Movie Go Round

On this New to Two, Brett used this Movie-GHOUL-Round entry to take David and Nicole back to Haddonfield. Michael Myers has been in a secure mental hospital since 1978, but he's never forgotten how to drive, has developed a dislike for podcasters (hey!), and apparently has been following a hell of a workout regimen. Now he's on the loose again, 40 years after leaving his first trail of terror. How will Laurie and her family handle the monstrous mystery man this time? It's time to watch 2018's Halloween. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Tomorrow is the third entry in the Movie-Ghoul-Round marathon, and it's a Netflix Roulette pick: 2017's Errementari.

You Did This to Us! On this episode you made us watch Monster House to kick off this year's Movie-GHOUL-Round. As beloved as this is in some quarters, Brett, David, and Nicole all had their issues with it. We all dug in to the problems, including a disappointing lack of sparkle from a script written by Rick and Morty's Dan Harmon, and some confusing casting choices. Love this movie? Tune in this episode and yell at us! Leave us a scathing email! Berate us on Facebook! Come on, we dare you! Remember: Movie-Ghoul-Round runs this week as a marathon through Halloween evening! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!Tomorrow is the second entry in the Movie-Ghoul-Round marathon, and it's a New to Two pick: 2018's Halloween.

A black-and-white movie about a domestic servant in 1970s Mexico doesn't necessarily sound like one of the more visually and emotionally compelling films you'll ever see. We'd all been intending to watch it, but Brett was the one who chose this Around the World for himself, David, and Nicole. As it turns out, we were all swept away by Roma. Watch it before you listen, watch it after you listen,  watch it on your phone if you have to, but watch it. (But maybe don't watch it on public transportation, which is where Nicole was when the nude scene started. Oops.) Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next episode comes out tomorrow and begins the week-long Movie-Ghoul-Round marathon leading up to Halloween! It's a You Did This to Us pick, and we're watching Monster House.

In this Future Classics, Nicole took a chance and pitched the documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams to David and Brett. Werner Herzog uses his exploration of the Chauvet cave in France to see mankind's oldest known cave paintings and explore the origin of imagination and the soul. Nicole uses this movie as an excuse to explore the nature of documentaries specifically and cinema in general. All of us basked in Herzog's hypnotic narration and his knack for finding the quirks in the cave researchers. But will this film be a classic? Check it out and weigh in! Here is the link to the Smithsonian piece Brett references on the show. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is Around the World and Brett has picked the 2018 film, ROMA.

In this Netflix Roulette, the wheel us this movie that a lot of people chose to forget, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Although it shared a lot of elements (including some highly problematic ones) with its predecessors, many fans of the franchise savaged this film. Is it really that bad? Are aliens any more "out there" than explicit divine intervention? What is up with monkeys in these movies? Join Brett, David, and Nicole as they try answer these questions and give this movie the benefit of the doubt. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is Future Classics and Nicole has picked the 2010 film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams.

In this New to Two, David chose to introduce Nicole and Brett to the little British crime dramedy that could - Layer Cake - the movie that gave Daniel Craig enough attention to be considered for the role of James Bond. What made him stand out? Why do we root for a drug trafficker? Is that Tom Hardy and Sally Hawkins? Where can I get that lingerie set that Sienna Miller is wearing? We answer at least some of these questions in this latest episode! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is Netflix Roulette and the Netflix Gods have chosen Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

In this You Did This to Us, the audience picked Jurassic Galaxy. Why. Just... why? Why did You Do This to Us? Did Brett crack a bad dad joke? Was one of David's barbs too sharp?  Did Nicole's odor offend? Because something sure stinks around here... oh wait, it's the "movie." A vanity production company shot this ultralow-budget sci-fi stinker in a state park and added in a few decent (and some laughable) CGI effects in post. Is the result watchable? You could check it out yourself and see, but we'd recommend just listening to the episode instead. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is New to Two and David's pick is Layer Cake.

In this Around the World pick from David, writer/actor/director Stephen Chow pays tribute to kung fu classics, Warner Brothers cartoons, period Chinese melodramas, and gangster movies in an unforgettable martial arts comedy, Kung Fu Hustle. Can Chow juggle all this without it becoming a hopeless tangle? Can expertly choreographed kung fu be funny? Will the landlady ever take that cigarette out of her mouth? Join Brett, Nicole, and David and find out! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is You Did This to Us and your pick is Jurassic Galaxy.

In this Future Classics, Brett brought us another film for kids, the controversial The Princess and the Frog. As Disney's first movie with an African-American princess, this musical adventure was hotly debated from inception to release, with arguments from many quarters as to how much and what kind of representation should be included. Our all-white crew tried to stay mindful of how our perspectives might differ from those of the core target audience in our critiques. How well did Disney carry out its mission? What did we think of the jazz and zydeco? Were there any subtle messages in this movie? (Hint: Yes.) Have a listen and tell us what YOU think! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is Around the World and David's pick is Kung Fu Hustle.

In this Netflix Roulette, the wheel threw us a children's movie this week, the 1986 Don Bluth hit, An American Tail. We may have found a little relevance today with its story of refugees seeking safety and prosperity in the United States. Along the way, the young son is separated in a storm and takes a less conventional route into the country. Did Brett, David, and Nicole find any of the humor humorous? Did they get anything out of this movie? Would today's kids get anything out of it? Play the episode and find out! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this New to Two, young actress Elsie Fisher brings a vivid realism to her portrayal of Kayla Day, a 13-year-old girl who is just trying to make it through the last week of eighth grade. As she struggles to break through her own introversion, her single father struggles to stay connected to her. Nicole resonated with the material almost painfully, as both parent and former teen girl, and brought this movie to Brett and David to see if they would identify with Kayla at all. What did the crew think of Eighth Grade? Come listen and find out! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's theme is Netflix Roulette and we'll be watching An American Tail.

In this You Did This to Us, we drowned in CGI because you made us watch Gods of Egypt. David, Brett, and Nicole tried to swim through a Nile full of tropes (the gods are just using humans in their own games, but one plucky human has a valuable lesson for them!), dodge the dodgy acting, tune out the musical score, and long for a longer time with the dog-headed character. (And a shorter time with everyone else.) Oh, yes, and we talked about how all the speaking roles were played by non-Egyptians, because Hollywood. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Around the World, Nicole chose Let the Right One In. She, David, and Brett are joined by guest Terri Lynne Hudson ("Symbiotic" and "Conspiracy Theorist" on the OTV network) in taking apart and analyzing this Swedish vampire drama. What roles do gender and sexuality play in this movie centered around pre-teen children? How is it that the kids, especially Oskar, seem to be invisible to the adults sometimes? Will no one ever help poor, innocent Oskar? Is Oskar all that innocent? Is this whole town filled with psychopaths? And why does Eli avoid doing all the dirty work? Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Future Classics, David nominated the most recent film we've tackled so far as a Future Classic, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Did Brett and Nicole agree? How does it stand in the pantheon of superhero movies? How well does it juggle six (count 'em, six) spider-beings, and who was everyone's favorite? Do the visuals carry off a comic-book feel while still being successful from a cinematic point of view? Is it successful as a quality representation for kids of color? And does anyone have a tissue after than Stan Lee cameo? Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media! Next week's film is Let the Right One In.

In this Movie-Go-Round Netflix Roulette, we checked out the world's introduction to actor Jaime Bell: Billy Elliot. This movie, about a rebellious tween boy drawn to classical dance in a blue-collar mining town, joins last week's film in an exploration of what it means to be a "masculine" man. Nicole, Brett, and David dug into the political backstory, the unsung lives of the women in this town, the punk and glam-rock needle drops, and the struggle to escape or accept life in a working class community. Next week's theme is Future Classics and the film is Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. Be sure to check out the film so you can follow along! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Movie-Go-Round New to Two, Brett brought our first Spike Lee joint and introduced David and Nicole to the quasi-musical School Daze. We discuss the up-front themes of masculinity, sexuality, colorism, and the thorny issue of where some funding of historically black colleges can come from. As an all-white crew, we did our best to tread with sensitivity while keeping our cinematic choices inclusive, and sincerely hope we did right by Mr. Lee and our listeners. Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Movie-Go-Round You Did This to Us, the audience chose our film for this week, 2008's Step Brothers. Two adult losers, enabled by their aging parents, are forced to become roommates when their parents get married. Will they ever get along? Will they ever get jobs? Will they ever release their song, Boats and Hoes? Sigh... the man-child trope is alive and well and apparently will last for decades. Nicole found this round particularly tortuous — is she a hopeless movie elitist? Did Brett and David get any enjoyment from Step Brothers? Take a listen and find out! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Around the World, Brett cheats the system again to bring this British/American movie as his pick. Nicole and David watched it anyway, and enjoyed Peter Capaldi and his blisteringly creative cursing, as well as the gruff but witty James Gandolfini and the bumbling British leader performance by Tom Hollander (not the Spider-Man guy). Did they also enjoy its "exuberant, boundless cynicism" and the disconnect between the people in power and those they maneuver for their own ends? Are politicians really this clueless? And how does Veep fit into all this? Download our episode and find out! Then you, too, can be In the Loop! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Find us online by heading over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media!

In this Future Classics, Edgar Wright's love letter to video games and comics, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was Nicole's nominee. Although in a new relationship with high schooler Knives Chau, 22-year-old Scott Pilgrim falls in love with the mysterious delivery girl Ramona Flowers. To win the right to date her, however, Scott must defeat her seven evil exes, manga style, which is quite a challenge when two of your rivals are superheroes. Can Scott also defeat himself and own up to his flaws? What does Ramona even see in him? Will he ever break up with Knives, that poor angel? Come listen to Nicole, Brett, and David figure it out. Want to easily find links to everything we talk about at the end of the program? Head on over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us polls every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media. Don't miss your chance to subject us to things like Sucker Punch and The Emoji Movie! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Next week's pick is an Around the Wor

In this Movie-Go-Round Netflix Roulette, the Netflix wheel threw us another original, the entertaining but annoyingly named I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore. Melanie Lynskey plays a worn-out 30-something nurse who teams up with her odd neighbor, Tony (an unexpected but delightfully against-type Elijah Wood) to recover her stolen possessions. When she traces the thieves, the two are sucked in over their heads. Did our crew enjoy this startlingly violent indie? Did Lynskey successfully carry this film? Can Elijah Wood please be cast as a weirdo in all the things? Join David, Brett, and Nicole to find out! Want to easily find links to everything we talk about at the end of the program? Head on over to social.mgrpodcast.com. Remember, you can vote on You Did This to Us polls every 5 weeks if you're following us on social media. Don't miss your chance to subject us to things like Sucker Punch and The Emoji Movie! Email the show at hi@mgrpodcast.com. Next week's pick is a Future Classics round and Nicol