We Love the Love

In honor of The Roses (in theaters now), we're taking a look at the 1989 adaptation of the same novel, Danny DeVito's The War of the Roses, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner.

Join in as we discuss the movie's odd framing device, the 1989 Golden Globe slate, the plight of the American housewife, and movies we watched in high school.

Plus: What was Barbara's goal in seducing DeVito's character? How did that chandelier last so long? Why is this movie so popular in Germany? And, most importantly, was Barbara right about giving kids candy?

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Next week: The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• Roger Ebert's three-star review
• The War of the Roses in the AFI Catalog
• "In Conversation: Kathleen Turner" (Vulture)
• "Love and Hate" (New York Times)
• "The Truth about Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas's Time as Roommates" (The List)
• “I’m the Judge Who Approved the Custody Arrangement in The Parent Trap, But in My Defense, I Didn’t Think The Would Go to the Same Camp” (McSweeney's)
• The Simpsons in "Family Therapy," the short that preceded The War of the Roses in theaters (YouTube)

We're closing out the Summer of Superheroes with Kinka Usher's star-studded 1999 comedy Mystery Men!

Join in as we discuss the rise of commercial directors in the 1990s, our favorite jokes from the movie, the unfulfilled promise of Geoffrey Rush's Casanova Frankenstein, and, of course, "All Star" by Smash Mouth.

Plus: How many of these characters actually have powers? How much time is supposed to pass in this movie? What exactly is the Blue Raja's (Hank Azaria's) deal? And, most importantly, is "All Star" about a cool person?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: The War of the Roses (1989)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "The Ad Guys Take Charge" (Los Angeles Times)
• "Drawn to the Old" (Los Angeles Times)
• "Left His Heart on Madison Avenue" (New York Times)
• "Mystery Men at 25: The Flop Superhero Comedy that Deserved Better" (The Independent)
• "Random Roles: Janeane Garofolo" (AV Club)
• "Somebody Once Told Me: An Oral History of Smash Mouth's 'All Star'" (Rolling Stone)
• "Macy Moves to Mystery" (Variety)
• "Reubens Camps it Up - Again" (Orlando Sentinel)
• "My Year of Flops Case File #24: Mystery Men" (AV Club)

This week the Summer of Superheroes continues with our look at the deeply implausible romance of Guillermo Del Toro's original Hellboy movie!

Join in as we discuss Ron Perlman's performance, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Nazi occultism, and Marvel's Son of Satan.

Plus: Why wasn't David Hyde Pierce credited for voicing Abe Sapien? What exactly was Rasputin's goal? And, most importantly, is there a single person who likes John?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Mystery Men (1999)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "Behind Abe's Big Fish Eyes: io9 Talks to Hellboy II's Doug Jones" (io9)
• "David Zaslav Meeting with Candidates to Replace Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy as Warner Bros. Heads" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Hollywood Execs Fear Ryan Coogler's Sinners Deal 'Could End the Studio System'" (Vulture)
• "Hollywood Foreign Press Association Members Seek to Restore Organization Amid Dispute with New Owners of Golden Globes" (Variety)
• "How Kerry Conran Saw Hollywood's Future - Then Got Left Behind" (The Telegraph)

For our last look at a Marvel hero in this Summer of Superheroes, we're taking a look at the romance of the 2005 Jennifer Garner vehicle Elektra!

Join in as we discuss our favorite cinematic assassins, the movie's odd visual style, its treatment of Japan, and hitman human resources.

Plus: How does this movie connect with Daredevil (2003)? Is the movie gory enough? Did its failure at the box office end Jennifer Garner's action career? And, speaking of careers, what's going on with Ariana DeBose?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Hellboy (2004)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "Daredevil's Done Deals" (IGN)
• "Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck Suit Up for Daredevil" (MTV)
• "High in the Sky Benny Bares All" (Sydney Morning Herald)
• "Ben Affleck Says No to Daredevil Sequel" (SlashFilm)
• "Garner Deemed Elektra Awful, Says Ex-Boyfriend Vartan" (SFGate)
• Interview with Rob Bowman (IGN)
• "Helmer on Why Elektra Failed" (Now Playing)
• "Marvel to Prime Pupils" (Variety)
• "Leaked Email: Marvel CEO Not so Hot on Female Superhero Movies" (Vulture)
• "The Shadow Rulers of the VA" (ProPublica)
• "James Gunn Says the 'Movie Industry is Dying' Due to Films Being Made with Unfinished Scripts" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Daredevil Actor Peter Shinkoda Claims Jeph Loeb Made Anti-Asian Comments During Production of Netflix Series" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Marvel Editor-in-Chief Admits He Used Japanese Pseudonym to Circumvent Company Policy" (The Hollywood Reporter)

We're taking a look at the dawn of the SPUMC as we dig into the romance of Venom!

Join in as we discuss Tom Hardy's double performance, the lobster tank scene, The Brock Report, and surprise good guy performance by Reid Scott.

Plus: How do these Sony movies connect to Spider-Man? Why didn't Riz Ahmed get to use his British accent? And how does Sony keep tricking people into thinking they're joining the MCU by being in these movies?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Elektra (2005)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• Marvel Comics: The Untold Story by Sean Howe (2012)
• "Tom Hardy Says His Son's Love for Venom is Why He Took the Role" (Variety)
• "How Sony Learned to Cede Control to Marvel on Spider-Man: Homecoming" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Even After Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web, Sony's Marvel Movies aren't Dead" (Variety)
• "Tom Hardy Came up with the Best Scene in Venom on the Spot" (Polygon)
• "The History of Unmade Venom Movies" (ComicBook.com)
• "The Spider-Man 4 that Never Was" (Collider)
• "Sony Sets Spider-Man Spinoffs Venom, Sinister Six with New Franchise 'Brain Trust'" (Deadline)
• "SPUMC?" (Gizmodo)
• "The Post-Disaster Artist" (Polygon)

To herald the release of Fantastic Four: First Steps, we're starting the second half of our Summer of Superheroes with a look at the romance of 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer!

Join in as we discuss the history of FF adaptations, the challenge of writing a super-genius, the flattening of Sue Storm, and our favorite movies of 2025 so far.

Plus: Why are adaptations so scared of Dr. Doom? Why is Galactus a cloud in this movie? What is Doom's plan with the silver surfboard? And how did this movie's promotional campaign break federal law?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Venom (2018)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzalez, and Gavin Edwards (2023)
• All of the Marvels by Douglas Wolk (2021)
• "Inside Move: Surfer May Board Four" (Variety)
• "2007 Preview: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" (Wizard Universe)
• "Fantastic Four 2 Set Footage and Comments" (SuperHeroHype)
• "Fishburne Voices Surfer" (Variety)
• "US Mint: Silver Surfer Coin is Breaking the Law" (Fox News)
• "The Fantastic Four Movie You'll Never See" (Wired)
• "A Mania for Marvel" (Variety)
• "Down with Love's Reed Won't Do Fantastic Four" (Entertainment Weekly)
• "Fantastic Four Almost Made Jessica Alba Quit Acting" (PopEater)
• "The Hundred Best Movies of the Twenty-First Century" (New York Times)

We're celebrating our 400th episode with a look at the biggest 400 in cinema, Francois Truffaut's 1959 French New Wave classic, The 400 Blows!

Join in as we discuss the New Wave's place in cinema history, Antoine Doinel's poor fire safety, his conspicuous lack of siblings, and engage in a cinemabration of eight years of podcasting.

Plus: How closely does the film map onto Truffaut's life? What does the title actually mean? Which school subjects are worth learning? And, most importantly, what's the difference between 2017 and 2018?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "Movie Poster of the Week: Francois Truffaut's The 400 Blows" (MUBI)
• "The 400 Blows: Close to Home" (Criterion)
• "The Emoji Movie was the First Film to Publicly Screen in Saudi Arabia after 35-Year Cinema Ban" (IndieWire)
• "Mike White Confronts Rob Cesternino over Emoji Movie" (All Winners Survivor on YouTube)
• "Christopher Nolan Took his Kids to See Phantom Thread and Now They Call Him 'Woodcock' When He's Being Mean" (IndieWire)
• The 2022 Sight & Sound lists

Our Summer of Superheroes reaches its climax with arguably the most important movie in the genre's history: Richard Donner's 1978 film Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and a firmly on-book Marlon Brando.

Join in as we discuss the geophysics of Lex Luthor's evil plot, the other attempts to put Superman in cinemas, the nearly two-year shoot, and our favorite real estate schemes.

Plus: What ideas did Brando have to reduce his workload? Did Donner have a phone in his bathroom? What was the original plan for the time travel finale? And, most importantly, is Clark Kent more super or more man?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: The 400 Blows (1959)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman (2000)
• The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture by Glen Weldon (2016)
• Superman Smashes the Klan by Gene Luen Yang and Gurihiru (2019)
• Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (2024)
• Taking Flight: The Development of Superman (2001)
• Making Superman: Filming the Legend (2001)
• Roger Ebert's four-star review of Superman (1978)
• "The Making of Superman" (EMPIRE Magazine)
• Interview with Producer Ilya Salkind by Barry M. Frieman for SupermanHomePage.com
• "Nick Nolte Doesn't Care about Legacy, and Talks Julia Roberts Feud" (Insider)
• "The Superman Story that Set the Ku Klux Klan Back Years is Now a Comic" (Polygon)

We're taking a look at one of the most-maligned superhero movies of the twenty-first century: Martin Campbell's 2011 adaptation of Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively.

Join in as we discuss good and bad superhero costumes, the many attempts to adapt this character for film, the dead-on-arrival post-credits scene, and the Reynolds-Lively relationship timeline.

Plus: Does this movie need a Bill Pullman? Why are there xenobiologists? Should Parallax be a guy? And, most importantly, is this movie as bad as its reputation?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Superman (1978)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "Jack Black Green with Envy over New Lantern" (MTV Movies Blog)
• David Goyer interview with MovieHole.net
• "The Closer Star Wants to Pitch Green Lantern Film" (Newsarama)
• "Marc Guggenheim Drops the Comics that Inspire Green Lantern's Screen Debut" (Splash Page)
• "TV Producer of the Year Greg Berlanti: 'I Still Fight about Everything'" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Update: Justin Timberlake, Ryan Reynolds, or Bradley Cooper will Star in Green Lantern" (Collider)
• "Ryan Reynolds on his Deadpool Obsession, Meeting Blake Lively, and His New Film, Life" (GQ)
• "Warner Bros.' Green Lantern Marketing Campaign Delayed by Special Effects Work" (LA Times)
• "First Look at the Green Lantern Script" (IESB.net)
• "Warner Bros. Announces 10 DC Movies, Including Wonder Woman" (EW)
• "Bradley Cooper on His Green Lantern Audition" (MTV)
• "Avengers: Doomsday Cast Announced in Marvel Livestream" (The Hollywood Reporter)
• "Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively Apologize for Plantation Wedding" (NBC News)

The Summer of Superheroes continues as we look at Ivan Reitman's 2006 superpowered rom com My Super Ex-Girlfriend, starring Luke Wilson, Uma Thurman, and Anna Faris!

Join in as we discuss secret identities, the official hierarchy of hair colors, the movie's abysmal gender politics, and the best way to remove a splinter.

Plus: How long has G-Girl been active? Can anyone at this architecture firm speak Mandarin? Does Emma Frost secretly wear crocs? And is this movie somehow pro-sexual harassment?

Make sure to rate, review, and subscribe!

Next week: Green Lantern (2011)

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Key sources and links for this episode:

• "A Dream Finally Takes Flight" (LA Times)
• "Regency, Pariah, Sign the 'Ex' for Laffer" (Variety)
• "Anna Faris Says Ivan Reitman 'Humiliated' and 'Slapped' Her on Set" (Vulture)
• "Rainn Wilson on Super and The Office without Steve Carrell" (Vulture)
• "AMC Says It Will Show More Ads before Movies" (New York Times)
• "M&Ms Puts Spokescandies on 'Indefinite Pause' in Wake of Uproar Over Changes to Green M&M" (CBS News)