Episode #245 - Money Plane

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

23 hours ago, Cameron H. said:

I think it’s safe to say we were all a little disappointed in the games offered on the Money Plane. Out of curiosity, what kind of depraved attractions were you hoping would be featured on board?

Definitely more card games 

[Cameron H. 23786]

1 minute ago, AlmostAGhost said:

Definitely more card games 

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

3 minutes ago, Cameron H. said:

[Cameron H. 23786]

16 minutes ago, AlmostAGhost said:

[Schadenfreude 2]

Not to be that guy, but Paul said there were 7 reviews and 38% of them were 5 star. This is impossible. 2 out of 7 would be 29% and 3 out of 7 would be 43%. More likely, there were 8 reviews with 3 five-stars

[Elektra Boogaloo 3371]

I am sad Jason doesn’t remember how June loves a plane movie, but happy to know that Paul and June’s first date was “Snakes on a Plane.”

[RyanSz 3140]

Another game I would have loved to seen played out was from an old Tales From the Crypt episode where two rivals play cards and whoever loses the hand loses a finger and then toe before moving on to other limbs. Was a pretty good episode and had a good amount of tension in the game because the risk was clear and understandable to the viewer.

[Blast Hardcheese 636]

On 7/31/2020 at 4:44 PM, AdrianFlynn said:

They will eventually release swordfish 

Okay, so this explains why the 2:22 live episode hasn't been released yet. Or possibly that movie was a really bad experience all around.

Maybe this was addressed in Money Plane and also by the gang, but a huge oversight of playing Russian roulette on an airplane is the potential for a bullet to exit the player's skull, go through the plane's fuselage and depressurize the cabin while in flight.

This episode features yet another great #howdidwegetscheer story to add to the Howdies. Getting MJH to sign Paul's failed math homework was diabolically genius. These stories absolutely need to be catalogued.

Like Paul, I too have fallen under the spell of matte black finishes on cars. I'm not a car guy by any means, but I have to admit matte black paint jobs on most cars (especially of the classic muscle variety) look pretty damn cool. And, since it was also brought up by Jason (and it's one of my favorite films of all time), the story behind why the police cars in  RoboCop are painted matte black is a happy accident. In this movie, RoboCop is supposed to have his own, Batman-like vehicle called the "Robo-Mobile" (or the "Turbo-Car"). However, when the final product arrived on set, it was met with laughter and abject ridicule from the crew. As the film's director and producers panicked and weighed their options, a then-brand new Ford Taurus drove by. Noting the sedan's rounded features (most car's silhouettes in the 1980's were square and boxy), the Taurus, they felt, looked bold and futuristic enough (again, for the era). They went to a rental car agency to rent a Taurus and dressed for the movie using--you guessed it--matte black paint. The OCP patrol car they created fit the bill, so the production secured a couple more Tauruses for the film. The OCP patrol car has gone on to become a pretty iconic part of this franchise, having appeared in all three original movies. There have been toy cars, model kits of this vehicle and even fan-produced replicas ("cars-players?"--sorry).

[Smigg. 509]

7 hours ago, Blast Hardcheese said:

Okay, so this explains why the 2:22 live episode hasn't been released yet. Or possibly that movie was a really bad experience all around.

Maybe this was addressed in Money Plane and also by the gang, but a huge oversight of playing Russian roulette on an airplane is the potential for a bullet to exit the player's skull, go through the plane's fuselage and depressurize the cabin while in flight.

This episode features yet another great #howdidwegetscheer story to add to the Howdies. Getting MJH to sign Paul's failed math homework was diabolically genius. These stories absolutely need to be catalogued.

Like Paul, I too have fallen under the spell of matte black finishes on cars. I'm not a car guy by any means, but I have to admit matte black paint jobs on most cars (especially of the classic muscle variety) look pretty damn cool. And, since it was also brought up by Jason (and it's one of my favorite films of all time), the story behind why the police cars in  RoboCop are painted matte black is a happy accident. In this movie, RoboCop is supposed to have his own, Batman-like vehicle called the "Robo-Mobile" (or the "Turbo-Car"). However, when the final product arrived on set, it was met with laughter and abject ridicule from the crew. As the film's director and producers panicked and weighed their options, a then-brand new Ford Taurus drove by. Noting the sedan's rounded features (most car's silhouettes in the 1980's were square and boxy), the Taurus, they felt, looked bold and futuristic enough (again, for the era). They went to a rental car agency to rent a Taurus and dressed for the movie using--you guessed it--matte black paint. The OCP patrol car they created fit the bill, so the production secured a couple more Tauruses for the film. The OCP patrol car has gone on to become a pretty iconic part of this franchise, having appeared in all three original movies. There have been toy cars, model kits of this vehicle and even fan-produced replicas ("cars-players?"--sorry).

If it turns out he's sitting on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation...

[RyanSz 3140]

2 minutes ago, Smigg. said:

If it turns out he's sitting on Mortal Kombat: Annihilation...

Recently re-watched it with friends who have never seen it, but I couldn't find my double movie DVD of it and the first film, so we went to Youtube where someone made a playlist of the movie that was over 30 clips long. It cut out the bullcrap exposition parts of the film like talking about the gerbil balls in the crust of the Earth and Raiden pleading for mercy from the Elder Gods, and is mostly just the fight scenes. Some of the scenes are dubbed over in Russian as well, and it was still a much better viewing experience than watching the original cut.

[Smigg. 509]

1 minute ago, RyanSz said:

Recently re-watched it with friends who have never seen it, but I couldn't find my double movie DVD of it and the first film, so we went to Youtube where someone made a playlist of the movie that was over 30 clips long. It cut out the bullcrap exposition parts of the film like talking about the gerbil balls in the crust of the Earth and Raiden pleading for mercy from the Elder Gods, and is mostly just the fight scenes. Some of the scenes are dubbed over in Russian as well, and it was still a much better viewing experience than watching the original cut.

 

My dad managed to fall asleep when we watched it in the cinema.  Goes to show you just how bad it was, a loud-ass movie like that, and it still lulled him to sleep.

[Cam Bert 8145]

Say what you will about how poorly written this movie is with glaring plot holes and story elements that make no sense. The one thing they did nail though is that McGuillicuddy's passport he uses to get onto the Money Plane is in fact an Irish passport. Only in this one small area did they have an eye for details.

[E.Lerner 111]

On 7/31/2020 at 8:12 PM, Robert Denby said:

I realize it’s a cliché, but this movie really needed an over-the-top Nick Cage-level performance from the lead. Edge plays it as if he’s taking this role seriously, which is completely wrong for this flick. Rest his soul, but imagine Roddy Piper in this role. It would make this movie transcendent. 

This question is probably exclusively to Smigg: Would Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley been a better lead for this? I've not seen any of his film performances, but he struck me as the only choice for Nada if they were going to make They Live with a current wrestler. 

And it speaks to the movie's tonal confusion that Edge didn't get to do much wrestling or comedy despite being the main character. It was honestly sad seeing him floundering up there as the straight-man; if the movie had actually leaned into being a Fast & Furious spoof, he might have had a chance to flex some of his natural charisma.  

[Smigg. 509]

14 minutes ago, E.Lerner said:

This question is probably exclusively to Smigg: Would Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley been a better lead for this? I've not seen any of his film performances, but he struck me as the only choice for Nada if they were going to make They Live with a current wrestler. 

And it speaks to the movie's tonal confusion that Edge didn't get to do much wrestling or comedy despite being the main character. It was honestly sad seeing him floundering up there as the straight-man; if the movie had actually leaned into being a Fast & Furious spoof, he might have had a chance to flex some of his natural charisma.  

 

I think the problem with Edge was that he was too close to a comeback, and probably didn't want to risk aggrevating his injuries, which is why you didn't see too much action from him, and probably shot around him.  But, you're right, he'd have been more suited to a comedic role.

In terms of them casting a wrestler in the role, maybe someone like the former Wade Barrett.  He's believeable as a tough-guy fighter, but also has that "cool" look about him to fit into the heist genre.  That being said, if June thought Edge was too big, the even bigger Wade Barrett would be even worse for her.

[The_Triple_Lindy 2482]

AMAZING COINCIDENCE ALERT!

So, Adam Copeland wrestles under the ringname "Edge."

Katrina Norman is originally a dancer who, according to her wikipedia page, trained "with the industry's top choreographers at the renowned EDGE [sic] Performing Arts Center."

There ... that's all I have.

[RyanSz 3140]

1 hour ago, E.Lerner said:

This question is probably exclusively to Smigg: Would Dean Ambrose/Jon Moxley been a better lead for this? I've not seen any of his film performances, but he struck me as the only choice for Nada if they were going to make They Live with a current wrestler. 

And it speaks to the movie's tonal confusion that Edge didn't get to do much wrestling or comedy despite being the main character. It was honestly sad seeing him floundering up there as the straight-man; if the movie had actually leaned into being a Fast & Furious spoof, he might have had a chance to flex some of his natural charisma.  

If anything Moxley has shown he's horrible with any script given to him, and works better when speaking with a looser leash. His acting performances were all pretty wooden and probably would have been worse than Edge outside of doing more in the fight scenes as he's still in relatively good health. He could have worked as Nada as that rol is really made by the physicality of the character and being able to fire out one-liners which he'd be great for.

21 minutes ago, Smigg. said:

 

I think the problem with Edge was that he was too close to a comeback, and probably didn't want to risk aggrevating his injuries, which is why you didn't see too much action from him, and probably shot around him.  But, you're right, he'd have been more suited to a comedic role.

In terms of them casting a wrestler in the role, maybe someone like the former Wade Barrett.  He's believeable as a tough-guy fighter, but also has that "cool" look about him to fit into the heist genre.  That being said, if June thought Edge was too big, the even bigger Wade Barrett would be even worse for her.

I'm honestly surprised that they were able to get the two matches that they did out of Edge in this most recent run, considering Edge's neck is in such more precarious condition than someone like Daniel Bryan who came back after years of physical therapy and improved brain scans. Though it's understandable considering the matches Edge had were filmed over the course of hours and edited down before broadcast, so they could work at a more even pace than if they were in front of a live crowd.

[Smigg. 509]

10 minutes ago, RyanSz said:

If anything Moxley has shown he's horrible with any script given to him, and works better when speaking with a looser leash. His acting performances were all pretty wooden and probably would have been worse than Edge outside of doing more in the fight scenes as he's still in relatively good health. He could have worked as Nada as that rol is really made by the physicality of the character and being able to fire out one-liners which he'd be great for.

I'm honestly surprised that they were able to get the two matches that they did out of Edge in this most recent run, considering Edge's neck is in such more precarious condition than someone like Daniel Bryan who came back after years of physical therapy and improved brain scans. Though it's understandable considering the matches Edge had were filmed over the course of hours and edited down before broadcast, so they could work at a more even pace than if they were in front of a live crowd.

 

Edge basically went to WWE and said "I want to come back, and if you don't want me, then I'm going to AEW, either way, I'm getting back in the ring".

[RyanSz 3140]

5 minutes ago, Smigg. said:

 

Edge basically went to WWE and said "I want to come back, and if you don't want me, then I'm going to AEW, either way, I'm getting back in the ring".

Which is fine he feels that way, but when your neck is basically held together by bolts and a prayer, you really need to consider your well being and what your family will live with if the worst happens in the ring.  I mean Edge is a student of the business and has seen what happens to the guys who stick around past their expiration date in the ring. I mean I've met veterans who could barely move after sticking around or had such horrible Parkinson's that their signature was basically a squiggly line, so it was odd to see him make that same choice after basically making as clean an exit as you could in wrestling. I get the WWE wasn't going to give their newest competitor a huge bullet to fire back at them and I like how they've done their best to protect Edge in all of this, but even then wrestling being unpredictable like it is , can always have dangerous outcomes, as shown by Edge's most recent injury.

[Smigg. 509]

5 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Which is fine he feels that way, but when your neck is basically held together by bolts and a prayer, you really need to consider your well being and what your family will live with if the worst happens in the ring.  I mean Edge is a student of the business and has seen what happens to the guys who stick around past their expiration date in the ring. I mean I've met veterans who could barely move after sticking around or had such horrible Parkinson's that their signature was basically a squiggly line, so it was odd to see him make that same choice after basically making as clean an exit as you could in wrestling. I get the WWE wasn't going to give their newest competitor a huge bullet to fire back at them and I like how they've done their best to protect Edge in all of this, but even then wrestling being unpredictable like it is , can always have dangerous outcomes, as shown by Edge's most recent injury.

 

Especially when you have Paige, who had to retire from a similar issue aged 25, and they insist that she's never gonna come back, and Edge came back aged 46, every bump he takes makes me wince a little.

Then again, every time someone jumps off the ropes and lands on their feet, I still cringe because of the Sid Vicious injury.

[RyanSz 3140]

9 minutes ago, Smigg. said:

 

Especially when you have Paige, who had to retire from a similar issue aged 25, and they insist that she's never gonna come back, and Edge came back aged 46, every bump he takes makes me wince a little.

Then again, every time someone jumps off the ropes and lands on their feet, I still cringe because of the Sid Vicious injury.

Yeah that's in my top five and it still amazes me that Jim Cornette wasn't even more injured when he fell directly onto his feet from the raised scaffold during the Road Warriors/Midnight Express Scaffold Match. But in all fairness a guy as big as Sid has no business getting anywhere near the turnbuckle to do a jumping maneuver.

[Smigg. 509]

9 hours ago, RyanSz said:

Yeah that's in my top five and it still amazes me that Jim Cornette wasn't even more injured when he fell directly onto his feet from the raised scaffold during the Road Warriors/Midnight Express Scaffold Match. But in all fairness a guy as big as Sid has no business getting anywhere near the turnbuckle to do a jumping maneuver.

Oh god, that Jim Cornette one.  His telling of the story, when he said that "In a wrestling ring, there's a little give, and you bounce a little, I didn't bounce, and that just made it worse".

With Sid, that was basically John Laurinitis saying to him "You're our top babyface right now, you need some flashier moves", Sid said "Well, if I'm the top babyface, I must be doing something that's getting me over, so what do I need to do?!" John then pretty much said "I want you to do aerial moves, do that big boot off the second top".  When Sid protested, he was told "Well, if you don't do it, then maybe you don't need to be working here anymore".

Then we saw what happened.

Goes to show you how messed up that whole company was, that they were willing to fire the guy who they admitted was their top babyface at the time, because he didn't want to do a move that could, and did, horribly injure him.

[Cam Bert 8145]

I'm not saying that The Concierge and The Bookkeeper wanted their plane to be robbed, but I think that they knew it was being robbed and didn't really care. First, the excellent pilots. They make it a point to mention how smooth and seamless the take off was. Yet later in the flight the plane starts bobbing and weaving about and all they can say "I assure you we have excellent pilots." Don't you think somebody in charge might check with the pilot if there is a problem or if they hit turbulence or something. Nope. Just carry on business as usual and lots not think about this or look into it anymore. Later on when token female member of the team needs to sex up a guard, Edge puts on some rock music. This entire flight has gone music-less and then all of a sudden a rock song starts playing and as suddenly as it starts it also ends. Everybody aboard looked confused by this but did The Concierge or The Bookkeeper go to check out what the deal was? Nope. That was odd but carry on. Finally the moment Edge plays the Grumble ranting over the loud speaker The Concierge is immediately on the phone with ground people to take him out. The message wasn't even half way done by the time this call was made. I'm thinking that they knew from the start an attempt was going to be made on the plane. They just wanted to find out who was behind it to get their revenge. They let all this carry out and the moment The Concierge heard the voice he picked up the phone to a team that was already on standby. In reality this is a bumbling team of useless losers who were lucky enough to rob a casino plane that was more concerned with landing a bigger fish than stopping them.

[melodie 4]

Similarly to June, I also had a lot of questions about the legal aspect of having a criminal casino on a plane. But I thought to myself: "I can finally use that transportation law class I took in law school". 

Most of this is managed by the Tokyo Convention of 1963, which has been signed by 186 countries, including the United States and my home country of France. To summarise it, the State of registration of the aircraft is competent to exercise jurisdiction over offences and acts committed on board even in international air space. I would point out that it is illegal to buy a plane and not register it; this would fall under the jurisdiction of the country in which the sale happened. But if we assume that the plane is registered, it is actually fairly simple to determine the jurisdiction of a plane, and therefore none of these activities would escape the law just because they are in international air space. It would be a different story if this was not a money plane, but a money skydiving session (sequel?). 

Fun fact, a way more complicated question is the citizenship of a baby born on board of a plane whilst flying in international air space. This actually depends on a lot of factors but in some cases, a baby could have a claim to U.S. citizenship if they were born in a plane within 12-nautical miles of the ground, the delimitation of international air space. In other cases, a baby could even become stateless, i.e. with no citizenship. 

Who thinks transportation and international law is a blow-off class now, dad ? 

[Smigg. 509]

What the film doesn't tell you, is that if Edge would have been arrested for his crime, he'd have had to go to Wrestlers' Court.

What is Wrestlers' Court?  Well, I'm glad you asked, Timothy. 

Wrestlers' Court was an arbitration process in the wrestling business, set up by "Dirty" Dutch Mantell to settle disputes between wrestlers, so that the promoters didn't have to get involved.  In WWE, there was a prosecutor, who would represent "The Locker Room" as a whole, this was the role usually taken on by John "Bradshaw" Layfield, who would bring forth charges against the defendants.  The defendants had the option of hiring another wrestler to act as a lawyer to defend them.  There was a bailiff to keep order, this was usually Kane, because he's massive.  And then there's the Judge, that was usually the most respected man in the locker room, The Undertaker.  Although, others have filled the role, like Triple H.

So, what would happen is, someone would be summoned to the Court under charges, the prosecution would present the evidence, witnesses would be called, and then The Undertaker would decide whether the defendant was guilty, and what their punishment would be.  However, this court was a corrupt one, and cases have been dismissed thanks to tactical purchases of Jack Daniels, and other gifts.

Some of the more notable cases were:

This week's movie's star, Edge, his tag team partner Christian, and WWE writer Brian Gewirtz, for being too friendly.  Edge & Christian were buddying up to Gewirtz for TV time, and Gewirtz was giving them "Better material because they kissed his ass".   Charges were dropped after buying The Undertaker a bottle of Jack Daniels

Mick Foley and Al Snow were charged for leaving Bob "Hardcore" Holly at the Airport, to go to a funfair.  Foley and Snow had to pay for Hardcore Holly's travel, and Hotel, for a week.

Teddy Long was accused by The APA (Bradshaw & Faarooq) of "being a cheap motherfucker", by pretending to fall asleep at toll booths, and "Forgetting" his wallet.  He was sentenced to pay for the APA's Chicken & Beer for a month.

Teddy Long, again, this time for "Procuring Viagra, and selling it for a profit".  I don't know the sentence for this.

Bill Goldberg, was charged with disrespecting Chris Jericho.  He was sentenced to standing in front of the whole roster, and admitting that Chris Jericho is more talented than he ever will be.

Melina was charged for "being a bitch".  She was basically made to cry in front of everyone.

Muhammad Hassan was charged for "disrespecting a veteran", when he told Eddie Guerrero to stop using his finisher, the Camel Clutch.  What Hassan didn't know was Guerrero's father actually invented to move.  Hassan was sentenced to pay the entire roster's bar tab for the evening, which was said to have been over $5000

The Hardy Boyz, for sitting in Kane's first class seat on a plane, causing Kane to sit in an economy seat.  While Kane was fine with it, The Undertaker believed that the 7' Kane should not be made to squeeze into a coach seat.  The sentence was to prank another wrestler by breaking toothpicks in the locks of his car.

The Miz, for eating chicken over Chris Benoit's bag.  His sentence was that he was banned from the locker toom, and get changed in the public toilets.

Simon Dean, for suggesting how a segment could be improved to Roddy Piper, this is a big no-no.  So, he was sentenced to having his bags thrown in the showers.

Shawn Daivari, for answering back to Shawn Michaels.  He was sentenced to doing 1000 squats with Chris Benoit.
 

[jjulius 16]

I can't believe they didn't talk about my man J.R. Crocket and his amazing fake mustache.

Other things I loved: the on screen text for the locations. At the museum is just says "art museum". At the Money Plane Terminal, it says "Money Plane Terminal. Undisclosed Location." Undisclosed to whom? The characters all know where it is, there's no plot point of having to figure out where the Money Plane takes off, and it seems to be just an airport: there's even other airplanes, presumably not related to the Money Plane scheme. The only people to whom the location is undisclosed is us, the audience.

The opening narration is also great. "A job well done has three critical parts. 1: The team. 2: There's how things are, and how things appear to be. 3: Your plan A is only as good as your plan B."
The last two statements are in no way 'parts of a job'. The movie literally forgets what its opening narration is supposed to be listing after one item.