7 thoughts on “Movie Podcast Weekly Ep. 306: The Predator (2018) and a Half Review of Mandy (2018)”

1. I’ve never heard half a movie review before. I was left in suspense! Jason and Ryan seemed intrigued by the first hour of Mandy, but will they enjoy the movie as a whole? Tune in next week. Same MPW time, same MPW channel.

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2. Ha, I love the half review! I rented Mandy on Vudu last week… I have 30 days to watch it, but I’m waiting for what feels like the right strange dark time to give it a spin. Was definitely interested in what you guys would think of it, though, but I also didn’t necessarily want too much of a lead-in for it.

   Catching up with some very quick takes, and then a big plug for a surprisingly incredible show:

   American Animals, Sorry to Bother You, Borg vs. McEnroe, and BlackkKlansman are all excellent. 9.5, 9, 9, 9. I won’t say much more, but I had a really nice run of films there for a couple weeks, seeing all of those. Alpha was a lot better than I thought it might be, though with some issues. It’s sort of like “Revenant Lite,” but there is some real intensity, some great scenery, and as a dog lover, that whole aspect of the story (the first dog) was very compelling. 8

   Hearts Beat Loud should have floored me… Nick Offerman as an aging musician widower trying to connect deeper with his college-leaving daughter by starting a band with her. And yet, it was only a’ight. Reminded me a bit of something like Once, but the music in this one wasn’t as memorable, and it never quite got to a place of any real emotional depth. Still, it’s worth a look. 7″

   First Reformed is a Paul Schrader drama with a killer performance by Ethan Hawke as a pastor of a dwindling old church who has something of a crisis of faith. Not a lot happens, and yet, there are some insightful moments and dialogue exchanges throughout, and just enough little bits of humor here and there to keep it from being too dour. 8.5

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   But, here’s the surprising plug… American Vandal on Netflix.

   I feel like I need to encourage you guys to watch this, because I think you’ll really appreciate it (or maybe you’ve seen it, though I don’t recall hearing a mention of it?), but I also know several people who balked after hearing the premise or watching the first bit of it. And I have to admit that initially, I was like, ehhh okay, that’s clever, but really juvenile. It’s a satirical documentary (not exactly a “mockumentary”) that delves into the mystery of who spray-painted dicks on teachers’ cars in a high school parking lot. So yes, it *is* really juvenile, and there is a lot of humor that plays into that and comes from that. But… it’s also about something, ultimately. The way it comes together is very satisfying and, dare I say it, even powerful. And if you’re like me, I think that you’ll find that a short way in, you’ll be eager to find out who drew the dicks. It’s so well-done on the satirical level, but takes itself absolutely seriously, and that also makes it a great commentary on documentary filmmaking, and bias, and other issues that play into how we watch and perceive and comment on things like this.

   Each season is a self-contained 8 half-hour episodes. A very easy binge. Season 2 just released and hoo boy, they one-upped the challenge to the audience in the first 5 minutes. And I know some people who loved season 1 who said they couldn’t watch season 2 because of its premise. But I was like, noooooo, that’s the whole point… Season 1 ended up being about so much more than “who drew the dicks,” and by the same token, season 2 is about so much more than its basic premise. But you need to give it the chance to tell its story. I will say that season 2 wasn’t as *funny* as season 1, but I also loved it and felt it had a little more depth in terms of its story and characters (which is saying a lot, because season 1 was terrific in that regard).

   So yes, it’ll seem juvenile and even stupid. Just give it a real chance, though. Actually, just give it 8 half-hour chances, so it can tell its whole story. It’s brilliant, and also functions as a pretty well-established and authentic (ish) portrayal of high school culture.

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3. Shoot, I forgot to mention The Endless. J, you need to see this ASAP if you haven’t, but I also think the other guys might like it. It’s a cool slo-burn sci-fi film with some horror elements. It feels pretty “indie,” but I mostly mean that in a good way, and I was pretty amazed with some of the fun visual effects they pull off with what was probably a pretty low budget. Story is decent, too, about brothers who had escaped from an alien death cult but return for a visit. If there are weaknesses, it’s in some of the dialogue and casting/acting, though really, most of that is also quite good. So yeah, a pretty strong recommendation for this. 8.5

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4. Movie Podcast Weekly is my all-time favorite movie podcast … that releases new episodes once in a while. #SickBurn

   I kid! I kid! (Although I was pleased and relieved to see that Episodes 302, 303, and 305 are now officially “lost.” But not forgotten! I’m just happy that they’re in the queue and will show up someday.) Movie Podcast Weekly really is my favorite movie podcast in existence. Full stop. It’s also the podcast I listen to more than any other podcast. (Well, OK, except for Mike Duncan’s The History of Rome. But that’s different.)

   I think Jay’s mini-review of Ray Donovan may be the shortest review in the history of MPW. Here’s the complete text: “He’s the one that introduced me to Ray Donovan. I would have never given that a try, but when he told me about the premise, I’m like, ‘Yup, that’s my kind of show.’ By the way, Ray Donovan’s a fixer in Hollywood, you know. He fixes celebrity’s problems when they do something dumb.” That’s it. There’s breakneck pivot to Entourage and Ray Donovan is Ray Done-avan. Or maybe Jay’s introduction to Ray Donovan was discussed previously, at greater length, on one of the “lost” episodes?

   I watched the first episode of The First last night, and my enthusiasm for it is more or less exactly on par with Jay’s: I’m sort of hopefully intrigued, and willing to watch another episode. Like Jay, I am also in awe of Sean Penn’s age 58 (!!) physique. It’s like his agent said, “Sean, I have a great script,” and Sean Penn said, “I’ll do it. Sign all of the paperwork while I go a zillion dead lifts and bicep curls, followed by ab crunches until the end of time.” Then he started lifting weights and eating protein powder and hasn’t stopped since. Like, for anything. If you pay attention during the show, you can actually see him juggling barbells and squatting the craft services table between takes.

   Here’s my response to the discussion of Physical Media vs. Digital. True story: I once borrowed Fletch Lives from Karl and then didn’t return it for about four years. So that’s a drawback of physical media. In contrast, I don’t have Hulu, but a friend recently created an account for us under her login and my wife and I watched all five seasons of Brooklyn 99 in, like, three months. (I know Andy has recommended 99 a bunch of times on MPW; I’m glad I finally got around to it.) Actually, non-sequitur, we also used that account to watch the first episode of The First. My point is that what if Karl had wanted to watch Fletch Lives? He’d have had to either find and kill me, or buy a new disc. Our friend, however, could have watched episodes of Brooklyn 99 on Hulu any old time she wanted. “Loaning” her Hulu account to us didn’t infringe her own ability to partake in any way. I’m not saying Digital is better, but I think Dino’s point that there are advantages on both sides of the argument is legit.

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5. Also, I’m reposting this from the comments on Episode 304 so that Jay will know he’s not off the hook. I mean, he never responded. Unless he responded on Episode 305, in which case we may never know. At any rate, you can run, Mr. Of the Dead, but you can’t hide. Don’t mind me, I’m just here to regulate funkiness. And to ensure that Ryan Elliott gets his just deserts, or in the particular case, his Tour of Italy. #TourOfItaly #JusticeForGCR

   Question for the Room: Did Jay ever make good on his bet with GCR from Ep. 193? The deal was that Jay would buy GCR a Tour of Italy at Olive Garden if he ended up honestly and sincerely giving The Last Jedi a rating lower than 9. I know there was a pretty gargantuan lag time between the bet being placed and Jay giving Last Jedi a 7.5 on Ep. 270, but I also know that MPW is a place where there is an almost holy reverence for bets. I’d hate to think that Mr. Peanut Buster Parfait never paid up. There’s still time to do the right thing, Jay. #TourOfItaly #JusticeForGCR

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   • You can’t jiujitsu your way out of this one, Jay. Even Google knows what you did: http://bit.ly/JusticeForGCR

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6. Ugh… guys, I love you. But this episode…

   Look, I’ll reiterate my comments from Twitter regarding the digital vs. physical media discussion – it’s a stupid debate. Who cares what the next person thinks, just do what works best for you. I also don’t think it has to be one or the other; for some, that’s how it is, and that’s fine. For me, yes, I’m pro-digital, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I have to be exclusively digital. If there was a piece of physical media that I just had to have, whether because of special packaging or for some other reason, then I would 100% get it. To be honest, that hasn’t happened for years, but that’s not the point… the point is that it shouldn’t matter one way or the other. Just do what you want to do, whatever works best for your life, and leave everyone else alone!

   Now, if you absolutely have to discuss the topic, then at least make it worthwhile. Your discussion on the show was flat out dumb and pointless. You can’t have a meaningful discussion about a topic if you all share the same opinion. All it ended up being was a masturbatory love fest of physical media.

   Also, that Mandy half-review probably would have been better as a quick mention in the mini-reviews section. And, yes, you’re right… I loved it.

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