Pile of Mates

Samuel De Lorenzo

Three Aussie mates rewatch a movie every week, rate it out of five and rarely agree. It's a book club for movies, with worse manners. One of us picks the film, we all watch it (our partners don't always make it to the end), then we sit down and argue about it. Old favourites, new releases, and things that probably should have stayed in the early 2000s. Everyone logs a score on Letterboxd, half stars included, and the gap between the highest and lowest is usually the best part of the episode. Sam spent 12 years in the cinema industry and was never allowed a public opinion on a movie. Corey shoots weddings for a living, so he'll notice the lighting before the plot. Pacco came here, in his words, "to talk shit and talk movies." Every episode stands on its own, so start with a film you've seen. New episodes every week.

Episodes

  1. 5d ago

    The Wild Robot — You Dead F*****g Robot

    One of us cried watching The Wild Robot on a plane. Another didn’t cry at all, and got a text from the next room calling him a dead f*****g robot. Pacco picked this one. It’s Chris Sanders’ 2024 DreamWorks adaptation of Peter Brown’s book: a service robot called Roz washes up on an island full of animals, accidentally orphans a gosling, and has to work out how to raise him. Lupita Nyong’o voices Roz, and Pedro Pascal is the fox, which some of us only clocked when the credits rolled. Along the way there’s a possum mum who loses track of her own kids, the Australian animal that throws its young at predators to get away, Roz ticking “feed” off her list once and apparently never again, the Golden Gate Bridge sitting underwater, and a robot who decides she doesn’t need a vital part because she has love. Plug in the goose. We also get into what the film says about parenting when nobody knows what they’re doing, why it plays like chapters of a book, and how Chris Sanders still voices Stitch. Nobody hated it, but one of us never wants to watch it again. Next week: Snow Dogs, Corey’s pick. Cuba Gooding Jr, 2002, huskies. Get ready for mush hour. Chapters: 00:00 You dead f*****g robot 00:55 Why Pacco picked it 02:49 First impressions and that art style 06:20 Pretty dark for a kids’ film 07:05 Which Aussie animal throws its kids? 08:31 A blended family and a big warm hug 10:11 Nobody knows what they’re doing as a parent 13:07 Fink, and guessing the voice 16:38 The feeding plot hole 18:16 Learning to fly 21:18 Pacco’s wife fell asleep 22:34 The Golden Gate Bridge is underwater 24:02 Winter on the island 26:55 The final battle 30:18 The ending 34:39 Can a robot have a soul? 35:48 Who cried and who didn’t 39:39 Chris Sanders, Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon 44:34 What didn’t work 46:53 Ratings 48:26 Sequels and trilogies 50:45 Next week’s pick Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we’re watching Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/ Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/ Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

    The Wild Robot — You Dead F*****g Robot
  2. Oct 7

    Rat Race — More Nazis Than Expected

    One of us has rewatched Rat Race every year for three years. Another reckons he got oversold. Sam picked this one, a film his fiancée loved as a kid and he only discovered three years ago. Jerry Zucker's 2001 ensemble comedy is basically The Amazing Race with no rules: John Cleese plants six tokens in his Vegas slot machines, and whoever reaches a locker in Silver City, New Mexico first keeps $2 million. Along the way Rowan Atkinson falls asleep in the hotel lobby, Jon Lovitz drives Hitler's car through a WWII veterans' parade, a human heart ends up inside a dog, a cow ends up tied to a hot air balloon, Cuba Gooding Jr hijacks a bus full of I Love Lucy impersonators, and Smash Mouth play All Star with a little help from Hitler's harmonica. We also get into what you'd actually do if you lost a human heart, and how the airport scenes play now that you know the film came out a month before 9/11. The ratings aren't even close, and somehow Avengers: Endgame gets dragged into the argument. Next week: The Wild Robot, Pacco's pick. Bring tissues. It has ducks in it. Chapters: 00:00 Warm cola and a pyramid scheme 00:14 Rat Race, the annual rewatch 02:07 Who'd you bet on? 06:19 Those animated opening credits 10:53 Free buffet, no rules 12:58 Would you go to Darwin for $2 million? 15:42 Released one month before 9/11 19:43 Randy's family and the Nazi museum 23:13 Mr. Bean, a human heart and a dog 25:00 A drifter, let's kill him 28:40 The cow and the hot air balloon 31:15 The I Love Lucy bus 34:59 The billionaires' bets 37:59 Smash Mouth and Hitler's harmonica 40:06 What worked, what didn't 44:29 Ratings 47:04 Five stars, half stars and The Emoji Movie 51:50 Next week's pick, and bring tissues Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/ Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/ Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

    Rat Race — More Nazis Than Expected
  3. Oct 3

    The Onion Movie — Aged Like Milk

    One of us still thinks The Onion Movie is gold. Another needed three sittings to get through it. Corey picked this one, a high-school favourite he wanted to put to the test. Shot in 2003 and not released until 2008, The Onion Movie is a pile of fake news stories wrapped around Norm Archer, an anchor trying to keep his integrity while the network sells ads into the bulletin. Along the way there are neck belts, a woman who calls the news before she calls 911, a Steven Seagal film called C**k Puncher with its own PlayStation 2 game, country star Melissa Cherry's very wholesome love songs, a bloke with his penis stuck in a mailbox, and an armed gunman who negotiates his way into a full-time job with benefits. We also get into how much of it has aged like milk, and why the post-9/11 terrorism jokes land even worse now. The ratings end up further apart than they've ever been, and someone's wife has already recommended it to a work colleague. Next week: Rat Race, Sam's pick. Sam would also like you to watch Community. One episode. It's twenty minutes. Chapters: 00:00 Caught watching The Onion Movie 02:24 Pacco's been dreading this since high school 04:13 Shot in 2003, released in 2008 07:44 Melissa Cherry and a Britney Spears connection 09:02 Neck belts and bad CGI 09:55 C**k Puncher 11:45 We interrupt this program 14:20 What is this film even rated? 17:20 The socks 19:29 The ending 23:23 The armed gunman 25:42 What worked, what didn't 29:38 Ratings 32:07 Would it survive today? 35:11 Next week's pick, and please watch Community Follow us on Letterboxd to see what else we're watching Sam: https://letterboxd.com/Delorenzo6/ Corey: https://letterboxd.com/coreymid/ Pacco: https://letterboxd.com/paccothegoose/

    The Onion Movie — Aged Like Milk

About

Three Aussie mates rewatch a movie every week, rate it out of five and rarely agree. It's a book club for movies, with worse manners. One of us picks the film, we all watch it (our partners don't always make it to the end), then we sit down and argue about it. Old favourites, new releases, and things that probably should have stayed in the early 2000s. Everyone logs a score on Letterboxd, half stars included, and the gap between the highest and lowest is usually the best part of the episode. Sam spent 12 years in the cinema industry and was never allowed a public opinion on a movie. Corey shoots weddings for a living, so he'll notice the lighting before the plot. Pacco came here, in his words, "to talk shit and talk movies." Every episode stands on its own, so start with a film you've seen. New episodes every week.