Tentpole Trauma

Take one of the most beloved Broadway musicals of all time and give it to the world’s greatest living director, and you’ve got a license to print money, right? Somehow Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim classic West Side Story stalled at the box office despite garnering stellar reviews — was it a victim of Covid, or has the audience’s appetite for singing and dancing simply faded? Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they get ready to rumble and fall into ill-fated love with this impeccably crafted production.

Wachowskis' month comes to a close with their 2015 space opera Jupiter Ascending. Warner Brothers banked that the Wachowskis’ Cinderella meets Star Wars original IP would be the next big franchise, and with Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis bringing the onscreen sparks, success seemed written in the stars. Yet this sci fi fairytale didn’t have a happy ending and bombed big with both critics and audiences. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they skate the skyways to make sense of this silly but sometimes enjoyable outer space spectacle.

Wachowskis' month continues with an epic discussion of all things Matrix! Expectations could not have been higher for the Matrix sequels following the seismic cultural impact of the first genre-defining film. But the response to Matrix Reloaded was somewhat muted when it dropped in the summer of 2003, so much so that when Matrix Revolutions opened a mere six months later, the reception was downright toxic, effectively killing what could have been an ongoing franchise. How did this sci fi juggernaut get kung fu punched off the rails so dramatically? Join Sebastian, Chris and Rodney as they take the red pill to see how deep the rabbit hole goes by celebrating the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of this reality-bending series.

Wachowskis' month continues at a breakneck pace with our discussion of Speed Racer! Teaming the Wachowskis with a classic anime property seemed a grand trophy proposition back in 2008, and the directing team certainly delivered in terms of daring visuals and inventive editing techniques. But despite winning a cult following in subsequent years, audiences and critics were not ready for this candy colored racing extravaganza when it cruised into theaters. Join Sebastian, Steve and Richard on the starting line as they try to keep their hands on the wheel of this wild and crazy ride.

Tentpole Trauma is celebrating the Wachowskis all month long, starting with perhaps their most audacious film, 2012’s Cloud Atlas. Adapting David Mitchell’s time hopping novel was never going to be an easy sell, but with the help of co-director Tom Tykwer and superstars Tom Hanks and Halle Berry in multiple roles, the Wachowskis felt up to the task. But the film was plagued by bad press due to some controversial race swapping choices and while the finished product was suitably epic, it failed to impress either audiences or critics. Join Sebastian, Troy and Rodney as they traverse time, space and multiple lives to determine if this sprawling effort is a misunderstood masterpiece or a massive misfire.

Scientology founder L Ron Hubbard’s sci fi epic Battlefield Earth had a light year journey to the big screen, but devoted acolyte John Travolta managed to leverage a big budget adaptation into theaters in the summer of 2000. Unfortunately the critical reaction was more apocalyptic than the film’s setting with Travolta’s dreadlocked alien antagonist eliciting worldwide mockery and director Roger Christian’s Dutch angle-heavy directing making for a muddled, unappealing mess. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and new host Richard as they rummage through the wreckage of a film many have dubbed one of the worst cinematic disasters in this galaxy and beyond.

Handing Academy Award winner Halle Berry a superhero franchise seemed like a purr-fectly sound idea back in 2004, and her inherent sass and feline beauty seemed ideal for the role of Batman's main squeeze Catwoman. But an untested director and some poor story and design choices pointed to a potential cat-tastrophe, and the film arrived to mocking yowls from both critics and fans alike. But does it really deserve to be discarded in the litterbox of movie history? Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they slather on the beauty cream, sharpen their claws and take on one of this century's most notorious big-budget flops.

CAROL ANNE! Steven Spielberg and Tobe Hooper’s Poltergeist helped to reinvent the haunted house genre, spawning an 80s horror franchise that stood apart from the slasher wave. But despite a grave-ly disappointing 1st sequel and an unfortunate narrative that the films were somehow “cursed” due to the deaths of cast members, no one was prepared for how low things would go with director Gary Sherman’s 1988 effort Poltergeist III. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Troy as they put the Halloween season to rest, move the headstones (but not the bodies) and lead themselves into the light by discussing Poltergeist III.