9 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 247: Baby Driver (2017) and The Beguiled (2017) and Despicable Me 3 (2017)”

1. One last note regarding “The Beguiled” (2017)…
   I forgot to mention it during my review, but there was an earlier version of “The Beguiled” from 1971, starring Clint Eastwood and directed by Don Siegel (of Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956, Dirty Harry 1971 and Escape From Alcatraz 1979 fame). I reference the 1971 version more during my discussion about the 2017 remake here in Episode 121 of Horror Movie Podcast:
   https://horrormoviepodcast.com/horror-movie-podcast-ep-121-the-girl-with-all-the-gifts-2017-and-my-little-eye-2002-and-audition-1999-and-trojan-horses-at-the-gates-of-horror/ (Starts at around 57 minutes…)
   Oh, and enjoy Ryan’s big exit at the end of this show!
   J

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2. So excited to listen to this one, guys. Don’t worry about getting it out a few weeks after the movies came out, Jay (not saying you are). In fact, my town only has three movies at a time, and with all these huge summer movies coming out, the theater only got Baby Driver yesterday. It was a real treat to come home after watching the movie tonight and seeing this posted. For what it’s worth, my eight-year-old nephew gave it an 8/10.

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3. I’ve started to listen to the podcast when I got home at 3am last night. I woke up (very confused) by the sound of someone snoring next to me… well, that was strange ^^

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4. Ryan needs to see a doctor. He’s suffering from sleep apnea and it’s no joke, as funny as it may sound. He sounded as if he were in crisis and he definitely needs to get to a doctor.

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5. I nearly spat out my coffee onto my keyboard when I realized that the last 40 minutes were literally Ryan snoring.

   I even had to clear out some other podcast episodes in my queue to make storage space for this episode, so you can take pride in the knowledge that Ryan’s sleep habits directly affect the data capacity of listeners’ iPhones. Well done.

   If Ryan was really awake the whole time, and playing an elaborate prank; don’t ever tell us. It’s much more fun this way.

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6. Baby Driver…

   It still is currently my BMOTY. I’m not sure if it will be there by the end of the year, but I’ll be surprised if it isn’t at least in my top 5. That said, I did have two issues with the movie. The first was the cartoonish nature of the characters. The thugs were as thuggy as can be, almost caricatures. Ultimately, I give the film a pass on this because the overall light tone of the movie allows for a thinner, more frivolous representation of character.

   The second issue I had with the movie, though, conflicts with something you guys said on the podcast. And that’s the nature of the romance between Baby and Debora. The entire “relationship” was Debora telling Baby she was there just for him, not just through her actions but through her very words. She is portrayed as weak and completely dependent on Baby. Frankly, I’m surprised Andy liked the portrayal of their romance given that she’s such a weak female character.

   In the end, though, the film is just too much fun and impeccably directed.

   And, Jason, I firmly disagree with your assessment that it’s only a musical in the first 10 minutes. This thing is musical through and through ’till the end, just not a musical in the “traditional” sense. You mentioned that the soundtrack is integral to the film, but it goes much deeper than that. Everything from the action beats in the film, to the set design, to dialogue, to movement… and, yes, there is singing as well… it’s all connected to the music. Even spoken lines, like one Kevin Spacey delivers while laying out the plan for a heist, is done lyrically to music. The movement of Ansel Elgort when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich is like a fluid dance set to the beat of the soundtrack. Later, Elgort and Lily James are singing and dancing to the soundtrack while she’s doing her laundry in a laundromat. There are times throughout the film where the actual lyrics from what is currently playing in the soundtrack appear in the background set design. And the final action set piece, complete with big crashes and gun shots, is set in beat to Queen’s Brighton Rock.

   Maybe it’s more music video than “musical,” but it definitely goes deeper than just saying the soundtrack is integral to the film.

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7. I can appreciate what Andy says about Quidditch being important in different ways to the setting of Hogwarts and for helping better define and advance characters. My objection to Quidditch is as a gamer. (After music and movies, board games are a big hobby of mine.)

   If I understand it correctly (if), you have several players flying around trying to score “goals,” but despite their efforts, if the one seeker (or whatever they’re called) catches the little flying thing, then that’s it. Game over. And it seemed like that was always the way it would end. So it’s akin to two teams playing a hockey game for three hours, but everything they’ve done is irrelevant because on the side there are two players arm wrestling and that will really determine the winner.

   In terms of being a useful arena for the characters and narrative, sure, it’s fine. But as game design, it’s terrible. And granted, JK Rowling is an author and not game designer. I just wish that Quidditch made more sense. Simple thing would be to say that the teams play to 10, and normal goals are worth 1 and seeker catches are worth 3, or something like that. That would give some sense of balance to it. But to make the seeker thing trump everything else is dumb from a gaming perspective.

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8. Still catching up on this slowly…

   J, did I hear you say that you will not listen to Hamilton? Why not? I thought you were really into rap, and this has a ton of great rap in it, and also allusions to other rap that you probably know (e.g., “Ten Duel Commandmants” riffs on “Ten Crack Commandments”). But aside from that, it also has many great songs, and incredible depth. Someone at the Tonys referred to Hamilton as one of the greatest works of art of all-time, and I absolutely agree. It’s *that* good. It is so moving and transcendent, and connects the early history of our country with its place in modern history in a way that is reverent and illuminating.

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9. Early Tim Burton + Johnny Depp + amazing Oscar-winning performance by the late Martin Landau… Don’t miss Ed Wood! IWonderful movie. Give it a little time to get moving, though.

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