Middlebrow Madness Isabelle Arf and Derek Godin

Now I'm not one for boasting, sports fans, but this one is a corker. We have an instant-classic opening bit, a huge upset (wink), and an all-time difficult opening round matchup pitting two masterpieces that have a surprising amount in common despite the 75 years that separate them. Also Isabelle makes her co-host laugh the hardest he ever laughs, and Derek does a dramatic reading of an old film review of his. In short, another classic episode!

This week's matchups:
Reservoir Dogs v. The Bandit
The Great Dictator v. Mad Max: Fury Road

NOTE: During our discussion on The Great Dictator, Isabelle says that in Nazi Germany "Jewish people were fine with the Nazis" when she meant to say "The Nazis were fine with Jewish people." As ever, the context of the episode clarifies this. We trust your intelligence, dear listener, but we thought we'd point it out anyways just so we're crystal clear.

Kick a few bucks Palestine's way:
iF Charity
Palestine Children's Relief Fund

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord

NOTE: This episode contains discussions of suicide.

Sometimes the Universe gives you a gift, and sometimes that gift is a poisoned chalice. Sports fans, I have to tell you, our second matchup in this episode has no business happening in Round 1. But the Bracket Gods are capricious, and they will do as they please. In between discussing four very good-to-masterful movies, our intrepid hosts take the time to talk about Oddworld, arena football, #WhiteBoySummer, bar bands, and noted Isabelle reclamation project, Renny Harlin. There's even metagaming in this one.; In short, another classic episode!

This week's matchups:
The Apartment v. Mission: Impossible — Fallout
Star Wars v. Jaws

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord

Sports fans, as we being a-tumblin' down towards the end of round one, we encounter in these matchups a couple of mirrored pairs. We have two movies that our intrepid hosts revisit for the first time in a long time, and two masterpieces of their form, each close to one host's heart. Who will gracefully bow out? Who will live another day to possibly become the Greatest Movie of All Time*? What the f**k is up with Cluck Klosterman? The answer to these questions, dear listener, is yes.

This week's matchups:
Amélie v. Shutter Island
Raiders of the Lost Ark vs. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Orson Welles vs. John Landis | @JFrankensteiner on Twitter

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord

In the words of the great American philosopher Jon Bon Jovi, we're halfway there! Well, we're halfway through the first round of this white elephant we call the Middlebow Madness bracket, which means we're really only a quarter of the way there. In any case, our intrepid hosts take a load off and contemplate the road travelled between episodes 17 and 32. We name some superlatives, do a little metagaming, and crack a few jokes about spinach and morgellons. In short, sports fans: another classic episode!

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord

It was bound to happen sooner or later, sports fans: we finally cracked two hours. Naturally, this episode is packed to the gills with tangents about crawdads and Twitter Jail and Derek's dubious acting career. Not that there isn't any movie talk at all: Isabelle has a galaxy-brain take to end all galaxy-brain takes regarding one of our competitors, and Derek, well, he mostly just puts on his Film Bro(tm) hat on for this one. But any way you slice it, once these two matches are through, we will officially 25% of the way to figuring out what exactly is the #1 movie of all time!*

This week's matchups:
Incendies v. The Third Man
The Godfather v. Close-Up

Derek's Planes: Fire and Rescue review, via PopOptiq

NOTE: While discussing Incendies, Isabelle makes a few statements that are unclear and appear to directly conflate the Iranian revolution with the work of Sayyid Qutb. While Qutb was very influential both during and after the Iranian revolution, conflating his work with the revolution (and specifically Ruhollah Khomeini) is imprecise and simpler than she meant to imply.

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord

Sports fans, a good podcast episode is only as good as its digressions, and this one has several (shocking, I know). What do our intrepid hosts talk about that isn't the four movies listed below? Isabelle's corny jokes! Derek's pet theory about musical theatre! One of them reads a little Faulkner! Which host, you ask? Listen to yet another classic episode on the road to crowning The Greatest Movie of All Time* and find out! Punctuation!!!

This week's matchups:
Witness for the Prosecution v. Rang De Basanti
Coco v. Stalker

See the bracket [SPOILERS AHEAD]
Drop us a line: middlebrowmadness@gmail.com
Follow the show on Twitter: @middlebrowpod
Follow Isabelle on Twitter: @spacejamfan
Follow Derek on Twitter: @derek_g
Join the Middlebrow Madness Discord