Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 224: Split (2017)

Episode 224

Greetings from The Chumuckla One two-screen movie house down in Chumuckla, Florida! … Are we still talking about “John Wick”? In an unforgettable Episode 224 of Movie Podcast Weekly, you’ll hear Karl foolishly challenge listener Jason Dragon (a horror fan with a formidable physique) to a schoolyard fight. During this ridiculous show, Jason brings you a spoiler-free Feature Review of M. Night Shyamalan’s Split; we discuss coercion to cancel Netflix; Karl throws a total fit about “Annie Hall” beating “Star Wars” at The Oscars; and we also fight about The Razzies… We’re joined by guest host, “Randy,” a diesel mechanic from — you guessed it — Chumuckla, in the Florida panhandle. Join us … you’ll probably regret it.

If you’re new to our show… Movie Podcast Weekly typically features four hosts — Jason, Andy, Karl and Geek Cast Ry — along with frequent guests. We give you our verdicts on at least one new movie release from the current year that’s currently playing in theaters, as well as several mini reviews of whatever we’ve been watching lately. New episodes release every single week!


SHOW NOTES:

I. Introduction
— Guest host “Randy,” from Chumuckla, Florida
— Why Karl’s birthday sucked
— Jason’s amazing gift from Ryan
— Eric Herman’s incredible photo variations from Ep. 185 (Thanks, Eric!)


[ 0:09:29 ] II. Mini Reviews
Karl: Live by Night,
Ryan: New TV purchase, Captain America: Civil War, The Witch: A New England Folktale, The Razzies 2017
Jason: Jim Gaffigan: Cinco, The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror Halloween Special Vol. VII
Andy: Neal Brennan: 3 Mics, Jason Bourne, Taboo


III. New in Theaters This Past Weekend [Friday, Jan. 20, 2017]:

Split
xXx: The Return of Xander Cage
The Founder
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions
Grand Jury
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
They Call Us Monsters
Detour
Category 5
Antarctica: Ice and Sky
This Too Shall Pass
Axe Murders of Villisca
Trespass Against Us
Red Light
The Red Turtle

“Honey, grab the paper… Let’s see what’s playing at The Chumuckla One.”


FEATURE REVIEWS HAVE TIME STAMPS:

[ 0:55:45 ] IV. Feature Review: SPLIT (2017)
Jason = 7.5 ( Theater / Rental )

— Jason’s theater rant story about two annoying seat-stealers…


[ 1:16:20 ] V. MPW Listener Feedback (and other rabble-rousing)
— Jenifer
— Brian
— Leigh
— Adam
(Ryan falls asleep)
— Jason Dragon


VI. Wrap-Up / Plugs / Ending
— A Dog’s Purpose controversy


COMING UP ON MPW NEXT WEEK: Episode 225 where we’ll be reviewing “The Founder” and “Gold.” Join us!


LINKS FOR THIS EPISODE:

Contact MPW:
E-mail us: MoviePodcastWeekly@gmail.com.
Leave us a voicemail: (801) 382-8789.
Follow MPW on Twitter: @MovieCastWeekly
Leave a comment in the show notes for this episode.

Ryan’s new Facebook page
Ry’s BIO
Ryan’s New Facebook Page
Ry’s flagship show: Geek Cast Live Podcast
DONATE here to facilitate the creation of more Geek content!
Blog: Geek Cast Live
Web site: Geek Harder.com
Facebook
Twitter: @GeekCastRy

Jason recommends supporting: Operation Underground Railroad

Listen to MPW:
Add MPW to your Stitcher playlist: Stitcher.com
MPW on iTunes
MPW’s RSS feed
Right-click to download the MPW 100 Rap

Josh’s links:
Hear Josh named as one of the Top 5 Up-and-Coming Directors on The Film Vault Podcast!
Twitter: @IcarusArts
Josh covers streaming movies on: Movie Stream Cast
Hear Josh on The SciFi Podcast
Hear Josh on Horror Movie Podcast

If you’re a Horror fan, listen to Jason and Josh on HORROR MOVIE PODCAST

We’d like to thank The Dave Eaton Element and Dave himself for the use of his music for our theme song. Buy Dave’s Eaton’s music: BandCamp.com

Ryan’s Fake titles:
Grand Jury
This Too Shall Pass
Red Light
Category 5


If you like Movie Podcast Weekly, please subscribe and leave us a review in iTunes. If you want to support the show, we have PayPal buttons in our right-hand sidebar where you can make a one-time donation or you can become a recurring donor for just $2 per month. (Every little bit helps!)

Thanks for listening, and join us again next week for Movie Podcast Weekly.


31 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 224: Split (2017)

  1. I’m not sure I learned anything about movies this week, but the show was pretty hilarious. Thanks guys! I needed this after the Patriots’ win yesterday.

    OH! And also, I know that Jason is a big M. Night Shyamalan fan (He’s mentioned it a couple times). How do you feel about The Last Airbender? Have you seen the source material? I gave it the old Google try, but didn’t see where you had already discussed it before. Obviously, I think its garbage or I wouldn’t have brought it up.

    • Hi Frank-the-Fiend,
      Forgive the delayed response… I have seen the original cartoon of “The Last Airbender,” and though that’s generally not my cup of tea, I found it to be quite good.

      As for M. Night’s “adaptation,” if you want to call it that, I just had a sinking feeling about it, so I never even attempted to watch it. Haven’t seen it. Probably never will. As a Shyamalan apologist during those dark days, I found it easier not to have seen such things. But I’m glad he has returned to form with “The Visit” and “Split.”
      J

  2. I recommended The Crown to Karl, knowing how much he loves Downton. The next thing that’s happening on the podcast, is him challenging me to an alley fight, Big Trouble in Little China style. You guys had me in tears at the end of this one. Very funny episode. Does anyone know what’s playing at the Chumuckla One this week? Hopefully Diesel Randy knows.

  3. Fun episode. The whole gang was present, everyone’s dander was up, and that’s about all it takes to keep me entertained. Perfect example: mini-reviews. Andy’s impassioned promotion of the Neal Brennan comedy special was intriguing, but I frankly enjoyed the theatrical bickering about whose turn it was more than anyone’s actual mini-reviews. There are plenty of scripted “bits” in movies and on TV that aren’t nearly as enjoyable as the off-the-cuff catfights on MPW.

    Jay’s review of Split was also intriguing (though I’m not likely to have time for it before it’s Redbox-able), but also eclipsed by the satellite story of his run-in with the seat stealing date nighters. In my head, I’m picturing Jay settling into a jiu-jitsu stance and mentally daring the seat stealer to come at him. I was almost certain there would be physical violence, or at least heated words, when the second couple showed up and stood blocking Jay’s view of the actual movie while confronting the original troublemakers.

    Some fancy footwork on this episode, too, with Mr. Pyles tap dancing right up to the brink of a false equivalence between Gods of Egypt and The Shining (and Scarface). You didn’t actually mean to go there, right Jay? Or were you truly implying that The Shining and Gods of Egypt are equally important and valuable works of cinema? 🙂

    P.S. Ryan’s second fake title would have been 75 percent funnier if he had styled it as This 2 Shall Pass. I’m still giggling on the inside trying to think what the first movie would have been. Probably just This Shall Pass.

    • “This 2 Shall Pass” would probably be a sequel to a Seth Rogen and Tommy Chong film about weed culture during the Roman occupation of Jerusalem. Could be a spiritual successor to Gods of Egypt mixed with Up in Smoke.

      Food for thought.

  4. Karl – Sorry man, but you need to get over your teenage infatuation with Star Wars, a movie which is neither a better film than Annie Hall nor nearly as original as you mistakenly believe. I imagine you’d be hard pressed to find people that were over the age of 21 when Star Wars was released that thought it should have won the Best Picture award. I was under that age, but still knew Annie Hall was better.

    To dispel your fantasies about how groundbreaking it was, I suggest watching Kurosawa’s The Hidden Fortress (1958) to see where Lucas lifted the basic story from, and Metropolis (1927) and Flash Gordon (1936) to see where large chunks of the visual style came from.

    Then watch 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to see what a real groundbreaking film looks like.

  5. Re: The Crown

    I actually don’t think Downton Alley is a good comparable to The Crown. Really, the only thing they have in common is that they both take place in the past and are set in England. Other than that, completely different subject matter and speeds.

    Downton is about the disparity between high society and the working class. It’s very well done, for sure, but it’s essentially just a silly soap opera about things of no real consequence. The Crown, however, is not a soap opera. It’s largely a historical political drama, detailing Queen Elizabeth’s struggle of coming into her position within the monarchy, the world and her family, and learning how to deal with the government and the strong, older personalities that live in that space. There’s intrigue, tension, drama… and the issues are all of real consequence, not silly nonsense and rumors.

    In addition to their differences in subject matter, The Crown is generally more cinematic in presentation. Each episode really is like watching another 60-minute movie. Downton Alley is, again, very well done, but it’s more episodic/serial in presentation and structure.

    All of this is to say that I don’t think you can say someone will like The Crown just because they liked Downton Alley, nor can you assume someone won’t like The Crown if they didn’t like Downton Alley. They’re completely different.

    Quick disclaimer: the first episode of The Crown is the weakest of the series, by far. It picks up in episode 2, so don’t give it the one-and-done treatment.

    Also, I was probably a bit harsh with my “protip for life” comment. I was just so fired up! Anyway, my apologies.

    • I forgot to mention the differences in “speed” between the two series. Generally speaking, Downton Alley moved much slower, stretching silly storylines over multiple episodes/seasons. The Crown, on the other hand, is much more briskly paced.

      • Dino – I agree 1000% with your comments – and I’m so happy that you made them so that I didn’t have to 🙂

        I would just add the following: it wasn’t nearly as soapy as I originally feared; much more about the nuts and bolts of governance – by both Parliament and the Palace. The cast is simply superb across the board – including Foy as Q.E., Lithgow as Churchill, and Jared Harris’ career best performance as the sad man-who-didn’t-want-to-be-King George VI.

  6. Also, Karl’s comments about John Wick seemed a little nonsensical to me. The directors, Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, are both former stuntmen and stunt coordinators – which is the reason the original got so much attention (and then love). By all reports, the sequel is even better, which will be a rare occurrence if true.

    But what’s great about John Wick is that the action scenes are incredibly well-choreographed and shot so that all of the action is clearly visible; the fight scenes are simply superb. I’m not an ‘action-movie’ guy in the slightest (I can’t get through many modern, badly-staged, action films), but I guarantee that Ryan and Jason would thoroughly enjoy this film (Ryan – think of Tom Hardy from Taboo – but with guns) – and I suspect Andy would enjoy it as well.

  7. Hello MPW,

    Great show and just the “The Chumuckla One” had me laughing so hard I had to pull over when I was driving! I will be waiting on my T-shirt!

    Karl I have never seen Annie Hall but as someone born in 1974 Star Wars is to me one of the all time best movies and totally agree with you. I remember it being one of the first movies that I have re-watched more than 20 times and it is one of the first movies that I ever introduced to my son…. Take that Annie Hall I doubt I will be showing that to my son anytime soon.

    Also J since Valentines Day is next week what is a go to movie to watch on that day for you. Please don’t say the “Notebook” ugggg I will go with my personal favorite “Hearts and Souls” must see movie on that day!

    Also what will you be seeing this week alot of different stuff coming out this Friday:

    Fifty Shades Darker
    Batman a Lego Movie
    John Wick 2

    oh and yes John Wick is awesome you will love it!!!

    Have a wonderful weekend at the movies

    Mario L

    • I often enjoy period romances. Most recently, though I vaguely recollect that the MPW hosts took a dump all over it, I was quite taken with the Carey Mulligan version of Far from the Madding Crowd (2015). Or there’s always the BBC’s new Poldark, which is pretty sudsy, but does bring the romance. (Uh, just pretend that Season 2 doesn’t exist.)

      As far as the modern era, it’s been forever since we heard about Randy’s man crush on JG-L, but I really dig (500) Days of Summer. Or, if you don’t like large numbers, maybe try Once.

  8. WHOA! Jason….JASON! Watch John Wick! I had my doubts as well, but if you want to talk about a rip roarin’, fun for the sake of fun, movie then you should take the Gods of Egypt blu-ray out and put in John Wick.

  9. I can’t wait to hear what Ryan thinks of the first four episodes of The Wire. I just hope he likes it enough to watch the rest of the season.

    • It’s good that they made the bet for at least 4 episodes (although The Young Pope has aired 8 episodes as of now) so Ryan will see one of the best scenes ever written showing “real police work”; McNulty and Bunk figuring out how Dierdre was murdered:

        • I am so disappointed in GCR and Karl why do they hate good TV the wire is the best show ever made. If they just had a little patience they would see what a great show they are missing. It also has one of the greatest character in the show with “Omar”

          By the way to me season 4 was the best….

          Mario L

  10. Hello MPW Listeners,

    Has anyone watched “travelers” on Netflix? It is an original series and I stumbled upon it the other day. I found a hidden treasure and I it is a solid 8.5 loved it and look forward to seeing more it.

    What are some of your hidden gems that you have found on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu or any other streaming device. Would love to hear what you think has been overlooked and that you should watch like the “WIRE” Karl and GCR!

    Mario L

    • Mario,

      Thanks for the heads up on Travelers. I was curious about that one; will put it in my queue.

      I did recently watch ‘No Second Chance’ on Netflix which I guess is more of a miniseries. It’s based on a really good Harlan Coben novel and it’s a great adaptation; really fun mystery thriller. There is also a really cool looking show on Netflix called 3% (I believe it’s Brazillian). Haven’t had a chance to watch yet, but I’ve heard nothing but great things about it.

      And not really a sleeper, but if you haven’t watched ‘Bosch’ on Amazon, I can’t reccomend it enough. Great show; looking forward to Season 3 in April.

      • Jonathan,

        Thanks for the recommendations I have seen the first season of Bosch. It was good going to start season 2 soon. As for 3% I have watched the first 2 episodes and so far it is good .

        I will watch “no second chance” this weekend and let you know what I think!

        Also if you get a chance you should watch the new show on Amazon called “patriot” I just watch the first episode and it is outstanding,funny, smart and well written give it a shot today new episodes come out February 24.

        Enjoy your shows
        Mario

Leave a Reply to Brenda Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *