It's time for more personal picks from your hosts and James has landed on one fairly lost to time Mouse Hunt (1997). Before Gore Verbinski was documenting pirates in the Caribbean, he was making his debut feature with Nathan Lane and Lee Evans about a pesky mouse that won't go away.

Down-on-their luck brothers, Lars and Ernie Smuntz, aren’t happy with the crumbling old mansion they inherit… until they discover the estate is worth millions. Before they can cash in, they have to rid the house of its single, stubborn occupant—a tiny and tenacious mouse. (Sourced from Letterboxd).

Will this film that distressed young James still have the same effect today? Will Cass and Matt enjoy the slapstick shenanigans or is this a childhood watch that should remain forgotten?

Also featuring an in-depth discussion of the new film Challengers, the song J was trying to reference was the "yeah yeah yeah" one but he forgot words. 

Ellie Stewart returns to the podcast with the final part of the trilogy, Ghostbusters, Hook and The Inbetweeners Movie! (2011). Based on the TV show, will this gross out boys comedy be a dream come true or will our opinion be inbetween good and bad?

High school graduation just wouldn’t be complete without an un-chaperoned, uninhibited and unforgettable final holiday. At least that’s what Will, Jay, Simon and Neil think when they book a two-week stay on an exotic Greek island. As their dreams of sun-drenched days and booze-filled nights are left hopelessly unfulfilled, the lads fight their way into the party scene with hilariously humiliating results in this smash hit UK raunchy comedy. (Sourced from Letterboxd).

Don't forget to check out Ellie and Cassandra in Destiny's Cousin: The Reunion Spectacular, on during the New Zealand International Comedy Festival from the 7-9 May! Further info and tickets available at this link: https://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/find-a-show/destinys-cousin-the-reunion-spectacular/

NYAD

Love her or hate her, know her or don't, NYAD (2023) and Diana Nyad herself have been in the news lately with the Academy Award nominations of Annette Benning and Jodie Foster for said film. But who is she? 

Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

That's right, controversial swimmer and sometime pathological liar Diana Nyad is being covered and whether she swum assisted or unassisted, there's one thing for certain, Annette is giving it her ALL in this performance. From the very first shot she is blazing intensity. But is the movie any good?

Will you need multiple attempts to watch this movie like Diana Nyad needed to swim from Cuba to Florida? How deep can your voice go? And has your mind never been clearer?

It's time.

The foundational text. The Rosetta Stone of Dream Blunt Rotation. The one you've all been waiting for.

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN!

What is there to say. The name speaks for itself. But will provide some context. 

Made in 2011, it's Emily's last rotation (for now) and her scene partner has appeared on the podcast before, Moulin Rouge's Ewen McGregor.

A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible. (Letterboxd)

Did you know Salmon Fishing isn't some bizarre improbable true story, it's just totally made up? It was the debut of author Paul Torday who was aged 60! A big fan of salmon fishing and having lived a life of bureaucracy, he decided to write a comic novel and turned into a smash hit. We'll glad he was able to watch his efforts be turned into a film before his death in 2013. 

See whether this relatively forgotten film is a fish flop or a surprise catch with our latest Mixed Bag.

How much you would run for a dumb hat? That's what 2011's The Adjustment Bureau dares to ask. Our third entry into the Dream Blunt Rotation, Emily is sporting full 2010s fashion in this one but she never gets to wears that trilby.

We also welcome back Spirit himself, Matt Damon. Now we can see him in the flesh instead of his expertly animated horse design and we are disappointed.

FIGHT FOR YOUR FATE.

Will David choose between love and his career? Where did John Slattery go? And when will Emily get to a real character again? Also, a final chat of the 2023 Oscar predictions as it drops today!

The Dream Blunt Rotation continues with John Patrick Shanley's Wild Mountain Thyme. But is this truly a dream blunt? After the reaction to Jungle Cruise, the Mixed Bag crew are hoping the Emerald Isles of Ireland and performances therein can dazzle us with their Irish charm.

THERE’S NOTHING MORE DANGEROUS… THAN AN IRISH WOMAN IN LOVE.

Will this be another Moonstruck for the Irish community? How will Blunt fare with the accent? And WHERE. IS. FIONA?? Find out if we're buzzing or feel drowsy in need of some honey from Wild Mountain Thyme.

That's right, it's time for a new miniseries, Mixed Bag presents DREAM BLUNT ROTATION.

We've got four perfect puffs of the wonderful Emily Blunt for you to take a toke of. Relax enjoy and take a cruise down the jungle with our very first offering, 2021's Jungle Cruise, directed by none other than Non-Stop's Jaume Collet-Serra! Two Mixed in a row, well done Jaume!

Dr. Lily Houghton enlists the aid of wisecracking skipper Frank Wolff to take her down the Amazon in his dilapidated boat. Together, they search for an ancient tree that holds the power to heal – a discovery that will change the future of medicine.

How come Jungle Cruise sports not one but two actors currently nominated for the 2023 Academy Awards? (shout out Pauly G!) Will Dwayne ever be as charismatic as an igneous? And will the lightning of Disney theme park adaptation strike twice?

"I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want. But if it's Taken you're looking for, I can tell you, this is only a knock-off."

RRRR! That's right, it's another JetBag 🚨 Emergency Landing 🚨 and this time we're covering Non-Stop (2014) with Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Lupita Nyong'o.

Bill Marks is a burned-out veteran of the Air Marshals service. He views the assignment not as a life-saving duty, but as a desk job in the sky. However, today’s flight will be no routine trip. Shortly into the transatlantic journey from New York to London, he receives a series of mysterious text messages ordering him to have the government transfer $150 million into a secret account, or a passenger will die every 20 minutes.

Who is the killer in this star-studded flight? Will Liam be able to survive a flight without manhandling every single passenger? And is there any moment that will rival the pencil attack from Red Eye? All this and a hearty Oscar nomination chat with Non-Stop.

Another year has passed and it's time to look back on the year and remember the chocolatiers of 2023. Wonka, Barbie, J. Robert Oppenheimer and more.

We've taken one last trip to the chocolate factory to snack upon the confections of Paul King's Wonka starring Timothy Chalamet, Hugh Grant and Olivia Coleman. 

Willy Wonka – chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time – is proof that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.

We've also taken the liberty to share our personal top tens of 2023, visit our Letterboxd pages (James, Cass, Matt) and follow us for more movie updates!

Will we (Hugh) grant this film a bag? Or will we use our pure imagination to dream up a superior version of favourite enigmatic chocolate bud?

Christmas is all around you BagHags and so it's time for our Christmas tradition, Lucas Neal joins us once again for a Christmas Mixed Bag! It's a big one this year, long requested, Love Actually (2003) by Richard Curtis!

THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC COMEDY.

Were the hosts and guest prepared for quite so much fatphobia? Is Alan Rickman 'adorable' as James says? The film attests that it's possible to be "gay as a maypole" and "gay as a picnic basket" but which is more gay? And will we finally view the film from Both Sides Now?

All this and more in our epic two hour episode that concludes our viewings for 2024 (we're taking a break on Christmas Day). Thanks for being with us for another year and merry Mixed Bag viewings this holiday season.