iTunes Exclusive Episode Concussion

The following is a sooner orgator production.
Good morning!
Greetings, Empire member and or members.
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It also means you listen to the show on iTunes because it is time for another iTunes exclusive.
The 170 first one of these.
My name is Rob, I am the executive producer of the Clubhouse podcast and I have been
a football fan since long as I can remember because I come from a town where professional
football was the only professional sport we had.
But I'm not alone for this particular instance.
Joining me across the desk is my co-host and a man who will only root for one team in
the NFL but he'll root against another three.
He is Chad, well this is his very true.
Also joining for this edition is the official fact checker of this show and a man
that will only root for one team in the NFL but will root against 31 of them.
You may know him as fun, don't go but his mom and name him Don Ford, I'm going to call
him Don Ford.
Welcome sir.
Thank you sir.
Whenever we do one of these things, it is usually to review something and this is no exception.
Why?
Because the autumn wind is a rate that I was waiting for that.
Today of course you may have probably realized by now we are reviewing the latest film
from writer director Peter Landisman.
It is called concussion.
Peter Landisman you would know from Kis, killed the messenger.
This is the guy that wrote and directed Parkland by the way.
Oh, okay.
Yep.
So if you're going to follow up a movie where you document the 48 to 72
hours after a president Kennedy is shot and taken to the hospital in Dallas, let's do
some light fair like talking about brain damage and former NFL players.
Well, and of course this was a project that he kind of inherited.
It was kind of passed on to him by one Ridley Scott who produced it.
Well he was going to direct it.
He would direct this after Exodus but then he got pulled into doing the Martian.
This is based on a GQ article called Game Brain that was written by Jeanine or Jeanine.
He's Jean Maria Laskus.
It is the story of Dr. Bennet O'Maloo, sorry for that about that, played by Will Smith,
who is a pathologist in Don's favorite city of Pittsburgh, who basically performs
he works for the Morg, who is for the corner.
Yes, he's a forensic neurologist.
One day he has brought the body of deceased Steelers Center, well, I'm sorry, I just lost
my Webster, played by David Morse, an almost unrecognizable deep.
Oh, no, I knew who he was but it was still a brilliant one.
But I'm just saying you almost didn't recognize him with the amount of, I guess, prosthetics
they put on him.
And so the deeper that Dr. O'Maloo goes into the autopsy, the more he realizes that
something here is wrong.
Along with his mentor, Dr. Cyril Wect played by the amazing Albert Brooks.
They start doing this research on why the NFL hasn't found this before.
And it kind of gets a little JFK on you, because they're, there's, there's the deeper
they go, there's, there's, there tend, looks more like a conspiracy than anything else.
They end up hooking up with former Steelers team, Dr. Julian Bales played by Alec Baldwin.
They brilliant at what, at one point, all three of them were in a room together and I leaned
over to Chad and went, that's about $19 million dollars in the room.
And it also deals with this person a life where he takes on a roommate, a Prima Mooseo played
about Google, and about the raw, who you might remember last year from a movie called Bell,
which I have been told she is brilliant in.
Other people in this film, Michael Malley, who you might remember, I believe in King of
Queens, Hill Harper from CSI New York, on the huge fan of Stephen Moyers in this, Richard
T. Jones is in this, Paul Riser's in this, Luke Wilson's in this.
Yeah, Blake and you miss Paul Riser.
Before we begin, we have to thank everybody at Maroc, we have to thank Candace, and we
have to thank Ashley, and even we're going to miss her.
She's heading out for great greener pastures or a new turn in life.
We're going to miss Jim Ashton, but take your bait Maroc for a vines.
Thank you guys so much for having us out for this.
This is a solid two hours.
It is two hours in three minutes long.
I went into this thing, it is well documented on this show.
How much Oscar bait annoys me.
Yes.
When you have a film where you see the trailer and you're like, okay, this is just
an actor wants to get some recognition, so they're going to do this really intense portrayal
of something.
And I was like, I don't want to watch Will Smith choose scenery for two hours.
And then I sat down and then the movie started, because that's usually the way it works.
And what I found, was it Oscar bait?
Yes, I could still contend that it is, but not in a bad way.
First of all, this script is amazing.
And Don, I want to bury the lead with you for just a minute, because there's something
specific that I want to talk to you about when it comes to this script.
Yes.
Chad, you and I were going back and forth this entire film.
Yes.
Yes.
Of this story is amazing.
I am completely emotionally invested in this.
I was utterly amazed at how well the story was written.
Yeah, I mean, you came in with a slightly more pessimistic view on this film walking in.
I'm so slightly, I got to give you a little credit.
You didn't give too flips about seeing this thing.
I really didn't.
And even I was tired just down like, I don't know if I want to sit through this, because
I don't think it's going to be all that engaging.
We could not have been more of base within the first 20 minutes.
I looked at you.
I'm like impressions.
You're like, oh, I'm sold.
I'm so in.
This is, it's shot gorgeously, it's, I've got to hold off on the Will Smith thing, because
I really want to go to Don here and I want to ask you something specific about the script.
Thanks somebody who is from Pittsburgh.
You have family in Pittsburgh.
You visit Pittsburgh many, many times a year.
You are well entrenched in what Pittsburgh is.
Yeah.
Was there any uneasiness for you watching this story, fell out, because 80% of it takes place
in the city of Pittsburgh.
There are multiple shots of Heinz Field and all of these surrounding areas.
At one point, Prima calls it a rusty city.
Yeah, how were you with the way Pittsburgh was portrayed in this?
I'll be honest with you, it's, there's two cities, the historic and the new IT tech areas.
They're building up.
They're getting a lot of IT jobs in there.
But a lot of this was the former of these two.
Yeah, but it takes place in 2010.
I mean, it starts like 2003 or 2002 when Heinz Field was just open in 2001.
It's not the black city that you people hear about.
I mean, they really cleaned it up.
It has a beautiful skyline, everything like that.
But there are those historic things.
And honestly, it showed the burg, not the suburbs of the new IT, right?
Right.
Pittsburgh, the original Pittsburgh to a very good tea.
So you were okay with the way with the city of Pittsburgh?
He said the rusty thing.
That's the only thing to kind of, you know, but I put my, that was, that was her interpretation.
Yeah.
But I put my written via the clubhouseplacas.com.
That's our website.
Show the city to a team.
It's okay.
Yeah.
Because that's one of the things I was thinking about as we were watching this was,
you know, when bad boys came out, a lot of people came to me and said, Rob, how does this
portray your Miami, man?
I guess not my Miami.
So I was saying like, how was Don seeing what their portraying Pittsburgh to be versus what
he knows.
There's one scene where they're having dinner at night.
We're just a drink at night.
I've sat two tables over from that really.
Yes.
Okay.
I've been in a good mood with it.
Yeah.
I'm very good with it.
Show the city.
No.
I'm going to say this upfront.
Please do.
I'm reviewing this.
I know it shows, you know, iron mic.
It shows the team in a children Pittsburgh.
I watched this as, let's say this was the Minnesota Vikings or any other team.
Okay.
I put my bias.
Yeah.
But as a critic, how do you feel that the story was told?
Other than we've established, yes, about the pitch.
Yeah.
I mean, yeah.
But the portrayal, I thought was a spot on except for the rusty, but.
And a lot that did hit home because it's like, I mean, I've been there.
I've been there.
But to the storyline, I, you kept me into it.
Big time.
I love how they showed so many NFL hits that it's making the point.
How many times do we see headheads of different headheads from NFL footage during this film?
And for those of you that don't know, this story being based on the true story of what happened.
Yeah.
It is still being, the effects of this are still resonating today.
Yes.
Where they've changed the rules.
They've changed the way that they've shaped the helmets.
One of the hits you see Don Bibi.
Yeah.
He was a Buffalo Bill great when you see him land on his neck.
Oh, yeah.
I had that had the mushroom shaped helmet later in his career because of that.
This, this movie, you take what happened with that guy just getting suspended for a day because that hit.
Right.
And they're doing the right things.
But to the plot, I was really into this.
Keep in mind.
Keep in mind.
Keep in mind.
But until the very, very, the last 15, 20 minutes, I just thought it lost it.
And this is being spoiler free.
Right.
It just fast forward.
It's so much, because it really shows, it showed the in depth of how the, why they're looking into this and how they're starting to look into this and how they're getting all the evidence together.
Then they take on the NFL or they release it and the NFL is coming after them and all that stuff.
And that was so wonderful.
But, but then at the very last 20 minutes, just kind of fast forward.
So I agree with you.
Yeah.
That's why I could point on the plot.
No.
I don't really agree with you on that.
First 80% I love for me.
Yeah.
For me, I wanted more to see right before the time jump.
I wanted more information of that three year gap.
Exactly.
But it didn't take away from my enjoyment.
Yeah.
It's put a little like it.
It's like you're eating this incredible burger burger.
They get to last two bites.
It's like, oh man.
It is just that one little bite.
It's all fun.
Yeah.
It's all fun.
Yeah.
I loved it though.
But you get to the portrayals here.
I wanted to down Will Smith so badly.
And I'm a Will Smith fan for the most part.
What do you mean down?
I was ready to go to really.
But really.
But he crushed this thing.
I will say this.
The first couple minutes when he's putting that fake African accent in.
It kind of for the first couple minutes.
It kind of.
This is.
We can hear that.
But it's settled into it.
Yes.
That's what I'm trying to do.
But then it just.
You thought if I didn't think of him as Will Smith from Independence Day or men in black or all these other bad.
But this.
He really hit it in.
You thought him as a as a doctor.
You didn't think of him as Will Smith.
And he got used to the accent.
So yes, the portrayal wasn't was incredible.
Morse as Iron Mike.
Oh.
That's.
Morse is in the movie for probably what would you say chat about 15 minutes.
Give her take.
Yeah, give her take.
Almost steals the dog on.
Oh, yes.
Yes.
I'm a huge fan of David Morse.
Always have been.
And I was just like.
This dude killed it.
It killed so bad because you felt so bad.
But you're like.
There's a stealer fan.
That's.
It's pretty close to what happened because I.
You know, I write up on Iron Mike and stuff.
And basically he'm loving out the truck.
He has sun watch over him a little bit.
But that final end days.
That was what it was like the guy because it wasn't his fault.
It's he or his stand out here.
Yeah.
Of course.
Morse's stand.
He's the stand.
As good as Smith was, Morse just nailed it to the T.
And the thing that really this film started off where it's going to hit you.
Cause it showed the real footage of Morse.
I mean, Iron Mike being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
And you're watching that going.
There's something wrong.
They're with him trying to talk.
It's very well done.
Yeah.
That's how they put that.
That's why I love how they showed a lot of old news footage.
And reenacting some new stuff.
But when it starts off showing Iron Mike trying to talk at the Hall of Fame
Addiction start morning.
You know, you're looking there.
He's there's something wrong in this head.
That really hit you.
Okay.
Michael Mallie.
I thought was great as his boss.
He was actually on.
Yes.
He was on yesterday or not.
King of Queens.
I was mistaken there.
But for me.
Watching Smith Baldwin and Brooks work together.
Was an absolute thing of beauty.
These three.
Got it.
Got it on screen together.
And there was so much given take.
You never got the feeling that somebody was trying to get in front of somebody else.
They truly worked as a team both within the script and within the personalities.
I cannot say enough.
This to me could be the strongest portrayal in Will Smith all over third.
Broad getting close to 30 year career.
Absolutely.
He fell into this role.
Now don't look up the guy he plays until after you see the movie.
Because they looked nothing alike.
But he absolutely kills this thing.
His.
His chemistry with Google Mbatham bra.
I thought was it was there was a naturalness to that.
There was there was true emotion.
I felt between them.
That I.
I just I was speechless for most of this.
Yeah.
The acting was I.
This was absolutely brilliant.
There's no other way to say this.
Jack.
The the only the only complaints that I had about it.
And they are minimal at best.
Were were were.
She kind of got lost in the shuffle.
See, I read that in your review, which is at www.theclubhouse podcast.com.
That's what I'm saying.
And I kind of disagree with you a little bit.
I think that.
I you had said something about her being more of a cheerleader.
And I get that.
But.
I think that she fit well within the framework of what was going on.
No, and again, and again, don't get me wrong.
She did fit well with the framework was going on.
I just wanted to see more of her.
That's that's my only complaint that I just wanted more from her.
I wanted.
You put Paul Ryzer in your opening credits.
And I think you I only saw him for like 12 seconds.
Like I said, you blink in your missing.
And Luke Wilson is good.
Yeah.
I'm just like that scene.
I'm like a desperate attempt to.
Hey, I know that guy.
It was almost like a.
He was in a parody and a film.
It was.
You know, like hi.
I'm titties.
And I was talking to to friend of the show Kevin Daniels.
We can win with us last night from the movie Brothers.
By the way, check out their show on YouTube.
It's a great.
They do a lot of great movie reviews as well.
I.
He and I were talking about it.
And if Luke Wilson had been in just a little bit longer.
It almost would have taken me out of the film.
Mm-hmm.
Because it didn't work for me.
Yeah.
Look, Wilson.
Yeah.
It's good.
That.
That didn't work.
That's good.
And maybe it's because they weren't allowed to use any.
Any footage of him.
They could have paned off and not shown him.
I mean, I mean, or just maybe had a sound bite or something.
I don't know that you would have needed to put Roger get down on there.
But the guy that played technically, it was pretty.
Pretty close.
Yeah.
He.
That was a great portrayal.
Anything else we want to add before we get to the final analysis.
Because what more do you need to say about how great this movie is?
One thing was Matthew.
Will he guess.
As.
Strills.
Because.
Yeah.
That was a very strong.
Yeah.
It was not too much.
But it's like he goes and sees Iron Mike.
And then he ends up being Iron Mike.
Yes.
You know, that was so weird.
And these other players who were like, no, no, no.
Then they start realizing.
And it's it's no secret with say out and all these other people.
How some committed suicide just to.
It did a certain way so it helped.
Will.
That's actually featured on this.
He sees an of agents of shield.
He's one of those guys that's been in a ton of stuff.
He was he didn't have sort of grim.
He's in where the millers.
He plays the heavy in a lot of things.
Yes.
You could tell.
He's actually was actually had a little bit of an arc on NCIS.
He did a couple of episodes of Chuck, which I remember.
He reminds me a lot of a thinner Matuzak.
I can see that.
I can see why you would say that.
But I absolutely agree with you.
Don't I thought he was amazing in this.
Anything else gentlemen?
That should do it.
The way we do the final analysis on the shows a little bit different.
We don't give you thumbs up thumbs down.
We don't give you rankings one to ten.
We don't give you letter grades.
We don't give you stars.
We think that our audience wouldn't whom we affectionately refer to as the empire.
Once a little bit more.
So we're going to ask two questions.
Question number one is would you see this film again?
If the answer is no, we're done here.
The answer is yes.
Then it's going to be how far you will want to go to watch it.
Full run first run in the theaters.
Twilight show Matinee early morning on a weekend.
Second run in the dollar theater.
Red box.
Streaming on Netflix cable.
Chad.
Did you see this film again?
Yes.
How far you want to go?
I'd go see it Matinee.
And I would want to take somebody with me who is a die-hard football fan or who has children that play
P. We football.
They're enough.
And say, just watch, just keep an open mind and just see what could happen if this is the path
they decide to go on as a career.
Don't.
Definitely.
How far you want to go?
Because of that last bite of just fun, I'm going to say Twilight.
But beyond that, I thought it was incredible beyond that.
So the city perfectly.
I wouldn't be offended to pay full price for this.
No.
I don't know.
I mean, it's that good.
Yeah.
I mean, it's, it absolutely destroyed my expectations.
It completely turned me around.
I am highly recommending concussion.
Written and directed by Peter Lendisman.
If you're hearing this review, it's out there now.
Now, do we see Oscar Noms?
Do you think for some?
Yes.
Real Smith will.
He's out there for the Golden Globe.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think Morris deserves even though it's so, I wish he had
as part was longer say he'd get a nod.
But before we look ahead out,
I want to thank everybody at Maroc.
Candace.
Everybody provide this thing in action.
We're going to miss you.
Let's do the plugs.
Okay.
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Outstanding.
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So till the next time we get to hang out.
For Don, for Chad, for the Empire.
I'm Rob.
Clubhouse is closed.
Brittany Palmer.
Cheerleader.
Get it done.
The preceding was a sooner orgator production.
Get it done.
Why?
Because I have to.