Blooming Voices Podcast

Episode 36 - Favorite Movies!

Jordan Drayer and Dalia Ramahi Season 3 Episode 36

Jordan and Dalia take some time to talk about their favorite movies and how they've shaped their lives. Wanna know what movies we chose? What would you choose (and why)?

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• 0:00 - 0:28 
Do you listen to all the experts on podcasts and think no wonder they're experts. They're awesome. They're smart. They're stop right there. You're awesome. You have a story to tell, and there really is no one like you. Fellow normal humans, Dalia Ramahi and Jordan Drayer share what they've learned in hopes of inspiring you to find your unique voice. This is the blooming voices podcast. Go to bloomingvoices.com for more information. Now let's get to it.

• 0:30 - 0:36 
Hi everyone. Welcome to another episode of the blooming voices podcast. I'm Dalia Ramahi and.

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I'm Jordan Drayer. And today we are gonna have a fun episode talking about our favorite movies. Woo.

• 0:42 - 0:46 
All time favorites and, uh, ones that we just absolutely love. Right.

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And why, why is it your favorite movie?

• 0:49 - 0:51 
I love movies. I love movies. So I love this topic.

• 0:52 - 0:55 
Me too. What is your favorite movie? Dahlia. Okay.

• 0:55 - 1:04 
Drum roll. Just kidding. We wanna keep the suspense up. My favorite movie of all time is, and I think always will be back to the future. Oh.

• 1:04 - 1:06 
Yeah. I wasn't expecting that. Okay, good.

• 1:06 - 1:17 
<Laugh> I know most people though, but anyone who knows me knows like I, my Greyhound, my dog's name is Marty McFly. That's true. Yeah. You know, like, come on. <laugh>.

• 1:18 - 1:18 
Aw.

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But yeah. What about you? What is, and then we'll talk about the whys in,.

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But what's your well, so it's.

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Time.

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It's it's way too hard to separate them. So I just say all of the Lord of the rings.

• 1:29 - 1:30 
Ooh, good choice.

• 1:30 - 1:38 
Probably I guess the first, the first one, the fellowship of the ring is like the favorite movie to watch of them all. But like, it's just too hard to separate them.

• 1:38 - 1:48 
Yeah. Those are that's a, I love Lord Lord of the rings. Absolutely. Ooh. Okay. So now let's talk about why. So do you wanna go? You can go ahead first, go first with Lord of the rings.

• 1:48 - 2:28 
Okay. So for Lord of the rings, it was like a big, just, it got me into so many things. Like, so I was in, I was like 12 when the movie started coming out and I had never heard of it. And I saw the first movie and I was so transfixed and it just set off so many things of what I love, cuz I was like, oh my God, world building accents, me wanting to be an actor. And we watched all the behind the scenes stuff and like, I just loved like, how do they make movies? How did they build these sets and these costumes and all of the lore that goes into it and the books and the like, because after I saw the first movie, I then read like all three books before the second movie came out.

• 2:28 - 2:54 
And um, it's just that like me paying attention to accents and, and because like the one actor Scottish and I, I like discovered what are the differences between American Scottish accents just on my own. And I later found out by attending and acting class, like this is exactly the process that she used this teacher. And, uh, so that was just funny. But like then like the human story of like supporting each other and like, we can't do it alone and,.

• 2:55 - 2:57 
And overcoming challenges and,.

• 2:57 - 3:29 
And like big and trusting other or like people who like Goor and Rohan people who were once friends and now they're not, but they, they come together again in a time of darkness and there's just like so many good things. And plus like it set off a ton of other people too, cause we wouldn't have dungeon and dragons without Lord of the rings. And um, like it's just so big and just the music is so powerful and I love that there's themes for every thing, like, uh, more door and the ring and, um, Eisen guard has its own theme.

• 3:29 - 3:56 
And absolutely there's just so much that went into this as a production that, um, so like not only the values and stuff, but also like how much it influenced me as a performer and, or getting me into this idea of, I wanna build worlds too. I wanna write. And so like, I guess the, for the books, um, it's not as impactful cause without the music and stuff, but I mean, still I lo I do love the books as well.

• 3:57 - 4:29 
Yeah. You know what I love about Lord of the rings and um, and, and this goes for, for me, for most of the fantasy movies that I love, like Harry Potter as well. Okay. What I love about Lord of the rings is that it brings this fantastical world to life on screen mm-hmm <affirmative> and you know, you can, I I've never read the books. So I can't speak from a reading perspective, but as a reader, I have like a very rich imagination and things that I imagine in my head are really big and awesome.

• 4:29 - 4:43 
Do you know what I mean? <affirmative> so I love, I love reading because of that. Like, I can have so much fun reading, but to see the movie of magic and magic and making filmmaking, right. Mm-hmm <affirmative> and to bring this fantastical world that everybody has their own way of imagining.

• 4:43 - 5:23 
Right? Yeah. And bringing it on a screen with all these other people, imagining it and you're like, oh, it's fun to see how yeah. Are they similar to your, to your vision? Is it different? Would you have imagined it this way? And I just, I love when things come to life for us to visually see what we, what we can only imagine, you know? Yeah. And that brings me into why I love back to the future. I, it was, I was a little kid, a really young kid in the eighties, like what, six, seven years old, eight years old. I like, like, no, I was even younger when the first back to the future came out, but I like, I grew up, like I was a, I was like a young kid in elementary school in the, in the late eighties and nineties back, the future was huge back then, you know what I mean?

• 5:23 - 5:45 
Mm-Hmm <affirmative> but the reason why till this day, it's my top favorite movie. Isn't just a sense of attachment it's because of the imagination that went into creating what it would look like to time travel about, you know, they came up with these rules about time travel and you know, every world has their own views, has their own rules about time travel.

• 5:45 - 5:46 
I know sometimes it can be annoying.

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You meet your past self and, but that's the whole beauty of, uh, uh, filmmaking and, and, and writing stories for film is that you imagine the world, no one could tell you it's.

• 5:56 - 6:00 
Straight or wrong. I no. Have you, have you ever seen Netflix's the movies that made us series?

• 6:01 - 6:01 
No,.

• 6:01 - 6:14 
It's awesome. Cuz they, they take certain movies, like dirty dancing. One of them is back to the future and they talk about how the movie got made, how it went through so many troubles to get made. And then like, so one of the things is there was some other actor playing Marty McFly in the beginning.

• 6:15 - 6:17 
And they actually cast someone else. Yeah.

• 6:17 - 6:48 
Yeah. He had this same reaction that I've seen on some like Twitter and, and Reddit posts where cuz at the end, they're like what a shame that Marty like had this amazing life and he doesn't get to live it like, cause you know, when he comes home and his parents are like really cool now and he's like, who are you? And it' like, somehow he doesn't have these awesome memories that we wish that he did. And so that actor expressed the same thing. He was like, this is sad that he doesn't know this awesome life when he gets home and the, the directors were like, it's, it's a comedy. Just don't think about it.

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• 6:48 - 6:51 
No, but wait, what do you mean? He doesn't know his life. He remembers it.

• 6:51 - 7:03 
No. Cuz like he like his brother having a job like now when he comes home, his brother has a job is not a slack. His life is better. Yeah. His life is better. And he, he still has his memories of his boring parents and so,.

• 7:03 - 7:05 
Oh, so, but they don't have a memory of him.

• 7:06 - 7:24 
No, they no. No. Like they probably remember him. I mean he probably didn't change or whatever, I guess, between the two lives. But the fact is that he, um, he remembers his boring parents, but like now he lives in a new reality where his parents are cool and his dad is a writer. Yes. And, and so he didn't, he doesn't have memories from that cool new time.

• 7:25 - 7:57 
And, and you know, what's oh, I get what you're saying. Oh. Because he didn't grow up in it. He doesn't have memories of it. He just, he just kind of inserted himself into it as he was. I see what you're saying. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. And, and you know, and, and, and he, the writers are right. There's some things that just don't make sense. And you just can't question because the whole premise of the movie is what would happen if you messed up with a timeline, you know what I mean? Mm-hmm, <affirmative>, mm-hmm <affirmative> and, and, and like, and what I love and backs the future is his gauge of whether he's doing it right or wrong. Is this picture of him and the siblings they're disappearing or not.

• 7:57 - 8:05 
You know what I mean? And, um, and what I also is, there's another theme in the, in the movie and, and back the future that I love.

• 8:05 - 8:44 
And it's this idea of fairness and, and justice. And, and what I mean to by that is that there's a bully, you know, and he's a pretty awful bully. And he's a bully in back to the futures part one, two, and three, his past self, his, his ancestors, him, his future self, like Biff is a jerk and a bully. Yeah. You know, and he set his sights on Marty's dad, you know, for, and even in the, and in the future, on, on Marty's son, do you know what I'm saying? Yeah. And in the past Marty's ancestor. So like the point is, is that it's this idea of, um, of, of like conflict resolution and standing up for yourself and saying enough is enough.

• 8:44 - 8:51 
And, and you know, how people tend to look the other way when someone's like, it just, there's just so much about it. I just, I loved it. I love it.

• 8:51 - 9:23 
I love it. I also, I also like that. I mean, cuz two and three were planned together and people say, they're not as good and well, maybe they're not. But like I do, like, the idea was amazing like this. So not, not only standing up for yourself, but your own self growth, cuz like absolutely like the reason in the second one, like Marty is like a loser as an older man is like, because of that one car crash. But in the third one he's like gone through his, like he no longer feels, um, like affronted people call him a chicken. And so yeah, when, when that car race happens, he's like, I would've crashed into that.

• 9:23 - 9:25 
And exactly. I love that.

• 9:25 - 9:40 
He's letting, he's not driven by that ego. And that's another reason why I love that movie is because of the character growth. Yeah. And, and, and like the problems that we can see ourselves getting into, but it takes something deeper to see it and then choose another path.

• 9:40 - 9:45 
Yeah. Or even the, the doctor he's like, you know, I never should have invented that time machine after all.

• 9:45 - 9:58 
Yeah. And I, I, by the way, I just wanna be clear as a little kid. I didn't have any of these deep thoughts for me. It was just the pure, uh, fun of time travel and imagining flying cars and hover boards.

• 9:58 - 10:10 
Okay. Yeah. I mean, yeah. I know. I mean, I loved, I loved the idea too of thinking like what would, what if I went back to my parents high school, like I think I probably would've been friends with my dad cuz he was more nerdy, but maybe not my mom cuz she was more cheerleader cheerleader <laugh>.

• 10:10 - 10:43 
Yeah. And you know, if you notice that some of the big movies that strike us and stay with us, like Lord of the rings or, or back to the future is because they pushed the envelope of what was possible at that time in the industry, in filmmaking. Do you know what I mean? That makes you think so seems new now. Like would it be a big like, like it's not a special thing, like could they do another back to the future or make a, or make a remake or no, because the idea of time travel is so prevalent and people have so many expansive ideas about it. I don't think it would have the same traction and wonder that it did back in the eighties.

• 10:43 - 10:43 
Do you know.

• 10:43 - 11:19 
What I saying? A lot of these movies have very memorable music too. I think that helps a lot. Like I was just thinking Jurassic park, like cuz you you're talking about being Aras park. Yeah. Like I didn't see back to the future until I was in high school probably. Um, but the, I saw Jurassic park as a kid and back then it was like, oh dinosaurs. Oh cool. But then I didn't see it again for several years until I was an adult. And I was like, oh, okay. Now I understand this story about the DNA and all this stuff. And then, oh God. Yes. Even then it's still it's you now you as an adult, you can get into the scariness of it. Like what would happen if this, if these dinosaurs really got loose and there was no electricity and like, what are you supposed to do now?

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• 11:20 - 11:52 
I know. And that's, what's so beautiful about it. Like, like, okay for me I've I've always been into action movies, adventure, movies, fantasy movies. Oh, don't get me wrong. Like I, I like some romcoms and, but romcoms for me are not memorable. Like I don't, I don't ever, I would never put them in my top 10. They're fun in the moment. And, and, and they have good stories, not all of them, but a good portion of them do, but it's not the same, you know, like when I think about, oh, like another, um, another movie that impacted me was the godfather. Oh obviously I wasn't alive when it was first aired.

• 11:52 - 11:54 
I watched, you know, in my youth. And.

• 11:54 - 11:57 
As I only just watched that like in this past year for the first time,.

• 11:57 - 12:13 
But the reason why I love that movie for example is because of just purely from the acting point and you know, uh, Michael Corleone goes on his own, uh, growth journey. It's not always pleasant because you know, he starts out as this guy who's different from the rest of his family.

• 12:14 - 12:15 
He's yeah. Like a pure Americans,.

• 12:15 - 12:17 
He sucked into it or.

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Whatever.

• 12:17 - 12:28 
And then he gets sucked into it and then kind of, uh, goes like comes into this world and then things happen. And like, you know, over the, you have to watch the whole series of films to see his growth.

• 12:28 - 12:31 
Yeah. I still, I haven't seen the second and third yet. I still plan.

• 12:31 - 13:01 
To oh man. Yeah. But anyway, so like those are the kind of movies that impact me. The ones that I think that tend to push the envelope of what's possible in filmmaking because you remember it more and you think, wow. Yeah. Like that's actually really cool. Like when jurasic park first came out, imagine having like, I don't know if they I'm sure they use CGI dinosaurs and all that other stuff, but it was so incredible to see them put like a, T-Rex walk with his big footstep in the mud, his big foot, you know, like, uh, print, you know?

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• 13:01 - 13:32 
Yeah. That's another one on you. You have to see that Netflix series. So that jurasic park is another one that they cuz, and they talk about on the episode, like all of these episodes, it's like one movie at a time and they talk about that. That was Jurassic park was kind of the death of, um, stop motion animation. Because like for, for a while in, in debating how they're gonna make this movie, they, they went with both of them. They, they were leaning towards the stop motion cuz of course that's what everybody knew. Yeah. And then this one guy was like, let me show you what I can do with this computer.

• 13:32 - 13:34 
And then wow. And like that was it.

• 13:35 - 13:48 
See so awesome. I love movies. You guys. I absolutely love movies. And before COVID it was my thing to go. Like whenever our new movie came out, I, I, I needed the whole experience of seeing in the theater. I loved,.

• 13:48 - 13:49 
I know I love going.

• 13:49 - 14:02 
On opening weekend and watching in the theater. That's something like I always did and um, getting nice type of popcorn, whatever <laugh> like all them, but that's not the point. It's just the idea of being there to experience it. Yeah.

• 14:02 - 14:15 
And a lot of these. Yeah. I love, I get goosebumps thinking how much film, especially old movies, like they didn't have movies were not being made for TV back then and like exactly. Even today, like it's still better. Most movies are made for the screen.

• 14:15 - 14:21 
You always used to get that, uh, little thing before movie starts, uh, what is it adapted for TV or something? Yeah.

• 14:21 - 14:53 
You know what I mean? <laugh> and so like, like it's really cool when you find theaters, there's one called Alamo draft house that will bring old movies back to the screen. And so I, I love getting that opportunity. Like recently I saw the first star wars, uh, on a screen and it's like, I was in 11 in the seventies. Of course I couldn't have seen it. So that was so, so cool. And then like, uh, another time, like some more recently, a few weeks ago I saw the first star Trek movie, um, on, and that came out in the eighties again, not was not alive. And it was just really cool to see them on a huge screen.

• 14:53 - 14:57 
Then you notice things like, oh, skin pores or something. <laugh> yeah. <laugh>,.

• 14:59 - 15:31 
It's really awesome. And just to see how like, you know, um, there are so many Mo like there is this movie that, um, uh, I'm I'm, I'm totally forgetting the name. Honestly, this movie impacted me. It's the one with that? No, no, no, no. Be about love. Um, oh my God. Why can't I remember it. So it's a movie from the seventies about a guy who falls in love with a girl and she's sick. Um, I, I know that the, the actual, um, movie plot sounds cliche, but it's a very simple movie, I think.

• 15:31 - 15:31 
Not even.

• 15:31 - 15:32 
Is it called love story?

• 15:33 - 15:35 
Yes. Thank you. Okay. I don't know why I have.

• 15:35 - 15:40 
Drew cause I, I only, I only know the title and I've never actually seen it, but know that apparently it's super parody.

• 15:41 - 16:08 
Yes. And, and, and, and it's so overdone, like the plot is so overdone, right? Mm-hmm <affirmative> but if you, if you were someone who was alive at that time and watched that movie, it probably struck you in a way that other movies didn't at the time. Right? Yeah. And I remember watching this movie as an adult and appreciating it for what it was not what it is compared to what is now, do you know what I'm saying? So if you can kind of watch movies in that lens,.

• 16:09 - 16:11 
Um, yeah. That, that takes can appreciate it.

• 16:11 - 16:15 
For what it is, not what it, what, what it is compared to much.

• 16:15 - 16:29 
Now. I know, I, although I, I, I do want everybody to watch old movies and stuff. I, I think that it, it might be best in a class sometimes, cuz you need to, sometimes you need the research of what was going on and okay. This is why this movie made such an impact.

• 16:30 - 17:05 
Yeah. But like, but also like, you know, I just think about like, if we can just, you know, take the time to appreciate a story, like, you know, like a, like the love story is a good story. Like, and it's a short movie and the music is beautiful in it. And you know, like for example, I can't tell you what the name of the characters were in the movie. Mm-hmm <affirmative> I can't tell you the exact plot, but that movie stuck with me. And for that, it's one of like, it's like a movie I really, really love. And I like, and, and I remember the music of the movie, do you know what I'm saying? So sometimes there's elements of a movie that really get to you, but you don't understand why.

• 17:05 - 17:09 
And so if you can just like watch it for what it is, you'll be so pleasantly surprised.

• 17:09 - 17:43 
Like not everything has to be a huge blockbuster with the most, uh, like, you know, for example, I went and watched secrets of Dumbledore. Yeah. I mean, like I wasn't that impressed with a plot. Was there a lot of action in it? No, I don't think so. No. See that's what I'm saying is that like, uh, I found myself a little bored in secrets of Dumbledore and I was actually really disappointed that I was because I, I love fantastic beasts. Yeah. And I love, and I love, I absolutely love anything with fantasy. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. So like not, not always the newest and most newest technology or whatever is.

• 17:43 - 17:54 
No, cuz it can be like, I'm thinking about animated movies. Like that's not high technology, but um, like spirited away or I love wreck it Ralph <laugh>.

• 17:54 - 17:56 
Oh my God. I love that one.

• 17:56 - 18:16 
Yes. I love when I'm painting or something. That's the movie I always love just putting on and I, I, I just love all the Easter eggs in it and the message too. Like he does a job that is like thankless. Yeah. Thankless. And like it is a job that somebody has to do. Someone has to be the bad guy of the game. Yeah. And um, I, I just love that movie.

• 18:17 - 18:31 
Yeah. You know, I, I, I think that at the end of the day, you know, we can, we can sit back and judge, but you know, just try something different. You like, you know, you know, it's another movie I really enjoy. I love you've got mail. That's a romcom with Tom Hanks and Meg.

• 18:32 - 18:34 
I've never seen the whole thing of that. I've just seen like.

• 18:34 - 19:03 
The end. So I love that, you know, or like sleepless in Seattle, these are classics. Yeah. You know what I mean? And they're classics for a reason and it's not it's again, like if you look into like, in terms of today that plot's probably been told a million times by now. Yeah. You know, it's not something new or whatever, but it's the way that they created this story that makes it memorable. And it's the acting that was, that was like Meg Ryan and, and Tom Hanks. Ugh. Amazing.

• 19:03 - 19:30 
Know there. Yeah. The people say like there's only 36 real plots in the world or something. So of course everything's gonna be like that. Something else. Yeah. And um, something will always be copying Shakespeare. Something will always be copying some older movie. Yeah. Or, or whatever. So I don't really have a problem with it. It's yeah. It's how they do it. Yeah. And the movie like Disney's or, I mean, not Disney, but Pixar's cars. They're, it's totally based on this one old movie called doc Hollywood and.

• 19:30 - 19:30 
Oh, I didn't know that.

• 19:31 - 19:54 
Yeah. It's like, cuz in that movie also with Michael J. Fox, like getting back to back to the future, I love that he he's like a doc on his way to work in Los Angeles and somehow something happens and he like crashes into his fence and some like car crash, whatever. And so then he has to like stay in this town for a week or something to as a way to repair his damage. Like be a doctor in a small town instead.

• 19:55 - 20:10 
See, that's so interesting. How movies inspire other movies. Yeah. Ah, guys. Okay. You know what? I would love to know if you're out there listening. What is your favorite movie? And just tell us quickly why it is. I'm just interested to know what you guys think. Do you agree with us? Do you like our movie selections? What is yours? So.

• 20:11 - 20:14 
I'm interested. Yeah. It's always fun. It's always fun to learn other movies. Yeah. So,.

• 20:15 - 20:24 
And if you have suggestions for us, we, we are down to watching it and then, uh, talking about it on a future episode. So that's something we can do too. Absolutely.

• 20:24 - 20:28 
Unless it's like the human Centere, I'm not gonna watch anything like that.

• 20:28 - 20:30 
I've never heard of that. Is that like a disgusting.

• 20:30 - 20:38 
Scare? Really? Yeah. I've never actually watched it. My sister had to for an art class and she's like, don't ever watch this and she's like scarred from it from,.

• 20:38 - 20:52 
Oh my God. Well, there are certain movies I don't like, and I have my personal movies. Like I don't like absolute gore. I don't like that. I mean, I like suspense and scary movies, but just like straight up gore. I, it turns my stomach. So that's not something I'm.

• 20:52 - 21:06 
Yeah. Or I just find it UN I mean, I don't, it doesn't turn my stomach, but I just find it unnecessary. Yeah. I just, just can't. Oh, the, the plot is everything to me. The plot will always be everything. Like maybe you have like the worst visuals or something, but if the plot and the characters are good, then I'll watch it.

• 21:07 - 21:16 
Oh my God. Awesome. Okay guys, let us know what you think. Your give us your, uh, your recommendations and it's bloomingvoicespodcast@gmail.com.

• 21:17 - 21:21 
Or Twitter and Instagram. Yep. You can find us in multiple places.

• 21:22 - 21:30 
Yeah. And if you want more episodes like this, uh, don't forget to check us out and subscribe at bloomingvoices.com. Yes. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank.

• 21:30 - 21:31 
You. Bye.

• 21:33 - 21:44 
That's our show. Didn't get enough of the twins? Go to bloomingvoices.com for more information and let us know what you thought of the episode. Twitter, Instagram, email, we've got the works. We'll see you next Wednesday.