Middle of the Row

We flashback to 2001 to watch the David Lynch mind-fuck, Mulholland Dr. The film was nominated for Best Director, but this podcast can’t find a lot to praise from 2/3 of the party. Zac is on watch number 3, Ben and Lauren are new to the film, and they spend a lot of time trying to wrap their heads around the film and their feelings. Are the actors bad, are they the best performances ever given, wh...

Just in time for the anniversary, we flashback to 2001 for Moulin Rouge! Lauren picks Baz Luhrmann’s masterpiece (my words) which wins over two us by half and me from start to finish. We praise the beautiful cast, the fantastic music and the excellent filmmaking on display, all while dissecting a lot of other movie randomness around the film. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8...

We are back, again, after a bit of a delay, with a new release that isn’t new anymore, Godzilla vs. Kong! We are a bit all over the place on this one, and the franchise, while my audio sounds like shit throughout (apologies). The podcast is all over the place as well, as I was unable to wrangle this crew in, still, we find a lot to talk about and share a lot of thoughts on this series and the ups...

We are back, sorry for the delay, but we have our first of our next run of flashbacks, this time to 2011’s Moneyball. The Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill staring feature is a deep dive into the Oakland Athletics revolution of the MLB through the persistence of their GM Billy Beane. It doesn’t sound like a romp, but the movie sings and is an all time great performance from Pitt. Bennett Miller deftly let’...

We review the infamous Zack Snyder’s Justice League and we like it. Actually, I’d say we really like it! Lauren isn’t here to be the party pooper (probably), but myself, Ben and Jon find lots of praise and some insane hyperbole to throw around at this movie. Batflek, Snyder, Leto, we are here for it and we aren’t douchebags about it! No toxic fandom here, just some genuine Snyder fans enjoy some S...

We wrap up our GenreRama: Love Story series with Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. This is Ben’s pick but I could have just as easily picked it too. Ben and Lauren are first timers this week, but we all find plenty to appreciate about the film, even if it begrudgingly won some over. High expectations going in, worried expectations going in, and confidence in its greatness collide into a fine...

Back with a numbered release of the show, this time for the new-ish release, Promising Young Woman. Emerald Fennell writes and directs a revenge tale starring Carey Mulligan and a bunch of bad men that will keep you talking and pondering the film’s themes long after the credits have rolled. This might be the highest average rating we’ve given a film among the four of us, so I think it is worth che...

Our third entry into GenreRama: Love Story, this time it’s Zac’s pick with Darren Aronofsky’s The Fountain. This epic tale with period and sci-fi fare stars Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in some of their best roles of their careers, while the film ranks up there with Aronofsky’s best, for me at least. Lauren was on a second watch since the theaters and Ben was coming in with first time trepidation...

We are taking a trip back to the MCU! With the release of WandaVision we have gotten our first MCU content since 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s also the MCU’s first official foray into the television space, focusing on two of the Avengers most powerful members Wanda and Vision. Or is it? Well, it is, but it’s more complicated than that. We break down the show in three chunks of episodes be...

We are off to France for our second episode of GenreRama: Love Story, for the film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A Very Long Engagement. This is a follow up to Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, with that film’s star Audrey Tautou, set around a lost love to WWI. Like a series of vignettes, jumping back and forth through time, the film keeps things moving and fills the story with a ton of likable charac...

Today's episode features Amy and Daniel of Future Teens. Future Teens is a self-proclaimed “bummer pop” band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. They have released two full lengths to date, 2017’s “Hard Feelings” through Take this to Heart Records, and 2019’s “Breakup Season” through Triple Crown Records. Their next release, the EP “Deliberately Alive” will be out March 12th through Take this to H...

We kick off a new GenreRama series, Love Story, with M. Night Shymalan’s The Village. This was Jon’s pick, even if he’s not on the episode, but we talk about M. Night’s career, how The Village could have been great, and search for the love story of it all by the end. Great cast, great premise, why the twists??? Three more Love Story entries to follow, this might be our most upbeat entry. Get ready...

Our last flashback of this chunk to start the year is my pick, the 2011 film, The Skin I Live In. Pedro Almodóvar’s twisted (an understatement) thriller is perverted, expertly crafted, and has some great performances, but could also be perceived as deeply problematic? I can still put the grey areas to the aside and enjoy Almodóvar’s depraved tale, but the rest of the crew isn’t quite there. Listen...

Another flashback to 2001, this time for the Denzel Oscar winner, Training Day! Picked by Jon, the rest of the crew doesn’t take the money on this one, as we discuss the possible miscasting of Ethan Hawke and how his character kind or/sort of ruins the movie? Either way, we have a good conversation about what does and doesn’t work here, but it’s interesting looking back on this so-called “classic”...

And we turned to the Snowman Gods and said, “Not Today!” After Jon tried to lose his file at the final moments of the episode, we were able to reclaim it from the depths of an alternate dimension and reassemble it into an episode! The film is the 2001 cult classic Donnie Darko. Directed by Richard Kelly and picked by Ben, we try and come to grips with this movie 20 years later, and I think we all...

Our first flashback of 2021 is to 2011 for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! Considered “lesser” Fincher, I don’t really understand how that is? Lauren, who picked the film, would probably agree with me, but Ben and Jon needed some convincing about that film’s greatness. Well, I guess we didn’t really win them over, if only the film had Heather Graham... Download. Listen. Enjoy. The...

Our last film released in 2020, Pixar’s Soul! This was a good film to end the calendar year on, as Pixar delivers another great entry into their filmography. Their most adult film yet?, we discuss the many highs among debating which films are Pixar’s lows, all while finding some appreciation for the world in front of us. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less (3:55)...

The 10th episode of Middle of the Dial is a conversation with singer and songwriter Sydney Sprague whose debut album “Maybe I will see you at the end of the world” comes out February 26th on Rude Records. At the time of our call she had just released the music video for her second single "Steve", but has since also released the video for her song "Staircase Failure", and the her newest single "Obj...

One of the only blockbuster releases of 2020 came on Christmas Day, with the release of Wonder Woman 1984. It wasn't great, and we dive into the WTF of it all. A movie with potential that wastes it in a ludicrous final act, we were left wondering, “What the hell happened.” Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less/The Elevator Pitch (3:00) General Thoughts (5:30) Star R...

It’s our Time Capsule episode for 2020! This is the episode where we all pick something we want everyone to remember from the year and save it for posterity’s sake. So take a listen, judge our picks, and listen to us ramble about the year! Download. Listen. Enjoy! 3:00 Jon - Run The Jewels - RTJ4 12:30 Ben - Final Fantasy VII Remake 24:00 Lauren - The Last of Us Part II 39:00 Honorable Mention Cat...

The Happiest Season was a holiday release from Hulu around Thanksgiving, but you are getting it in your feed as a holiday treat. We meld the old format with the new, to mixed results, as are our feelings on this movie, a bit mixed. Still, we can all agree, Jane is the best. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less (3:45) The Elevator Pitch/General Thoughts (6:15) Star...

It’s our wrap up to our first GenreRama Mini-Series, Comedy, with Zac’s pick, Boogie Nights. Somehow, everyone found it as funny as I did. We commiserate over the endless greatness that PTA’s movie delivers. Stacked cast, amazing filmmaking, and endless BDE. GeneRama will return in February with the theme of: Love Story. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less (1:00)...

It’s episode 3 of our GenreRama mini-series! This week, Ben’s pick for comedy, The Nice Guys! Two newbies to this movie and everyone is in agreement with how great this movie is. Lots of Gosling praise and plenty of lines dropped throughout, as we have a blast recounting the ways this movie is great. An underseen/underappreciated gem from the last few years. Give us a sequel! Download. Listen. Enj...

It’s Episode 2 of this inaugural GenreRama: Comedy Edition, this time with Jon’s pick, Superbad. Considered a comedy classic of this century by many, we take a look back and see if it still holds up. We find plenty to discuss and continue to get used to the categories around these new stomping grounds. Download. Listen. Enjoy! The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less (2:00) The Elevator Pitch/...

Welcome to a new podcast! GenreRama will be a series of miniseries covering one film picked by each of us in a pre-selected genre. First up, comedies and our first film is a pick by Lauren; Paul Feig’s Bridesmaids. Download. Listen. Enjoy! The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less (2:15) The Elevator Pitch (3:40) Star Ratings (11:30) The Hot Take Theater (12:30) Let’s Talk About That Ending......