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‘Total Recall’ With Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, and Jason Concepcion

April 7, 2020 · Total Recall (1990) · Action · Adventure · Sci-Fi · 1:33:33

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Categories

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 26:58Arnold goes to Recall scene combined with Johnny cab and airport fight - the whole sequence from when he decides to get memory implants through the fight with construction site guys
Jason Concepcion▶ 28:23Agrees with Bill's pick, emphasizes how the middle act after Recall is balls-to-the-wall constant action like The Fugitive
Shea Serrano▶ 28:54Agrees with the Recall scene, highlighting how it sets everything in motion and subverts expectations perfectly

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 55:42Sharon Stone - she's unbelievable in this movie

What's Aged the Worst

Bill Simmons▶ 55:47The opening credits are truly awful - bad music and poor computer graphics that trap people in the theater for three minutes
Shea Serrano▶ 57:31The scene where they give Arnold multiple sedative shots in the neck - the doctor/nurse hits him with eight shots at once, which probably would have killed him

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 59:21Richard Dreyfuss — Richard Dreyfuss and William Hurt would have been wrong for Doug Quaid, thankful Arnold took over; Robert Davi and Kurtwood Smith turned down Richter role; Sharon Stone's performance led to Basic Instinct casting
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:00:03Richard Dreyfuss — Richard Dreyfuss as Doug Quaid doesn't work - mocked the idea of him in a tank top at construction site
Shea Serrano▶ 59:44Richard Dreyfuss — Richard Dreyfuss as Doug Quaid doesn't work

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:01:51Michael Ironside — Michael Ironside (Richter) - praised for dialing it up to 15 and being the lead henchman
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:02:29Michael Ironside — Michael Ironside (Richter) - detailed analysis of his jealousy over his wife's cover operation with Arnold's character

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:03:50Sharon Stone — Sharon Stone - kicks Arnold's ass twice in three scenes, super sexy, quintessential Dion Waiters performance
Shea Serrano▶ 1:04:33Sharon Stone — Sharon Stone as winner, but also includes the woman who pretends to be Arnold in disguise at customs

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:09:43The three boob hooker originally having four breasts but producers thought it looked too much like cow breasts, so they went back to three - 'which I think was the right move'
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:08:43Rambo 3 being the most expensive film makes sense because it was set in Afghanistan
Shea Serrano▶ 1:10:02Of the 500 people who worked on the movie, 63 of them were only working on the breast design

Apex Mountain

Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:36Arnold Schwarzenegger — Arnold's apex is the stretch from Kindergarten Cop to T2 (14 months), culminating with T2. Also picks Rachel Ticotin for Man on Fire, Ronnie Cox for RoboCop, and Mars as a planet for Total Recall over The Martian
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:12:04Rachel Ticotin — Rachel Ticotin's apex is Total Recall. Marshall Bell (George/Kuato) and Michael Ironside both have their apex in Total Recall. Ronnie Cox's apex is Total Recall. Mars as a planet's apex is Total Recall over The Martian
Shea Serrano▶ 1:11:11Arnold Schwarzenegger — Arnold's apex is T2 (Terminator franchise is what he's known for). Rachel Ticotin's apex is Total Recall as an action star. Michael Ironside's apex is Starship Troopers. Agrees Mars apex is Total Recall

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:24:10It was a dream from the moment he's at recall - there's more evidence it was a dream than real, though acknowledges Verhoeven made it intentionally ambiguous
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:25:30It's a brain damaged delusion where he's stuck in a loop, running through the same memories repeatedly after his brain was fried by the recall process
Shea Serrano▶ 1:25:13It has to be a real thing - he's already dreaming about Rachel at the start, meaning he's already seen her and been to Mars before

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:28:00Arnold Schwarzenegger — Between Arnold and Paul Verhoeven, but leans toward Arnold for buying the script, crafting the deal, crushing the performance, and this being central to his 12-year box office run as one of the five biggest movie stars
Jason Concepcion▶ 1:27:55Body horror - the mainstream version of David Cronenberg style body horror including mutant designs, eye bulges, and disturbing things happening to human bodies
Shea Serrano▶ 1:26:33Eye bulges - calls them the best eye bulges in movie history and says they won the movie

Movies Referenced (37)

The Martian (2015)

7 mentions · Jason Concepcion, Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 1:13:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rambo (2008)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 22:50IMDb ↗Lb ↗

John Wick (2014)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 33:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

RoboCop (1987)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 9:33IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Basic Instinct (1992)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 13:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Action Jackson (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 30:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Inside Out (2015)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 58:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Man on Fire (2004)

2 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 16:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Red Heat (1988)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 8:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Starship Troopers (1997)

2 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 16:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

The Terminator (1984)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano▶ 7:54IMDb ↗Lb ↗

2012 (2009)

1 mentions · Shea Serrano▶ 18:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (3)

Paul Verhoeven

15 mentions · Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion · Known for RoboCop▶ 9:31IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Cronenberg

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion · Known for The Fly, Dead Ringers▶ 1:00:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

William A. Attaway

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Great Gatsby, Beetlejuice▶ 23:41IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (36)

Arnold Schwarzenegger

96 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Terminator▶ 2:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Sharon Stone

23 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion · Known for Basic Instinct, Casino, The Quick and the Dead▶ 13:06IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bill Paxton

10 mentions · Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano · Known for Aliens, Apollo 13▶ 1:06:09IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Doug Johnson

8 mentions · Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano · Known for Stir Crazy▶ 21:10IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michael Ironside

6 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion · Known for Starship Troopers, Total Recall▶ 14:57IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Richard Dreyfuss

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano, Jason Concepcion · Known for The Goodbye Girl, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Mr. Holland's Opus▶ 59:39IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Donald Trump

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Jason Concepcion · Known for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York▶ 54:11IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Marshall Bell

3 mentions · Jason Concepcion, Shea Serrano · Known for Starship Troopers, Total Recall, Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead▶ 34:55IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Vin Diesel

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for The Fast and the Furious, Guardians of the Galaxy▶ 19:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

David Caruso

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Shea Serrano · Known for First Blood, Proof of Life▶ 1:07:21IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Dean Norris

2 mentions · Jason Concepcion · Known for Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall▶ 11:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Lou Ferrigno

2 mentions · Jason Concepcion, Bill Simmons · Known for The Incredible Hulk, Hulk▶ 6:18IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (1)

Roger Ebert

1 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 23:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cinematographers Referenced (1)

Michael Grantland

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for The Other Guys▶ 5:01IMDb ↗Lb ↗