Failurepiece Theater

It's another trip to Nic Cage's filmography as we revisit Alex Proyas' Knowing--a disaster flick that doesn't seem to have everything quite figured out. It certainly fits with the crop of Shyamalan-flavored thrillers that dropped in the 00s, but can't decide if it's deep, thematic sci-fi or an excuse to blow things up real good. Let's grab some textbooks from MIT and see if we can't stumble upon some enlightenment, shall we?

This week it's another of the forgotten era of Marvel filmmaking--the Mark Steven Johnson Ghost Rider. Hot off his surprisingly successful DareFleck, MSJ throws Nic Cage on a motorcycle and let's the magic happen. It's a flawed film from a flawed time in comic book film history, but can a legendary Cage performance and solid CGI save Ghost Rider from Wes Bentley's constant mugging? Let's find out together!

This week, your intrepid co-hosts waddle through the thick Norwegian snow to dissect (snicker) The Snowman. It's a  complete disaster of a film that's rare to see from a major studio, but is there a heartbeat under that snowy shell? Let's see!

In a suitably long episode for a suitably long movie, your intrepid co-hosts delve into Bryan Singer's problematic failure Superman Returns. Debuting in a post-Batman Begins world, this rosy look back to simpler times tried to take Superman seriously while still holding on to that rosy 40s and 50s Americana vibe. It's a loving tribute to Richard Donner's '78 original, but does it hold up today? That's the question we'll explore, in addition to some discussion of Mulan, Tenet, and the new Dune adaptation! Listen in, won't you?

It's a Crichton week, friendos, and it won't be the last time word-slinger extraordinaire and Jurassic Park scribe Michael "MC JP" Crichton graces our listening holes. It's hard to die harder than the McTiernan/Crichton-helmed 13th Warrrior, and we are dying to figure out why. Katherine is on assignment this week, and I had it in my head that it was episode 13 (it would have been perfect!), but I am joined by my partner in crime Heather for a fun discussion of this impossibly odd take on the Beowulf myth. Take a listen! 

Another Monday, and another exploration of a cinematic disaster--in this case, one of the biggest box office bombs in history. The Wachowski-directed Speed Racer. Their first post-Matrix project, the siblings from Chi-town chose to adapt and update a beloved 60s anime, but in doing so might have put the wrong actor in the winner's circle and color timed things...a little hot. But, is Speed Racer the PG-rated, family-pleasing action film it was designed to be? Or is it just another last place finish from the notoriously hit-and-miss directors? Tune in and find out!

In this week's discussion, your co-hosts rave a little bit about the financial disaster that is 2012's Dredd. Another Alex Garland joint (and maybe more of one than his producer/writer credit calls for), it is a film that has found cult status after solid reviews and a negative box office run. A violent, gory, surprisingly great take on a popular character from the UK comics scene, Dredd attempts to move away from the Sylvester Stallone-powered previous incarnation of the character into something more closely tied to anti-hero's punk roots. Hey--lots of people get tossed off of buildings and Karl Urban never takes off his helmet. What's not to love?

In an episode that we could barely wait to do, your grid-lovin' co-hosts crash the system and talk about Joseph Kosinski's criminally underrated Tron: Legacy, one of Disney's pre-Marvel attempts to franchise build in a post-Pirates of the Caribbean world. Is it too generic for its own good? Perhaps. Does it build on a series that most people have never heard of or cared about in attempt to reach critical mass in a marketplace saturated with blockbusters? Definitely. Come along as we try to figure it out, won't you?