Middle of the Row

Ben and I take one last trip to Star Wars: The Clone Wars universe to review the final season that just wrapped up. We spend a lot of time praising the third group of episodes, but take a look at the pluses and minuses of the first two arcs. We are on the same page for the most part, with discussions on Maul and Ahsoka’s greater arcs being the highlights. Anyways, if you are a fan of Star Wars: Th...

We are flashing back to the futuristic TRON: Legacy! An almost great reboot that wanted to make a new series, but never quite got there. The score! The action! The effects! There is a lot to like, but what got in the way? Generic story? Generic characters? Where was the creative muscle put into the look when it comes to the story? At least we all agree Olivia Wilde is a blast and watching The Dude...

Flashback time in Covid-19 takes us to 2000 for Bring It On! Lauren picked this cheerleading comedy and we aren’t quite sure what to think about it. Kirsten Dunst and Eliza Dushku star, and try their best, but time hasn’t been kind to the film’s sense of humor. There is some decent stuff in here, a good movie even, maybe, but we can’t quite give what we got that credit. Still, a fun conversation t...

Flashing back to 2010! This time, to review the Joaquin Phoenix “documentary” I’m Still Here. Sure, it wasn’t a real breakdown/pivot to rap, but it is one of the great performances (IMO) from one of our great actors. The shenanigans don’t always work, the whole film doesn’t for some of us here too, but we debate the merits of the film, the performance, and even rank Phoenix against some of his mal...

Flashing back to 2000 this week, for Sofia Coppola’s feature debut The Virgin Suicides. I made this pick, as Coppola is one of my favorite filmmakers, and I really just adore this movie. Everyone else came to it with really fresh eyes, Lauren had seen it a long time ago, while Ben and Jon were virgins (sorry). We discuss Kirsten Dunst, POV’s, is this a depressing or fun movie? We cover a lot, and...

The 9th episode of Middle of the Dial is a conversation with musician Stephen Christian. Stephen is known for being the front man for the band Anberlin, but has also been putting out solo material under the moniker of Anchor and Braille since 2004. He has recently released the song "Dangerous" (which you can listen to below) which will be on his next full length album Tension and will be released...

Flashing back to pre Covid-19 times, to get stranded on an island with Tom Hanks in Cast Away. Zemeckis’ film holds up, as does Hanks’ performance and his title as best everyman actor. He really is incredible in this film and the film knocks it out of the park at its highest points. Where those points are in the movie vary greatly among the crew, so take a listen to see who you agree with the most...

We flashback again as Covid-19 continues to keep us inside. This week, we honor the release of The Hunt with a flashback to Predators! The 2010 film is also an homage to The Most Dangerous Game and is also a pretty good sequel to boot. Ben gets a bit beat up defending the movie, but he’s not alone in his appreciation, even if we pick nits. Lauren remains unphased by this alien race, and all aliens...

Hey friends, a short staffed review, again, just Ben and I, as we review Onward. Pixar’s latest is the studio’s first foray into the fantasy realm (sorry, Brave) and the results are pretty good. Editing this made me appreciate the film a bit more, though neither Ben nor I are putting it in the top tiers of Pixar’s filmography. Still, a good time and well worth you checking out on Disney+ this week...

We flashback to the beginning of the horror franchise Insidious and we don’t like what we find. Wan has established himself as a quality director, before and after this film, but this franchise launcher just doesn’t sit with our crew. Some dismiss it almost entirely, I stand for Wan working on a budget, but we mostly think you should just watch The Conjuring? Free Rose Byrne! Download. Listen. Enj...

Another flashback, and some turned tables, as Jon is on the receiving end of it this week as his pick is destroyed by everyone else. Bored and confused, the crew lets Jon say his piece, then it is a back and forth as Jon tries to stand up for the movie. Come listen to Jon take on all comers. Also, there is no preview for next week’s episode, since we had to switch it, but that will be James Wan’s...

Another bonus episode in your ears, this time for The Hunt! Another Universal movie made available to rent because of the Covid-19 outbreak, Ben and I braved the theaters before they closed them to keep us away. The Hunt is Ben’s best film of 2020, so far, and I had a blast as well. Lindelof and company ride Craig Zobel’s excellent filmmaking to make a fun, funny and gory action romp that works fr...

Hello there! It’s bonus episode time as Ben and I discussed The Invisible Man and we wanted to make sure you could hear our take as it rolls out to VOD in these Covid-19 days! We both like the film, Ben quite a bit, but we pick some nits in between our praise for the set pieces and surprises the film has in store. Leigh Whannell is an intriguing writer/director and has made himself someone to watc...

We flashback to 2000 to watch one of the films that birthed the IP boom of this century, Charlie’s Angels. We bless the presence of Cameron Diaz, have a blast with the cast, appreciate the pre-CGI action, well, all of us but Jon... Jon’s on another level this week, because he hated it. Still, we give him room to vent and counter punch with how he is wrong. All in a day’s work. So flashback to this...

Another “new” release for the podcast, as I use Covid-19 social distancing to get this podcast back on track, release wise. We review the latest DC Films release, Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), and we all like it, some more than others, but we mostly throw praise at this thing. Lauren and Zac try to figure out how to make it a bit better, Jon loves to be woke...

We are back with another flashback, this time Lauren picks, to 2010’s Easy A. This Emma Stone career launcher holds up well, but also feels a bit dated and safe by todays standards. Still, a fun cast and we hash out our favorite lines and what it does do for the teen sex comedy that’s worth keeping around. Download. Listen. Enjoy! 0:01:00 Not Standing Up To Time?, THC (Not The Drug), Parent Praise...

Another episode, another Guy Ritchie movie. We reviewed the latest from the director, after the 2000 flashback last episode, The Gentlemen. An all star cast with Ritchie back in the genre that got him where he is today, we are all pretty happy with this one. We all want more Colin Farrell, more Michelle Dockery, more of just about everyone, but in a good way. Everyone is game and great and we have...

We flashback to 2000 for Guy Ritchie’s Snatch in preparation for his 2020 film, The Gentlemen. Snatch was a big hit back in the day, but has sort of exited the pop culture lexicon with Ritchie’s own pursuits of IP properties. It feels very 2000, but also still works quite well all the same. Everyone is not quite as high as they were before, but no one has a whole lot of bad to say about this one....

Our first flashback for 2020 is to 2010 for The Social Network. I consider this one of the best films of the decade, it is Top 3 David Fincher, and maybe Top 3 for everyone involved with anything in this movie. It’s really great, and we had two virgin eyes on this film. Ben and Jon are both impressed, while Lauren looks past her hate of dicks to enjoy the film on it technical proficiency. A great...

We are officially wrapping up 2019, a month and a half late (my bad), with our 2019 Time Capsule. Besides Jon falling asleep after he went, a pretty great episode. The remaining trio go on without him and make his predictions for him for 2020. A lot of fun conversations here around the topics at hand as we break format a bit and pick things to highlight rather than our stone cold favorites. Thanks...

People still care about our Rise of Skywalker opinion, right? Well, here it is anyways, as I get caught up on the podcast game. We all pretty much agreed the movie is good, but were disappointed after the first viewing. I’m higher on it after seeing it a second time the night we recorded this, but, yeah, we pick some nits and pass some subtle praise on the episode. Still, we think it’s worthwhile,...

The Podcast Is Back! We are still going strong and have plenty of more episodes to look forward to. This is the last of two podcasts we recorded in 2019, and we will follow those with our 2019 Time Capsule episode before springing into 2020. The Decade’s Best and Illness got in the way of editing, but, we should be back on track to get caught up and make this more consistent in the year ahead. Apo...

On this bonus episode of Middle of the Row: The Podcast, we take a look at the HBO series from late last year, Watchmen. Resoundly hailed as one of the best series of last year, and the decade?, this re-mix from Damon Lindelof of the Watchmen mythos serves as a sequel to the original text, as well as the aforementioned re-mix of some of the content itself. Everyone here is a fan and we find plenty...

One last The Decade’s Best Podcast before I publish the list! For that episode, Grant and I look at a 2019 film, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. We are a bit all over the place, but we get into everything great about Hollywood and how it hits on a first and second viewing. We also look at “future” 2019 films that we think might best Hollywood as our favorite, I saw most of them,...

Sorry for the delay, but the film we are discussing has been such a hit you can still see it in theaters! Knives Out is the latest from Rian Johnson and is another feather in his filmography that sees him batting 100% in my book, but does anyone else agree? Well, they do, but this podcast doesn’t sound like it sometimes. Or does it? Listen to find out. Download. Listen. Enjoy! 0:01:00 Knives Out S...