Movie Night Autopsy

Chad and Aaron, of Movie Night Autopsy, talk about the second trailer release for 'Spider-Man: into the Spider-Verse,' and the film's venture into the world of multiverse theory. Today on Trailing Off!

Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg52up16eq0

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Fahrenheit 11/9 is the most recent offering from documentary filmmaker and outspoken political activist, Michael Moore, and a play on his probably biggest film to date, Fahrenheit 9/11.

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The man with a mustache inadvertently takes on the overcompensating truck driver this time out, and the crew's got plenty to say about it!

The gangs all here as Chad, Sam, Asher, and Grace go full octane on the classic made-for-tv-movie directed by a young Stevie Spielberg (this kids going places).

Manspreading, diner fights, train related jump scares, and things that ultimately don't blow up lie within on this episode of Movie Night Autopsy!

*disclaimer-regrettably, we never got around to "70’s ass". We apologize.

*Double Disclaimer-We do talk too long about the spooky space cloud from "Maximum Overdrive". We don’t apologize.

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This trailer’s opening shot is the first hit Blockbuster has had in a while! Aaron and Chad, of Movie Night Autopsy, trail off about Captain Marvel! Hear them discuss her mysterious past, Sam Jackson’s CGI makeup, and how much 90’s is in this 90’s throwback film.

Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1BCujX3pw8

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This film literally screams in our faces about how dysfunctional the Wershe family really is, and reveals the true villain. Sam, of Movie Night Autopsy, talks about White Boy Rick. This week on Quick Ones.

White Boy Rick is the true crime drama based on, get this, a true story. It follows a young man growing up in a dirt-poor Detroit neighborhood in the mid 80's. His sister is a junkie drug addict, two bad decisions away from being caught in a human trafficking ring, and his father is a hopeless gun runner, exploiting loopholes to make sales at gun shows (topical much?).

Right away, the film literally screams in our faces about how dysfunctional the Wershe family really is, ending with grandma and grandpa having a yelling match with the single dad struggling to control his irate daughter.

The "White Boy" Rick in question is played by Richie Merritt, making his on-screen debut. His dad, "White Boy" Rick, Sr., is of course, Wooderson from Dazed and Confused, and Bel Powley kills it as junkie sister, Dawn. While I'm on it, I have to say, the cast is incredible. Well, on paper anyway, and no one is bad in this film, but outside of the Ricks, Jr. and Sr., and to a lesser extent, the sister, no one else really has much to do. Then again, even if they did have more to do, when would they find the time to do it?

The movie touches on many interesting dynamics, throughout, before quickly jumping to the next event, or sometimes, non-event. Something will happen and you think, narratively, this should be important later -- but then it never is. As for pacing, it's pretty rocky. That doesn't always have to be a bad thing, I loved Black Mass, another true crime story, but the events you choose to depict have to be relevant to one another in order to make sense on a narrative level, and to that extent, the film falls short.

With a soundtrack that sounds more 70's than 80's, but a Detroit that looks as dirty and menacing as it should, the environment for the story is consistent enough, and generally framed very well. While the highs and lows don't make for great peaks or valleys, the third act has plenty to say about the justice system -- the true villain of the piece.

Matthew McConaughey and Bel Powley give lights-out performances. Bruce Dern and Jenifer Jason Leigh couldn't be bad if they wanted to, and Jonathan Majors and Paperboi, from Atlanta, do the best they can with what little they get. Even with all that, there is this kid who comes around to tell Rick he's a "baby daddy" now, and that he needs to go do the right thing (somewhere in the middle). That kid is the real MVP.

So while good, White Boy Rick is not great. The whole is not equal to the sum of its parts, but it was a good ride, and an interesting crime story with a heartbreaking end. I give this film 2 token black characters out of 5.

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Sam and Asher, of Movie Night Autopsy, talk about Henry Cavill being out as Superman, and other news happening in the DCEU.

The DCEU ain't done yet! This time we got some news on Superman, more moving forward as Wonder Woman 1984 is in full swing, and the Flash(point) movie gets set to shoot next year. Sam and Asher, of Movie Night Autopsy, talk about Henry Cavill, and other news happening in the DCEU. Today on The Minute!

SOURCES:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/henry-cavill-as-superman-warner-bros-dc-universe-shake-up-1142306

https://deadline.com/2018/09/superman-henry-cavill-supergirl-warner-bros-1202463120/

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/superman-henry-cavill-warner-bros-role-dc-leave-superhero-a8535536.html

https://nypost.com/2018/09/12/ben-affleck-out-as-dcs-batman-following-henry-cavills-rumored-superman-exit/

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We got the chance to see The Predator on opening weekend. Chad, of Movie Night Autopsy, breaks down the experience. Today on Quick Ones.

I’m Chad with a Quick One, brought to you by Movie Night Autopsy.

The fifth installment of The Predator franchise, simply titled, “The Predator”, dominated the box office this weekend. But it doesn’t dominate its own structural narrative.

First, let’s talk about what this movie does well. It’s an action romp with plenty of violence and funny lines. If all you want is a way to kill a few hours, then ya; go see The Predator. It looks awesome.

Some of the best movies of all time seem to be the ones that blur the lines between genres. Often times, filmmakers decide to take this gigantic step for a film to work on multiple levels. The Predator does the opposite of that. It can’t decide what movie it wants to be. Part of the time, it is a horror bloodfest with the only thing stopping the Predator from a waltz through slasher lane is a bigger, bloodier predator.

It dabbles somewhat-well into ensemble territory with a diverse cast of capable actors such as Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook and Keegan-Michael Key. This lends itself more to the “dirty several” type of ensemble-filmmaking that we are beginning to see more of -- thanks to large tentpole comic book movies.

It is a bit of a shock to see Key still act as the comedic relief, only because of the more diverse roles he has had in the past few years. The movie acting like a comedy is the closest thing working, but the back and forth of genre-jumping isn’t quite being pulled off in the way that was intended.

The film absolutely deserves a mountain of credit for having a main character who is on the autism spectrum. Young actor, Jacob Tremblay, portraying Holbrook’s son is a credit to both the struggle and greatness that high-functioning children and their families go through. The movie successfully shows the skills and use of a talented individual.

In many aspects, it’s still writer-director, Shane Black, doing what he was hired to do. He checks all the boxes. Brutal situations bumped up against quippy dialogue set during a major holiday. It just didn’t work here. It worked in the Nice Guys. Oh boy, did it work in the Nice Guys. Side note — Great flick.

The idea sounds great on paper. Black played a minor role in the first Predator movie with an option to rewrite the script. He passed. Also, the more important fact that Predator 2 is basically a Lethal Weapon flick with the Predator in it.

Listen very carefully, America. Predator 2 is really Murtaugh Versus Predator. It’s more Lethal Weapon than some Lethal Weapon movies. Once you see this, the movie makes more sense.

I don’t deserve sole credit for this idea. It belongs to the whole Autopsy crew.

We seem to find ourselves once again in a situation of claiming to move forward in cinema, but really it’s just mad mountain of lazy references and campy dialogue that we think will work because the classic one-liners of yesteryear were also campy.

We keep trying to use the classics to move forward, but the movement is at the very most, lateral.

I give The Predator 2.6 obscure Easter eggs out of 5.

Thanks for tuning in. This has been Chad with a Quick One, brought to you by Movie Night Autopsy.

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Aw jeez. Okay then.

There comes a time when a movie-based podcast has to talk about 1996's Coen Brothers black-dramedy Fargo. And for the MNA crew, the time to awkwardly sit next to pregnant Frances McDormand before she tells us she's "good" and we begrudgingly go back to our seat is NOW!

Jerry, Stevie B, and the guy from The Lost World join in as this uncomfortable misunderstanding comes to a head and Asher, Chad and Sam struggle to agree how to talk this out.

We're officially in the non-mid-aughts-Halloween age! Slasher roots come home to nest in a metaphor that falls apart by the end of this sentence. John Carpenter is back as executive producer, and D G Green is in the chair. This is the most Jamie Lee Curtis of the Halloween trailers since Busta Rhymes was involved. Sam and Chad, of Movie Night Autopsy, talk about the trailer for the new Halloween movie brought to us by Blumhouse Productions in 2018. Today on Trailing Off.

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Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QG-55EKRcs

The Academy grasps at straws in hopes for ratings, only to renege after near universal backlash! Today on The Minute, Sam sits down again with Chad, of Movie Night Autopsy, and they go deep on the Oscar's role in the age of streaming services in light of the recent PR faux pa. More bits than info, but the bits ain't bad!

SOURCES:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/06/business/media/academy-awards-popular-film.html

https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/abc-oscar-changes-ratings-popular-film-1202899515/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/08/08/best-popular-film-oscars-announce-new-changes-to-upcoming-ceremonies-including-a-shorter-telecast/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.18702dc7ac8f