Rotten Rewind

M. Night Shyamalan has had one of the most fascinating, unexpected career trajectories of our lifetime. Over the course of twenty years, Shyamalan has garned Academy Award nominations and billions in global box office while being hailed as the next Spielberg before nearly being laughed out of Hollywood after a series of critical and financial flops. In the last several years, Shyamalan has been experiencing something of a career revival and with his latest movie "Old" opening to number one despite dividing critics, we decided it was the perfect time to reevaluate the polarizing filmmaker. We're joined by critic and host of The Good, The Bad and The What?!, Ryan Oliver, to look back at Shyamalan's most notorious flop - the post-9/11 disaster allegory "The Happening" - as well as his latest, "Old."

"It's never goodbye" - Dominic Toretto

If "2 Fast 2 Furious" was a disappointing, but still financially successful sequel, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" was the death rattle of a franchise dying young. Or so that's what so many thought when Justin Lin's high school/fish out of water spin on the series was released in 2006. In what might be the most 2006 movie ever made, Lin transported audiences to Tokyo and subbed out the angelic crazy ass white boy Brian O'Conner for a troubled high school student with a receding hairline and five o'clock shadow. Fifteen years later and "Tokyo Drift" has developed the most sizeable cult following of the franchise and is now seen as the film responsible for not only introducing Lin to the Fast Family, but reinvigorating the entire franchise altogether through a series of happy accidents. We're once again joined by Fast Superfan Logan Kenny to wax nostalgic for the Drift King and the unfortunately named Bow Wow character, Twink.

"Tokyo Drift" is streaming now on Peacock and Peacock Premium.

Everybody thought "2 Fast 2 Furious" sank the "Fast" franchise for good in 2003. Vin Diesel turned down $25 million to return to the series so he could go off and make another franchise ("xXx") with director Rob Cohen. Michelle Rodriguez and Jordana Brewster were out. Even Ja Rule turned down half a million dollars to reprise his role. One thing the sequel did have though: Academy Award nominated director John Singleton. Bringing along his "Baby Boy" breakout, Tyrese Gibson, Singleton steered the Fast franchise into new candy-colored terrain, introducing vital characters and elements to the franchise that would pay off in the next decade. Were critics and audiences too harsh in their criticisms? How did Ludacris' mechanic character turn into a super-hacker several movies later? What would the franchise have looked like if Eva Mendes fulfilled the Gal Gadot role in future installments? And is the casting of Cole Hauser as an Argentinian drug lord so insanely weird that it defies cultural appropriation? We're joined by critic, writer and Fast Fanatic Logan Kenny to answer these important questions.

"2 Fast 2 Furious" is streaming now on HBOMax.

It's hard to believe it's been 20 years since we were first introduced to Dominic Toretto and his family, but this week on the podcast we're kicking off our month long retrospective of one of the most successful film franchises of all time: "The Fast and the Furious." What began as "Point Break" with cars has now become a lucrative nine-film franchise that has seen names like Dwayne Johnson, Charlize Theron and John Cena join the mix as the Toretto Family has graduated from boosting cars and hijacking trucks for DVD players to fighting terrorists across multiple continents. This week though, we look back at the one that started it all. We're joined by return guest Jake Ures to discuss the purity of the original, how the film influenced shows like MTV's "Pimp My Ride" and the transition the franchise takes from anti-cop exploitation flick to self-aware, pro-cop superhero movie.

You can stream the first installment of "The Fast and the Furious" on HBOMax.

After four weeks, we’re saying goodbye to our Queer & Rotten series by paying tribute to one of queer cinema’s most beloved filmmakers, Todd Haynes. We’re excited to be joined once again by Kae Whalen to discuss Haynes’ ambitious third feature, “Velvet Goldmine” starring Christian Bale, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Toni Collette and Ewan McGregor (along with his penis *and* asshole!) We look back at the faux-biopic that shines a light on the glam rock scene in London during the 70s and the bisexual Bowie-esque figure at the center of it all. Why did critics shower praise upon Haynes’ similarly messy and ambitious Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There,” while shunning “Velvet Goldmine”? Will Ewan McGregor ever be able to do a convincing American accent? When is Todd Haynes going to give us the Rock Hudson biopic the actor deserves? And more importantly… who’s gonna play him? There’s only one way to find out…

“Velvet Goldmine” is currently unavailable to stream, but you can find it at your local video store or in so-so quality on YouTube! You can find Kae on Instagram at @kaewhalen!

For our third installment of Rotten & Queer, we're thrilled to be joined by actor and flamenco dancer Adrian Elizondo to discuss one of Pedro Almodóvar's rare critical misfires, the 1991 mystery, High Heels and the 1995 cult classic To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar... starring Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes and podcast favorite John Leguizamo as a trio of drag queens on the road. Were the critics right in decrying High Heels as minor Almodóvar? Why do so many people like to say Antonio Banderas isn't a good actor? Has there ever been as unanimous of an MVP choice as our winner for To Wong Foo? (Hint: It's obviously John Leguizamo) Find out now on our latest.

For our second installment of Queer & Rotten, we're heading back to 1980 to dissect one of the most controversial movies of the last 40 years: William Friedkin's queer-panic serial killer thriller "Cruising," featuring one of last truly restrained Al Pacino performances. A film that was mired in controversy from the moment it was announced, Friedkin's film became the first studio-funded thriller to set its sights on the queer S&M community. Protests from the New York queer community throughout its filming and up to its theatrical release paved the way for decades of polarizing conversations and retrospectives surrounding the film, as it remains a cinematic curiosity to this day. We're joined by writer Kaycee Felton-Lui to discuss the films place in the queer canon in 2021, Pacino and Friedkin's contentious working relationship, the complicated legacy the film left behind, and its haunting reminder of the homophobia that permeated Hollywood and the rest of the world at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic.

"Cruising" is currently streaming on The Criterion Channel.

We're celebrating some of the most critically defamed queer films of all time this month on the podcast and we couldn't think of a better director to kick things off with than one of the most subversive queer directors of all time, Gregg Araki. Starting in 1992 with Araki's take on the lovers on the run thriller, The Living End and finishing things off with the last two chapters in his Teenage Apocalypse Trilogy, the Rose McGowan-breakout cult hit The Doom Generation and the stacked ensemble of 1997's Nowhere, we'll be covering all things Araki in this episode. We're also excited as always to be joined by our unofficial third host, Johnny Langan, to discuss the contagious 90s nihilism and disaffection of Araki's films and the underappreciated impact he's had on not only queer cinema, but independent film in general.

The day has finally come that Rotten Rewind puts some fucking respect on Gerard Butler's name. The Scottish actor has played Dracula and The Phantom of the Opera, he's headlined apocalyptic thrillers and gone toe to toe doing Shakespeare with Ralph Fiennes. Today on the podcast though, we're looking at two very different periods in Butler's career: his late 2000s rom-com phase and his current status as Most Divorced Action Star in America. We're joined by actor, writer and devoted Butler stan, Morgan Phillips, to discuss the 2009 romantic comedy The Ugly Truth featuring Katherine Heigl, before jumping forward 10 years for the sprawling Michael Mann fan-fiction thriller Den of Thieves, where Butler squares off against a crew of bank robbers as the Everlast-loving, alcoholic cop "Big Nick." Grab a sixer and your favorite pair of boot-cut Levi's because it's time to fall in love with America's most underrated leading man.

Both films are available to rent wherever you rent movies!