Mixed Bag

It's time to take another romp down the yellow brick road! As part of our miniseries building up to Glicked, we're now headed to the wonderful land of Oz.

Renowned editor and one-time director Walter Murch made the fateful decision to make a sequel to one of the most beloved films of all time, The Wizard of Oz with Return to Oz (1985) which had a decidedly mixed reaction. 

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

What do Cass, Matt and Jamie think of this 80s dark fantasy spin on the L. Frank Baum books? Who are the Wheelers? Which is Mombi's original head and WHY DOES THE SCARECROW LOOK LIKE THAT?? Shout out to the Nome King with his hot lil ruby slippers.

Keep on eye out next time for our Halloweeeeen ep!

Are you not entertained?! 

Well, the audiences of 2000 certainly were, with a box office smash hit and winner of 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, I think ole Russel come be comforted he won't be eating Crowe with this film by one Sir Ridley Scott.

But, 24 years later and with an upcoming sequel on the horizon, the Mixed Bag crew thought they should dust off the dirt like Maximus loves to do and see if we are glad to set our eyes upon Gladiator (2000).

In the year 180, the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius throws the Roman Empire into chaos. Maximus is one of the Roman army’s most capable and trusted generals and a key advisor to the emperor. As Marcus’ devious son Commodus ascends to the throne, Maximus is set to be executed. He escapes, but is captured by slave traders. Renamed Spaniard and forced to become a gladiator, Maximus must battle to the death with other men for the amusement of paying audiences. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Is the young Richard Harris a hottie? Is Oliver Reed playing a POC or just suuuuper tan? And will Maximus Decimus Meridius have his vengeance, in this life or the next? All this and more as well in this two-part miniseries in our gear up for Glicked!

Brace for impact because it's another JETBAG: Emergency Landing episode!

And it's our biggest metal bird in the sky yet, Flightplan (2005), starring Jodie Foster has her climbing all around the Elgin E-474 which, while made up, is styled on these massively huge jumbojets with spiral staircases, lush first class and all sorts of hidden compartments!

Flying at 40,000 feet in a state-of-the art aircraft that she helped design, Kyle Pratt’s 6-year-old daughter Julia vanishes without a trace. Or did she? No one on the plane believes Julia was ever onboard. And now Kyle, desperate and alone, can only count on her own wits to unravel the mystery and save her daughter. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Will Jodie and Peter Sarsgaard (NOT from the Skarsgård as James learned this episode) have crackling chemistry? Will Kyle find her daughter Julia? Will Sean Bean die or turn out to be bad? Why didn't we do our research and reference Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in this episode which this takes inspiration from? All this and more in another rip roaring Jetbag ep.

And be sure to listen to Silver Fox Office with L.C. and Mike here or wherever podcasts are found! 

Get in, loser.

When we're in-between seasons and don't have time for a full personal picks, we turn to our old favourite, the musical! And what better musical from one this year, Mean Girls (2024) which they tried to desperately to hide its musical nature!

New student Cady Heron is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called ‘The Plastics,’ ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George and her minions Gretchen and Karen. However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels, she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis and Damian, she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

With the original film being a seminal film of all of their upbringing, will this remake be top of the plastics or written in the burn book? Does this film even go here? Another reference from the film? All this and more and a thorough discussion of Whānau Marama: New Zealand International Film Festival, shout out to the team that made it happen!

We've reached the end of our Period Princess miniseries and we're ending with an entry from the Disney renaissance, 1995's Pocahontas.

Pocahontas, daughter of a Native American tribe chief, falls in love with an English soldier as colonists invade 17th century Virginia. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Will the Colours of the Wind blow away the historical inaccuracy and problematic romance? Is Just Around the River Bend rapids or smooth waters? And will we Mine, Mine, Mine gold from this or is there none to be found?

Our Period Princess continues with Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

A sweeping romantic epic set in Japan in the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Directed by Rob and produced by a whole bunch of the white guys, Memoirs of a Geisha started out as a smash hit bestseller, also written by a white guy, Arthur Golden. This adaptation was criticized for casting non-Japanese actors in lead roles but was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three,  Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. So is this memoir something worth opening or was it a story "that should never be told" as the opening narration states?

It's the start of a new miniseries, it's time for Period Princess! 👸

It's a new era and what better way to kick it off with the ultimate page turner of 2001, The Other Boleyn Girl adapted into this feature film in 2008. Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana.

A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family’s blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Will this sexy version of the Tutor times work its charms? 

Other texts discussed are Scavengers Reign, Ukyio, Pain and Glory, Inside Out 2, The Mole, The Getaway and Joe Biden and world politics.

Cassandra filling in here for James who does the regular captions! Today we're celebrating 🎉 🌈   ᑭŘ𝕀đẸ 爪ｏ𝓝Ⓣｈ  🌈 🎉 here at Mixed Bag so it's time for a queer cinema classic that none of us have seen before.

Vida (Patrick Swayze), Noxima (Wesley Snipes) and Chi Chi (John Leguizamo) are three New York drag queens travelling cross country to the Miss America Drag pageant when they are waylaid in small town USA. Can their fabulousness bring a little joie d'vivre to this sad wee town, or will the locals not take too kindly to realising these three 'career women' have Adam's apples?

In Pop Corner we talk about the Decemberists' As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, Black Country New Road, The Taste of Things, cinema etiquette drama, Ren Faire, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the Tony Awards, Charli XCX's Brat, Heartbreak Hotel, Bon Iver's classic album Ice [?] and the glory of sound-cancelling headphones.

It's the year 2000. It's the first 3D animated film from Walt Disney. It's Dinosaur. And it's a very unhinged episode, we had a blast with this one. Plus, we had a special guest drop in briefly, Cass' brother, Nathan!

An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

It's the final of our personal childhood picks and we're rounding it out with Disney's Dinosaur. Who could forget the epic tale of Aladar, his lemurs and his two elderly friends Eema and Baylene? Everyone, it turns out! Well, it's available now on Disney Plus. Why not listen in to hear how Matt, Cass and Jimmy found this journey back, way waaaay back in time?

We're back for a mini quick mix this week! Discussions include Grey's Anatony, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, A Highland Song, Animal Well and Telling Lies.

See you next week for a return to our Childhood Movies!