Summary
Overview
Paul, Jason, and June dive into the 2007 action spectacle Shoot 'Em Up, a Discord-voted selection that delivers wall-to-wall gun battles, Bugs Bunny-inspired action, and Clive Owen protecting a newborn baby through increasingly absurd set pieces. The hosts celebrate this criminally underrated film as a self-aware action masterpiece that perfectly balances cartoonish violence with deadpan performances, while also discussing the Discord voting process, lactation in cinema, and why this movie deserved better than its box office failure.
Discord Democracy and Movie Selection Drama
The hosts reveal that Shoot 'Em Up was selected through Discord voting, marking a redemption after the disastrous League of Extraordinary Gentlemen pick. Paul suspects vote manipulation to avoid Jason's wrath, with votes mysteriously shifting to create a tie between Shoot 'Em Up and The Core. They debate whether the Discord can be trusted to pick movies that are bad but watchable versus movies that are genuinely entertaining failures.
- Discord voters chose Shoot 'Em Up from options including The Core, Cutthroat Island, Ice Pirates, The Pest, and Suburban Commando
- Voting appeared manipulated to create a 473-473 tie between Shoot 'Em Up and The Core to keep Jason happy
- The team chose Shoot 'Em Up over the 2-hour-15-minute The Core, which their researcher Averill warned wasn't worth it
- Paul compares the Discord manipulation to Chicago-style political gerrymandering and redistricting
" There was some manipulation here. Now, I have some issues, but I'm going to talk about the manipulation first. "
" This is the first time I'll say that the discord has done something right. You know, every other time I've heard about the discord, it is it is to say disconnect the discord, which I still believe. "
The Lactation Subplot and Monica Bellucci
The hosts extensively discuss the film's prominent lactation theme, centered on Monica Bellucci playing a sex worker in a baby-themed brothel room. They debate whether the male characters' obsession with breast milk over formula makes sense, analyze the fetishization of lactation, and explore the bizarre logistics of a brothel with elaborately themed rooms. June expresses genuine discomfort with the intimacy of grown men breastfeeding while acknowledging the film's surprising restraint with nudity.
- Monica Bellucci's character lactates after her stillborn baby, killed when her pimp punched her
- Paul Giamatti orders his men to 'find me every wet nurse, lactating hooker, and mammary on tap in the city'
- June questions why none of the men consider using formula instead of seeking lactating women
- The brothel features elaborately themed rooms including one with a wall of rubber for haunted house-style interaction
" It's so intimate to have a grown man. I can't even talk about it, Jason. I can't even talk about it. "
" Glad I finally watched this movie in its entirety. This was my favorite bad guy ever. I'm sick of cowardly bad guys. "
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