Berri's Couch

The world's longest movie derived from a much less long children's book. Well known amongst fans and non fans alike for being the weirdest decision made in a long while adaptationally. Is there anything worth saving? Are the takes correct? Or is this an Arkenstone of a trilogy and if we dig deep enough we will be rewarded with greatness (and a bit of madness but hey nothing's truly free)?

Now we travel back to some of the earliest film adaptations of Lord of the Rings that we have access to. Both animated in the 70's and one is a musical. Can either hold up without nostalgia? Or are these relegated to the bin of outdated references that only serve as important because they lead to better films? 

What better way to honour one of the most iconic and influential pieces of (relatively) modern writing then by looking at the movies that captured generations of imagination and heavily lined the pockets of movie executives and the tourism board Aotearoa (New Zealand).

The iconic babies switch out the urban jungles for a jungle island and yet, somehow, BRUCE WILLIS is still here and the weirdest thing to happen. For at least one of us that is. Yet despite Jerri getting the name of one of the films he was in wrong (it is Tears of the Sun not Pursuit of the Sun) we still get more out of the surprise Willis and the crossover film he happens to be in.

Look they said it best when they said there would only ever be one Blade and after watching two movies you can understand why. Memorable raves, action that borders on goofy at points and a line that STILL befuddles Bee to this day.

Vents, biceps, aliens, action and an absolutely HEINOUS wig. Jerri delivers flowers to the sci-fi classic The Fifth Element, a noticeable history point in the genre that has had many highs and intense lows.

An iconic 90's classic that got a sequel that expanded upon the characters and their relationships while also being just as memorable, yet so rarely are they held in high regard. One sitting in the shadow of the glorious light from the first but these films should no longer be kept separate but rather enjoyed in their truest form....As a longform story of family and it's ever shifting dynamics.

The finale of the Netflix Flanagan productions, is it a bang or whimper? With a massive cast and drawing from one of the most prolific gothic poets of the pop culture can Flanagan and his team nail the haunting fantasy of the downfall of a family who started a health crisis all for profit while dealing with their own internal drama?

What? The queers found it somewhat triggering to watch a show about religious fanaticism and the fall into violence okayed by those who seek to benefit selfishly from said twisting of scripture to suit themselves? Never!!In seriousness we reflect on why this series run feels so different from the others and if it worked or should have been different.

And now we sit and discuss the second ghost story in this anthology of hauntings. What made this one so different from the other that it alienated some but truly terrified others? Does the change of location do more than supply different accents and architecture? Is that ending happy? Sit and listen, this story is not short but we shall try to make it so for you.

Well we're here in a house with some haunted siblings talking about what has been talked to death, life and unlife about. Why do we like this tale of trauma and how it haunts the now adult children? Do we like any of the siblings and why?

Well as we have finished this journey it is time to look back on where we've been, and speculate on where we should go. Which is just a fancy way of saying now that we've discussed movies that have come and gone we start to elevator pitch stories of yore that we want to see given a media treatment and the vibes we want it to come with.

If the best thing about your film is the trees you may want to go back and rewrite your script. Two films both based on the same story, both intent on reinvention but one is iconic and left a lasting impact on it's medium and the other is whatever the opposite of iconic is.

Awkward sibling movies. Well one is an awkward movie and the other definitely has sibling characters in it. Which form tells the tale better an artsy pseudo horror or dumb action fun witch hunting? Are they even telling the same tale? Let's find out who if anyone is willing to deal with wet sugar and ants.

The first epic poem in English and yet it has a storied history of hot garbage adaptations. Despite the veritable feast we have brought it down to two different adaptations that do share a single thread of similarity. A surprising gem is found and an over textured pile of slop is also here.

This labour of getting explanations and love is something else. The tale of Hercules (Heracles for all you pedantic Greek mythos kids) and his labours has codified itself for a long time in our myths and histories if media but when things change how does he fare. How does the story of the demigod and his labours hold up against the Hydra that is......cinematic re-telling's.

A cute title for a long running problem that instead of going away seems to have just reinvented itself and tried to hide away. The handling of sexuality and sex in media aimed at, and featuring character who are meant to be, teens. Hiding away under the guise of non explicitness we try to unravel the preoccupation media seems to have with teens and their bodies.

The eternal struggle when just writing a teenager let alone a piece of media that revolves around them and their struggles. As the world around the teen changes in both expectations and responsibilities how well does our media reflect this? Spoiler alert! Not that well.

Last time on the podcast we discussed the titular teenager and now we discuss Canadian teens forced to entertain a slowly devolving war criminal on fake reality TV, while another set of teens act as mallrats even though the concept was already outdated by the early 2000's.

Icon of the 90's, low energy monarch, and definer of teenage experiences. We begin this month of teen media with the one who began our understanding of what growing up could be. How does it hold up? Does she still ring true with her words? Or does this just sit on the shelf as a relic of bygone times?

We found out we have not been seeing Matthew at his full power when he acts. As a businessman and player at table top games he is unleashed to mayhaps not even his full power, sit back and get ready to hear us discuss his latest ventures.

Kill the wabbit! Kill the wabbit! Okay now getting serious, a movie based on a simple video game with a lore more twisted than contortionists playing twister and yet it still is watchable and arguably good. Yes it exists! Provided you're willing to deal with child death, endings that are rushed and the world's worst office fan.

A situationship of movie that spawned a repeated hiring job for one actor? More likely than you think. Or at least it happened here with a film that is inconsistent in tone and quality but at least nailed a single character so well the actor in question transitioned into becoming the voice of a character that has existed since the 60's.

Iconic, history writing, and industry defining. These words describe both the movie and performances in the often replicated never duplicated Scream. But while there will be many discussions of how this film works on its own but we are willing to argue how this film's twist only works thanks to 1 actor's performance in particular.

We're starting another month of actor appreciation with this ........ iconic? For lack of a better word cult classic film from the mid 90's. The film that the 90's made, forgot and then thrifted to different audiences but it's greatest achievement other than somehow becoming more watchable with age, is that it's the earliest film credit of (That I can easily get a copy of), the man of the month, M...