Not Playing With Lex And Dan

We’re back, tracking down a techie McGuffin in the seventh installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, the concisely named Furious 7. Hot topics include the rat-a-tat nature of stunt sequences, whether this series would be better with supernatural elements, how far we can push miraculous healing, and the continued lack of development of female characters. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

To London we go in this, the sixth installment of The Fast and the Furious series, 2013’s Fast & Furious 6. Hot topics include when a twist is not a twist, the increasingly comic book superhero nature of these films, too long runways, and why some characters just have to die. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’re back, and it’s off to Brazil we go as we go from car racing to out-and-out robbery in the fifth installment of The Fast and Furious franchise, 2011’s Fast Five. Hot topics include whether The Rock can redeem this franchise, the trouble with rooting for bad guys, giving as good as you get in a fight, and, of course, massive amounts of collateral damage. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We may not be fast, but we’re definitely a little angry as we slog through the desert on the way to the fourth installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, Fast & Furious. Hot topics include twists that nobody cared about, an ever-so-marginally better treatment of women, bizarre chronology rearrangement, and why they keep making the same movie. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Hop the plane to Japan, because we’re drifting right into the third installment of The Fast and the Furious franchise, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Hot topics include the inexcusable objectification of women right off the bat, unfortunate accents, why everybody inexplicably wants to give the main character things, and, of course…the drift. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Hit the NOS and jump that bridge! We’re back with the second installment of our trip through The Fast and the Furious franchise, 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious. Hot topics include going all-in on sequel names right away, cookie-cutter villains, literally removing the voice of female characters, and are we having fun yet? Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’re kicking off Season 5 of Not Playing by getting all speed and irascible with the first installment of the the storied automotive action franchise, 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. Hot topics include how bad a cop Brian O’Conner is, the disappointing treatment of female characters circa 2001, and why exactly this movie spawned an action franchise. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’ve got a good feeling about this. It’s member season around these parts, and Lex and Dan are back to their old Star Wars tricks, especially for you. Join daredevil pilot Dan Moren and charming gambler Lex Friedman as they steal away with 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story. Hot topics include whoever the hell Laredo is, speaking the Wookiee language, the somewhat mystifying fate of Qi’ra, and why Woody Harrelson playing a Woody Harrelson character is always a good thing. Plus, we quickly deliver some angry news about the upcoming Not Playing Season 5. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Season 4 of Not Playing draws to a close with a dealer’s choice: 2012’s Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, and released on the 50th anniversary of the franchise. A fitting end. Hot topics include salt and pepper beards, Bond age, throwbacks to the beginning of the franchise, and what might be in store for season 5. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

James Bond is a hard man to catch up to, but Dan and Lex have done just that as they sit down to watch the role’s current (as of this recording) portrayer, Daniel Craig, in his debut outing: 2006’s Casino Royale. Hot topics include why blondes have more fun, Lex’s infuriation about onscreen poker protocol, and the secret origins of 007. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

We’ve hit the ’90s and with it the tenure of the effortlessly cool Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. Lex and Dan settle in for his debut in the role in 1995’s GoldenEye. Hot topics include having your grim cake and eating it too, why the popular video game may be better than the movie, and how not to handle sexual harassment. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

It’s the first of Timothy Dalton’s two outings as 007: 1987’s The Living Daylights, and Dan and Lex are buckled in for a new, more serious Bond. Hot topics include the regression of female characters, a decided lack of Bond-ish one liners, and oh my god is there skiing in this movie too? Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

It’s on to one of the longest-tenured Bonds—and the first English actor to play him—Sir Roger Moore. Dan and Lex take on 1981’s For Your Eyes Only, the fifth of Moore’s seven outings. Hot topics include Blofeld’s side gig on a particular Disney ride, a strange point of continuity, why you should always pick a car that rolls, and yet another winter chase sequence. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Filling Sean Connery’s shoes is no easy task, perhaps even more so when you’re an Australian model. Dan and Lex return to consider the second actor to fill the title role in the storied franchise, and the only one with a single credit to his name: George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Hot topics include questionable parenting decisions, lengthy winter wonderchases, under- and overcranking, and exactly why this never happened to the other guy. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks!

Four. Season four. Not Playing is back, and this time around we’re delving into a fifty-plus year franchise with its fair share of fans and detractors: James Bond. We’ll be picking the best entry from the tenure of each actor to play the legendary secret agent. To kick it off, we’ll be starting with perhaps the most iconic movie in the franchise: 1964’s Goldfinger, starring future Russian submarine captain Sean Connery. Hot topics include something familiar about the personage of our villain, just how long it takes to paint someone to death, and, the relative wokeness of the James Bond franchise. (Spoiler: Not very.) Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support i

This is not going to go the way you think. Or will it? For this special bonus episode, we watch the most recent movie ever to appear on the show, and round out our viewing of one of the world’s biggest franchises. Join grumpy sequestered Jedi Master Dan Moren and enthusiastic would-be trainee Lex Friedman as they team up to check out 2017’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Hot topics include “how do you pronounce the director’s name?”, alienation that has only a little to do with aliens, and the question that’s on everyone’s mind: What is wrong with Lex Friedman? Plus, some TOP SECRET info on the upcoming season four of Not Playing. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little s

The circle is now complete. We conclude our viewing of the Star Wars saga—for now, anyway—with the most recent installment in the main sequence of movies. Grizzled smuggler Dan Moren teams up with desert scavenger Lex Friedman to take in the spectacle that is 2015’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Hot topics include Kylo Ren as a Vader wannabe, how to get just the right amount of C-3PO, and, of course, the fact that Supreme Leader Snoke is a dumb name. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

In our penultimate episode, we close out the original trilogy with the movie that began a sixteen year hiatus of the Star Wars franchise. Lovable Ewok Dan Moren leads rebel commando Lex Friedman through the 1983 version of Return of the Jedi. Hot topics include distracting alien effects, much ado about Admiral Ackbar’s famous line, what the heck the deal with Force ghosts is, and, of course, whether the film is a Vader apologia. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

We return to season 3 of Not Playing with the rare sequel that arguably surpasses its predecessor—at least as far as one of our panelists is concerned. Roguish smuggler Lex Friedman puts his trust in card player, gambler, and scoundrel Dan Moren to lead him through the 1980 masterpiece The Empire Strikes Back. Hot topics include the most awkward dinner ever, disconcerting tauntaun animations, and, of course, why puppet Yoda is better than CGI Yoda. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.

On to the main course. It’s the 1977 classic that started this whole thing: Star Wars. (And not with any of that “Episode IV” jazz or anything.) Crazy old wizard Dan Moren and whiny farm boy Lex Friedman embark upon the epic beginning of the franchise as season 3 of Not Playing passes the mid-point. Hot topics include the names of Tatooine’s two suns, the weird slightly retconnings of Rogue One, whether or not the Millennium Falcon really is a hunk of junk, and, of course, why Obi-Wan Kenobi calls his old buddy “Darth”. Programming Note: In addition to this capsule episode, which contains our discussion before and after the film, members can watch along with Lex and Dan in a full-length commentary track, available in the members-only First Class feed. If you’re not already a member, why not sign up? And if you are, now’s a great time to update your membership allocations and maybe throw a little support in the direction of Not Playing. Thanks! Lex Friedman and Dan Moren.