11:35) um, you were actually the first one, right? (1:11:37) We kind of just had the idea to ask people for a recommendation. (1:11:42) You were the first and hopefully we can keep that going.(1:11:46) So I wedged my way into your show. (1:11:48) I just forced my way in crowbar and all. (1:11:53) I mean, Hey, it, if it was meant to be, it was meant to be right.(1:11:58) I mean, we had a blast doing that episode. (1:12:00) It's going to be going live. (1:12:01) I mean, as of the recording in about 30 minutes.(1:12:05) Um, so by the time people hear this, they'll be able to check it out, but that's (1:12:09) where you can find us or, you know, like I said, just, just, just search on your (1:12:15) favorite podcast, whatever, like I, I'm having difficulty remembering we're on (1:12:20) what Apple, Spotify, um, all the big ones. (1:12:25) Yeah. (1:12:25) I don't know, Ben, if you remember, I don't off the top of my head, but (1:12:29) you know, the nice thing about anchor is that they have a soda on at least eight (1:12:32) of the biggest, uh, podcast providers.(1:12:35) Awesome. (1:12:36) Very nice. (1:12:36) Yeah.(1:12:37) And BS bargain bin. (1:12:38) If you go on, uh, at, I think it's at BS bargain bin, right? (1:12:42) Yeah. (1:12:43) So at BS bargain bin, you can just go on there on Twitter and it's (1:12:46) got the anchor link in the profile.(1:12:50) Yeah, perfect. (1:12:51) Anyone feel free to send us a recommendations. (1:12:54) Uh, I mean, I just love torturing Sandro with my selections, but let's, uh, let's (1:12:59) get some fresh ideas out there.(1:13:00) Yeah. (1:13:00) Let's torture everybody. (1:13:02) Yeah.(1:13:04) The torture podcast. (1:13:07) That just sounds like screaming and just fire brimstone all done. (1:13:12) I might work.(1:13:13) I might be an ASMR, uh, podcast. (1:13:16) Sandro get on this right now. (1:13:17) No.(1:13:20) All right, gentlemen. (1:13:21) Well, thank you so much for joining. (1:13:23) Uh, it's been, it's been a pleasure for sure.(1:13:26) Thank you so much for having us on, man. (1:13:27) And thank you for being on our show as well. (1:13:29) This, uh, it's been great having a chance to hang out on, on the two very different (1:13:35) podcasts, but also similar in the fact that we can just shoot the shit, have fun (1:13:39) and, uh, not only learn about, you know, our, our film tastes, but, uh, sharing (1:13:44) personal stories, man.(1:13:45) Like I, I need to hear more from you. (1:13:47) I'm going to question you. (1:13:48) You have to have us on again.(1:13:49) Cause I need to learn more about you. (1:13:51) Please. (1:13:52) I'd, I'd love to have you on.(1:13:53) So you're always welcome. (1:13:54) And, um, if you ever have a serious topic, we always talk, I have, like I said, I (1:13:59) have two sides of our show is we have a serious side and we have a fun side. (1:14:03) If you have a fun side, you want to chat, chat.(1:14:06) Come on. (1:14:07) Like, bring me the topic. (1:14:08) We'll, we'll chat about it.(1:14:09) If you have a serious topic, same thing. (1:14:11) Like if you come across something, you're like, man, this is something that, you know, (1:14:14) something even in Canada that you'd like put attention to. (1:14:18) Um, I'm happy to talk about almost any topic.(1:14:20) I'm pretty curious guy. (1:14:22) So. (1:14:23) All right.(1:14:23) Well, trust me, I've got some ideas brewing right now. (1:14:26) Awesome. (1:14:26) Well, I'm real excited.(1:14:28) Um, Sandro, thank you as well for coming on today. (1:14:31) Yeah, I was just kind of here. (1:14:33) Yeah.(1:14:33) You know, thanks for just sticking around and, you know, taking up, taking up that (1:14:37) oxygen over there in Ottawa, not Ottawa. (1:14:40) Is it Ottawa? (1:14:41) It will. (1:14:41) It's Ontario, right? (1:14:42) Oh no.(1:14:42) Ottawa is like five hours away. (1:14:44) Yeah, that's right. (1:14:45) But it's Ontario.(1:14:46) You and I had the pleasure of being on the Ben Mason show today, apparently. (1:14:52) Hey, yes. (1:14:54) I mean, I'll take it.(1:14:57) That that's a good thing. (1:14:58) I take, sorry. (1:15:01) Sometimes I can, I can ramble for a little while.(1:15:03) I love it. (1:15:04) It's awesome. (1:15:05) Um, I do the same thing, man.(1:15:07) And I, I opened the door. (1:15:08) So if you ever wanted to come back on, like I said, we can chat and I'm sure (1:15:12) we'll chat after we hang up here, everybody out there in the, uh, social (1:15:17) media podcasting world, this has been another episode of the beer Googles. (1:15:22) Double E double O double G please subscribe, follow rate review.(1:15:26) Love to hear some feedback. (1:15:28) BS bargain, Ben, check it out. (1:15:30) It is fun.(1:15:31) Ben and Sandro, they're two, two really great guys. (1:15:34) I hope you enjoy their show. (1:15:35) Um, Sandro, can you share one more time? (1:15:37) What was the pixel opinions? (1:15:38) Was that the website for the video games? (1:15:40) Yeah.(1:15:41) Yeah. (1:15:41) If you just go to pixel opinions.com, we have an actual website and on there you (1:15:47) can find links to our, uh, reviews, podcasts, top fives, um, our YouTube (1:15:53) channel, uh, we do have guest posts on there too, Ben's written a couple reviews (1:15:58) for us on things like the Conan video game. (1:16:02) Um, but you can find that all on pixel opinions.com. (1:16:06) Awesome.(1:16:06) Well, thank you again. (1:16:07) And Ben, thank you again for joining us as well. (1:16:10) Thank you so much.(1:16:11) Once again, it's been another episode of Beer Googgles. (1:16:13) Everybody have a great day.