Middle of the Row

Hello. We are still a podcast. And this is yet another attempt to get these things out of the pipeline again. We have Middle of the Row & The Greatest Thing About... for days, and I hope this fall to get more to you all. This release is for The Mitchells vs. The Machines, which I’m timing with TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, as they share a director/writer in this film’s co-director/writer Jeff Rowe. Let’s call it a good excuse. The Middle of the Row: The Podcast will still have counting numbers, but won’t be in order, fyi. Anyways, cross those figures. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, (1:00) Spoiler! You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (20:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch..., Star Ratings (34:00) @middleofrow #nothe

Another Flashback episode from the time when we still did those on the OG feed. Catching up with Fright Night from 2011, a movie I soured on since I last saw it, but the rest of the pod is standing up for it! Is Charlie a shitty lead character, is Colin Farrell the dreamiest vampire ever, where is the justice for Poots? Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (0:00:30) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (0:15:40) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (0:25:00) @middleofrow #nothe

One of many from the archives, essentially, even though this is the first release of the podcast! The Black Phone, I thought was a bad movie, and I think I brought Lauren and Ben down with me along the way? Take a listen for yourself, as we ask a lot of questions about this quite weird, silly and not that scary movie! General Thoughts, Star Ratings, crapping on Peacock (it’s gotten better) (0:01:00) Spoilers for The Black Phone (0:18:00) The Categories: The Confounding Thing About… (0:19:00) The Ridiculous Thing About... (0:23:00) The Confusing Thing About... (0:27:45) The Uncomfortable Thing About... (0:32:00) @middleofrow #nothe

What’s this, it’s our podcast! Starting off 2023 (shut up, it’s still January!) Trying to make this a regular thing again (we have been recording), and I’m trying to find the time to get these out. But, as we say goodbye to 2022, it’s time for our Time Capsule episode! Let’s throw some stuff into the dirt for the future... Our Picks! Ben: Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (3:30) Lauren: A Plague Tale: Requiem (13:40) Zac: Station Eleven (26:00) Random Discussion and Predictions (32:00) Predictions for 23! Game: Ben: Dead Space (Remake) Zac: Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Lauren: Assassin’s Creed Mirage Movie: Ben: Guardians of the Galaxy 3 Zac: Asteroid City Lauren: Barbie TV: Ben: The Last of Us Zac: The Last of Us Lauren: The Last of Us Random: Ben: Trigun Stampede Lauren: Alecto: The Ninth Zac: Killers of the Flower Moon

Today I am talking with Aisha Sultan. Aisha is a syndicated columnist based at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where they’ve been writing for more than 20 years. Her work focusing on education and parenting has appeared in publications such as The Guardian, CNN, and The Washington Post. "Education, Interrupted" is her second documentary, and follows the experience of a mother of three young children navigating virtual school during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. It premieres at the Saint Louis International Film Festival on Saturday, November 3rd. Film Synopsis: Witness the devastating disruption of schooling through the eyes of an unforgettable family. Tyra Johnson is a devoted and determined mother fighting to maintain her children's education in one of the country's most poverty-stricken ZIP codes, which was hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Find more from Aisha Sultan on her website, Twitter, Instagram, or STLToday. Find more about the St. Louis International Film Festival including the schedule of films here. Follow me on Twitter@anotherRahulJ.

We head back to Netflix to review Jamie Foxx’s latest, Day Shift! No one is terribly bowled over by this vampire flick/John Wick mashup, but we had quite a bit of fun picking it apart. Come for the praise of the fight choreography, stay longer as we try and figure out if this movie makes any damn sense. Download. Listen. Enjoy! The General Thoughts (01:00) Categories: The Draining Thing About... (11:30) Star Ratings/Spoilers (17:30) Back to Categories: The Impressive Thing About... & The Confounding Thing About... (19:45) Anything we missed? @middleofrow #nothe

The week we are discussing The Greatest Thing About... Prey! This Predator prequel has nothing to do with previous films outside a couple nods and a Predator showing up, but it’s a fresh take on the format that is overcoming the stink of its previous entry. Taking the film back to the 18th century and giving the film a female lead are a great start, while director Dan Trachtenberg gets to show off his action chops outside of a bunker. Amber Midthunder is going to be a star and Predators are little B’s. We all agree on that. Download. Listen. Enjoy! General Thoughts (0:01:00) Star Ratings/Spoilers (0:26:00) Categories: The Uncomfortable Thing About... (0:26:30) The Satisfying Thing About... (0:34:00) The Weirdest Thing About... (0:40:20) Ben Comes Up With Predator Sequels (0:47:00) @middleofrow #nothe

It’s episode 2 of The Greatest Thing About Podcast... and we are showing off the flexibility of the concept by reviewing a video game; Stray. Stray is an indie release on Playstation and Steam and is a short, but fun, adventure into the mind of a cat. Well, sort of. You definitely get to be a cat, and do many cat things (napping, please), but the game itself is a mystery platformer that has some pretty distinct level design across it’s post-apocalyptic robotic setting. All of us enjoyed the game to varying degrees, which leads to some good discussion about what makes this game work as well as it does. Download. Listen. Enjoy! General Thoughts... (0:01:00) Star Ratings Spoilers for Stray (0:09:30) Categories: The Impressive Thing About… (0:09:30) The Frustrating Thing About... (0:19:00) The Weirdest Thing About... (0:22:20) @middleofrow #nothe

Welcome to a new version of our podcast at Middle of the Row; The Greatest Thing About... podcast! We are still going to talk about movies, but also hope to talk more games, tv, while also being able to pick whatever movie we damn well please. We will also be releasing our backlog (it’s big) of Middle of the Row: The Podcast as well, but the plan is for a new The Greatest Thing About... to come out weekly. We start with the highest rated movie we’ve ever done here on the pod (for us) with Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s amazing, you should watch it, then listen to us talking about why it is so great! Download. Listen. Enjoy! An Introduction...(0:00:30) General Thoughts... (0:02:00) Star Ratings & The Letterboxd Top 10 (0:18:00) Spoilers for Everything Everywhere All at Once (0:22:30) Categories: The Greatest Thing About… (0:23:00) The Funniest Thing About... (0:29:00) The Upsetting Thing About... (0:42:00) #nothe @middleofrow

Goon was a flashback pick from late last year, but it was actually a 2012 release so now it is an actual flashback for the correct year! This was picked by Jon, but he didn’t make this episode, but Ben, Lauren and Zac all really enjoyed chatting about this hockey cult classic. Though, none of us have seen the sequel, so we don’t know if we can recommend that, but Scott and Schreiber are excellent here, so more of them is probably making it worth a watch. Also, maybe the most intense E.T. Watch in podcast history... Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (13:30) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (28:00) @middleofrow #nothe

Malignant came out and set the internet on fire for a couple weeks last year, but it didn’t really work for most of our crew...until it did. Zac was on board throughout, but everyone agrees the final act is worth sticking around for. But, we debate a lot! Is the acting good? How intentional is Wan’s vision? Is it scary? Is it a comedy? Watch/listen/find out! Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) Spoilers, You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (17:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (33:30) @middleofrow #nothe

We are back with a flashback from last year, so it flashes back to 2001. Lauren picked Amélie, another Jean-Pierre Jeunet film from her, and its charms seemed to have won newcomer Ben over. Zac and Lauren continued to be big champions of the film, even if he thinks Amélie might be an emotional terrorist. Still, a fun chat and a lot of positive love for a movie that’s lost none of its charm all these year’s laters. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (8:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (17:30) @middleofrow #nothe

We are back, again, and digging deep into the backlog to hopefully start getting us back to the present. I plan on continuing to jump around in the releases, so bear with us as things might seem super random or super old! This week, we have a fun episode for a bad movie, Reminiscence. You probably forgot about this movie by now, so jump in the memory machine with us and revisit a film that was gone as soon as it arrived. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:30) Spoilers, You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (17:30) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (33:00) @middleofrow #nothe

The MCU’s third entry in 2021 was Eternals and we reviewed it when it hit Disney+. Now you can buy it anywhere and wonder what the hell is Zac thinking or just take some enjoyment agreeing with Ben and Lauren on this whole endeavor. We found a lot of common ground on both sides of this coin, but came out liking it and not on quite opposite spectrums. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (21:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (56:50) @middleofrow #nothe

Just in time for some Oscars nominations, we are releasing our episode on Denis Villeneuve’s Dune! We all love his last film on this podcast, Blade Runner 2049, but we aren’t quite as unanimously positive on his latest. That’s not to say we aren’t positive, but maybe expectations were a little too high? Need to rewatch it? Anyways, lots of praise, lots to discuss, and everyone wants to see Part 2! Yay! Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (27:15) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (48:43) @middleofrow #nothe

This week we flashback to the 2001 comedy classic, Wet Hot American Summer. A lot of familiar faces got their start here, the most successful of which is probably the smallest role of the main cast. Who knew! Everyone but Zac hadn’t seen this and I think he has slowly started to convert two more to the cult of Wet Hot! Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (14:20) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions (24:30) The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (32:00) @middleofrow #nothe

Welcome to our Time Capsule 2021 Episode. This is where we pick our pop culture object to be stored and to be discovered by later generations, while also previewing the year ahead! Let's get to it! Zac’s Pick: Marvel’s What If... (3:00) Lauren’s Pick: Arcane (12:45) Ben’s Pick: To Your Eternity (18:50) Favorite Predictions for 2022 (24:00) Game Predictions: Ben: Tiny Tina’s Wonderland Lauren: God of War: Ragnarok Zac: BOTW 2 Movie: Ben: The Batman Lauren: Spider-Man: Across The Spider-verse Zac: Disappointment Blvd. TV: Ben: Stranger Things Lauren: The Legend of Ox Machina Zac: Station Eleven Book: Lauren: Nona the Ninth Anime: Ben: Uzumaki

Just in time for The Peacemaker, our review of The Suicide Squad! Ben’s since named this his best movie of 21 (bold), while the rest of the crew definitely think it is good! Gunn is having fun and we have fun talking about this latest entry in the DC catalog. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (27:30) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (44:00) @middleofrow #nothe

We take a look back at Studio Ghibli’s most prestigious entry in their filmography, Spirited Away! This was a Ben pick and let’s just say we aren’t aligned as a group here. We appreciate the animation, the whimsy and some of us wonder what the hell is going on! Come shake your head at Zac is what we are ultimately saying. Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (17:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions (34:30) The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (47:00) @middleofrow #nothe

We are back, again, after another delay. We have a lot of backlog from 2021 and those start coming out now! This is a bit of a forgotten Netflix release last year that was actually one of the more interesting titles they have released in the last year or two. We like different things about this one, so I think we all think you should definitely be able to find something to appreciate in this film. We all agree, let Karen Gillan emote! Download. Listen. Enjoy. The Categories: (Time:Stamp) 8 Words or Less, The Elevator Pitch, Why So & So, General Thoughts, Star Ratings (1:00) You Gotta See This, Let’s Talk About That Ending..., Performance Piece (14:00) Repeat After Me, But, Why?, The Hot Take Theater, Expert Opinions, The Upgradeables, To Infinity & Beyond?, Bonus Rounds/Catch All, One Last Pitch... (28:00) @middleofrow #nothe