Train to Busan & Thomas the Tank Engine

Bad Dads Film Review

Train week starts with a discussion of the Top 5 Dinner scenes because of course and because we've compiled a list of Top 5 Trains already. I can't even be bothered to type the various meal based puns I was going to dish up to you in lieu of anything interesting to say to introduce this topic.
We're on the record as being fans of the slow shuffle rather than a raging, furious flail - I'm talking zombies just to be clear here - but Yeon Sang-ho might just convince us otherwise with TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016). Fund manager and uninvolved father Seok-Woo (Gong Yoo) must escort his daughter Soo-An back to Busan during the middle of a zombie outbreak and like most great zombie movies this one tells us more about the people who are left behind which includes father-to-be Sang-Hwa (Ma Dong-Seok), expectant mother Jung Yu-mi (Seong-kyeong), teenage lovers Min and Kim and selfish executive Yong-Suk. With so many relationships to keep track of and the pace amplified by the DIE HARD or SPEED type element of the setting, sometimes the characters can seem a little stock but also sometimes subtlety can go fuck itself. Whilst TRAIN occasionally leans into melodrama, virtually every single one of the sacrifices, of which there are a surprising many, feels earned. A strong performance from the likeable Dong-Seok, themes about immigration and how populations are controlled by fear, accomplished visual effects and an inventive script which sees our knowledge of the zombie threat constantly evolving combine to make this a must see and not just for fans of the genre.
It seems incredible that we've never tackled Thomas The Tank Engine but here we are, finally checking out THOMAS & FRIENDS. Ringo Starr lives on the island of Sodor along with the titular steam engine and his various trainyard counterparts. One of the main things I remember about this universe is that all the characters were, without exception, awful. Gordon was an arrogant, pompous blowhard who looked down on the other engines, James was rude, proud, and vain, Percy was infantile and a worrywart, Thomas was a classic narcissist and Harold the Helicopter had a fungal nail infection and used to steal underwear. In this episode Thomas is fat-shamed, Gordon plays a terrifying prank on him then the narrator effectively tells us 'never challenge authority'. Quite something. Things to expect during this discussion: innuendo, theme music but not the one you’re thinking of, discussions of the levels of sentience and/or freewill of the engines, the nightmarish uncanny valley faces of the original series models and Thomas's scrapyard fate.
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Until next time, we remain...
Bad Dads

We love to hear from our listeners! By which I mean we tolerate it. If it hasn't been completely destroyed yet you can usually find us on twitter @dads_film, on Facebook Bad Dads Film Review, on email at [e-mail] or on our website baddadsfilm.com.
Until next time, we remain...
Bad Dads