In 2005 (and 2008 for the American translation), the posthumous release of Swedish author Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy" took the world by storm. A series of Swedish cinematic adaptations soon followed, making even bigger pop culture icons of the characters of Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, the punk computer hacker with a mysterious past. And then, Hollywood decided to take their crack at it...not once, but twice. And we're investigating both, with our "The Girl with the Failed February Franchises" theme month! First, a look at 2011's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Directed by David Fincher and starring Daniel Craig as Blomkvist and Rooney Mara as Salander, the American adaptation was seen by some as a more prestigious adaptation of the first book in Larsson's series; a surefire awards contender and franchise starter. But was it released too soon after the Swedish films? Was its subject matter actually too dark for American audiences, especially given its Christmas release? We explore these questions and more, including how the film rates as part of Fincher's overall filmography, and what it meant for his career moving forward.

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"Thomas JANEuary" concludes with 2018's The Predator, an attempt to resurrect, revitalize, and "event-ize" the classic sci-fi action franchise. To do so, 20th Century Fox recruited famed Hollywood action screenwriter and the acclaimed director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys, and Iron Man 3 (and co-star of the original Predator movie), Shane Black, as well as his former Monster Squad collaborator Fred Dekker, to helm a new entry with an interesting ensemble cast. But The Predator would face a particularly rocky road to the big screen, and we're here to discuss the film's various production headaches and controversies...and explore the important question of the month = what's the deal with Thomas Jane in this one??

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We recently realized, though it was never our specific intention, that we covered Thomas Jane movies the last two January's of this podcast. So, what the heck...let's lean in! Welcome to "Thomas JANEuary," a two-episode tribute to the rugged, prickly, shoe-hating star of The Punisher, The Mist, Mutant Chronicles, HBO's Hung, and so much more. First up, we're looking at 2010's Give 'Em Hell, Malone. A relic from the dying days of the DTV era, this indie neo-noir thriller seeks to pay tribute to the hardboiled PI stories and classic film noirs of old...whether or not it truly has the budget to do so. Can Thomas Jane effectively channel the spirit of Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer, and other classic hardboiled heroes? Can Highlander director Russell Mulcahy still conjure the same sort of visual dynamism with a much lower budget? And where does the line between loving genre pastiche and cynical genre parody truly begin, or end? We discuss all this and more, as we give 'em hell, Malone.

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A new year is almost upon us, but you know what they say: the holiday season isn't officially over until you've listened to part two of "Failure to Franchise presents Trev & Chris-tmas." This time, Trev gifts Chris the long-in-the-works passion project of legendary filmmaker James Cameron, the cyberpunk manga adaptation Alita: Battle Angel. But, wait...if this was Cameron's passion project, why the heck is it directed by Robert Rodriguez? We discuss that and more, including the unique marriage of Cameron and Rodriguez's sensibilities, the eclectic but sometimes wasted cast, and the strengths and weaknesses of the film's worldbuilding. It's a movie that James Cameron still insists will get a sequel, and as the recent Avatar: Fire & Ash box office proves once again, you can never count Big Jim out. But do we really believe him about this one? And do we even want a sequel? Listen on and find out.

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It's that most wonderful time of the year, and "Failure to Franchise Presents Trev and Chris-tmas" kicks off with a timely look at a sci-fi action take on one of the most important, iconic, and revered properties of all time. And to be sure, 2014's I, Frankenstein pays homage to Mary Shelley's beloved creation by including all the most cherished elements of her classic novel...the heroic gargoyles who are actually angels; the evil human businessman who is secretly an ancient demon; the Filipino Kali stick fighting! Well, okay...maybe this movie took some liberties with the source material. But, amongst all these strange and surprising additions to the Frankenstein mythology we all know and love, we're here to dive into the real important question at the heart of this movie - what the heck is the deal with Aaron Eckhart's career??

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It's a very special F2F Holiday Special! Before we exchange our gifts for our next annual "Failure to Franchise presents Trev & Chris-tmas," we're taking a brief, merry break to visit one of the most beloved Christmas movies of all time, and arguably the last movie to date to enter the "Classic Christmas Movie" canon, 2003's Elf. Directed by a pre-Iron Man and Star Wars Jon Favreau, and starring Will Ferrell in his first major leading role, Elf was a giant hit upon release and continues to delight audiences of all ages every holiday season to this very day...so why was there never a sequel? And, is it possible for anyone not to be entirely charmed by the film? We explore both questions, before gifting each other our next two movies!

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"CROWvember" concludes! Not with another Russell Crowe movie, but with the actual bird! Sorta? I dunno, just roll with us here, as we look at 2024's The Crow, a long-gestating comic book movie franchise reboot that went through a lot of permutations, with multiple directors and leading men attached, before finally arriving (with Rupert Sanders at the helm and Bill Skarsgard in the lead role), and being met with a combination of audience apathy and outright anger. But is the movie better than the reputation it immediately cultivated? Is it a worthy part of the Crow franchise legacy? And does it justify its own existence, despite the concerns of many that it was disrespectful to Brandon Lee and the tragedy of the original film to even make this movie in the first place?

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New month, new theme. We're kicking off "CROWvember" with yet another failed franchise starter from the surprisingly-regularly-featured-on-F2F Russell Crowe. But this time, it's a classy, prestige play Oscar contender from acclaimed filmmaker Peter Weir that was, nevertheless, meant to hopefully kick off a cinematic series. Adapted from the long-running "Aubrey/Maturin" period war-drama novel series by Patrick O'Brian, 2003's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a rousing 19th century naval battle action epic. But for all the excitement of ship vs. ship conflict, at the heart of the film is a story of loyalty, duty, and male friendship. In an era unfortunately dominated by displays of male toxicity, did we two dudes find something more admirable and aspirational in the friendship of the two dudes played by Crowe and Paul Bettany? And, do we think even a big Best Picture contender like this could really justify a blockbuster-like series of sequels? We discuss all this and more, as we set out to sail in the choppy waters of "CROWvember."

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Our special "Trick 'r(esident) Tre(vil)" month concludes, with the 2021 cinematic reboot of the Resident Evil series. We've lost Milla Jovovich and Paul W.S. Anderson (except for an in-name-only producer credit), but hey, we've got a crap-ton of 1998 references to make up for it! That's because Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City promised to be a more faithful adaptation of the original video game source material, condensing the first two games into one movie. And yet, even with this allegedly more accurate representation of the beloved video game series, Welcome to Raccoon City clearly did not spawn the same sort of long-running, financially successful franchise that Paul W.S. Anderson's less faithful adaptation did. But...why? We pull out our Palm Pilots and investigate.

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For a special Halloween edition of our "Success to Series" spin-off show, we're taking a break from our usual failures and instead beginning our "Trick 'r(esident) Tre(vil)" theme month, with a loving look at a series we unironically adore - Paul W.S. Anderson's six-film Resident Evil saga (2002-2016), starring Milla Jovovich. We explain why we genuinely enjoy this oft critically-panned series, once again pontificate on the star-power of Jovovich, and try to figure out why we're okay with the huge liberties Anderson took when adapting the video game source material. Ultimately, we take a look at each individual entry in the franchise, sharing our favorite moments and characters, and discuss why the series can possibly be viewed as a deeply personal auteur vision. Yes, that's right, we're still talking about Paul W.S. Anderson movies. So get ready to kick some zombie dogs - and kick aside any concerns about continuity or narrative logic, while you're at it - and join us for an in-depth look at Resident Evil.

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