Failurepiece Theater

Another casualty of the salty hellscape that was 2020 and the collapse of 20th Century Fox, this week we examine William Eubank's Underwater--an Aliens-inspired action flick that actually has a bit of buoyancy in its diving suit step. But, will Underwater sink or swim? Find out with us, won't you?

Ever wonder what happens when a studio abandons a film? Well wonder no longer! It's time to look closely at the last film released by 20th Century Fox and the whimper that the once might X-Men franchise went out with. Will it sink under the weight of a dying juggernaut or bounce back into the caged ring with an unexpected scrappy bravado? Join us and find out, won't you?

Cat people! Winged Amazons! Guys with bad hair on TV! It's the back half of WW84, and it just gets worse from here. Join us as we discuss another unfortunate failure for the DCEU. Update: we had a puppers interruptus in the last episode that I've now edited out! Sorry about that!

This week, the first of our two-part breakdown (takedown?) of Wonder Woman 84. With their Extended Universe in shambles, DC found a good thing with Patty Jenkins' first outing, but the follow up leaves a lot to be desired. Come along as we figure out how this FailurePiece in the making came to be. 

'Twas right before Christmas and all through the Failurepiece virtual meeting space on Discord, nothing was creeping, not even a devious Nazi spy hiding amongst the Hollywood elite of 1938. That's because this week we're shining a rocket-powered light on Joe Johnston's The Rocketeer-A film that threads so many needles successfully that its lack of success makes no sense at all. Let's find out if i...

This week we're back after a brief hiatus with another messed up family film of the 1980s--in this case Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. A long gestating film project that Disney brought to life, then sort of killed, then brought back, then fixed, then released. It's a bit of a mess that failed miserably when the house of mouse was desperate for a hit, but riding the line between sw...

We head back to the content mines to bring you another few hours of grasping for the low-hanging fruit that is the early days of Marvel studios. This time, it's 2004's The Punisher--the Thomas Jane and John Travolta vehicle that was meant to launch yet another franchise. Let's dig in and see if it's still worth our time, shall we?

In another episode devoted to 80's family "fun," we explore the initially overlooked, but now cult-classic, Return to Oz. A film rescued from the flames of Disney's incinerator by George Lucas himself and directed by the legendary Walter Murch. It's legitimately terrifying, deeply unsettling, and entirely unforgettable. Let's discover if it's a failurepiece, shall we? 

As part of a new series, this week we delve into one of many 80s "family films." It was the wild west of kiddie content, and Little Monsters, a Beetlejuice-infused Fred Savage vehicle with Howie Mandel in some troubling makeup as backup, might be as far west as the California coastline. Still, it's got some charm and a heaping helping of weird, so let's take a look, shall we?

Whew. This week's episode took it out of us. We "chose" to discuss one of the greatest failures of modern cinema--the birth and death of a cinematic universe in one fell swoop. That's right. It's the movie that was made to launch a franchise, and it did...right into the sun. Join us for an exasperated discussion of a cinematic blunder of epic proportions, won't you?

We round out the month of October with a trip to Danvers asylum, where the boys are busy cleaning up. With a great cast, an unbelievable setting, and a surprisingly compelling portrayal of a man as he slips into madness, Brad Anderson's Session 9 delivers on the spookies. But is it a FailurePiece? Let's find out!

Another week in Spooktober, and this time it's all about a Paul WS Anderson produced sci-fi horror gem called Pandorum. Directed by then-unknown German auteur Christian Alvart, it stars Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid chewing low-budget scenery like nobody's business. It's not perfect, but will it become a FailurePiece? Let's find out!

The second week of Spooktober is upon us, and this week it's another horror-comedy classic. The Frighteners, a little film that may have laid the foundation for a little-known filmmaker named Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, delights and chills with a compelling (and final) lead performance from Michael J Fox, another incredible turn from Jeffrey Combs, and produced by Robert Zemeckis hi...

We kick off Spooktober with a long, hard look at Joe Dante's cult classic The 'Burbs. It's a black comedy satire with a great cast, a historic backlot set, and Henry Gibson. While it's certainly achieved status in the years since its release, we think it's not beloved enough (like most of Dante's output), so take a listen and find out why!

This week we wrap up the filmography of Alex Proyas--one of the best directors ever. Except for this. It's a long road through the nine gates of the underworld, especially when Gerard Butler's brogue keeps interrupting your attempts to rest. But, is this a film that's worth your time? Let's figure it out!

It's another trip to Nic Cage's filmography as we revisit Alex Proyas' Knowing--a disaster flick that doesn't seem to have everything quite figured out. It certainly fits with the crop of Shyamalan-flavored thrillers that dropped in the 00s, but can't decide if it's deep, thematic sci-fi or an excuse to blow things up real good. Let's grab some textbooks from MIT and see if we can't stumble upon s...

This week it's another of the forgotten era of Marvel filmmaking--the Mark Steven Johnson Ghost Rider. Hot off his surprisingly successful DareFleck, MSJ throws Nic Cage on a motorcycle and let's the magic happen. It's a flawed film from a flawed time in comic book film history, but can a legendary Cage performance and solid CGI save Ghost Rider from Wes Bentley's constant mugging? Let's find out...

This week, your intrepid co-hosts waddle through the thick Norwegian snow to dissect (snicker) The Snowman. It's a  complete disaster of a film that's rare to see from a major studio, but is there a heartbeat under that snowy shell? Let's see!

In a suitably long episode for a suitably long movie, your intrepid co-hosts delve into Bryan Singer's problematic failure Superman Returns. Debuting in a post-Batman Begins world, this rosy look back to simpler times tried to take Superman seriously while still holding on to that rosy 40s and 50s Americana vibe. It's a loving tribute to Richard Donner's '78 original, but does it hold up today? Th...

It's a Crichton week, friendos, and it won't be the last time word-slinger extraordinaire and Jurassic Park scribe Michael "MC JP" Crichton graces our listening holes. It's hard to die harder than the McTiernan/Crichton-helmed 13th Warrrior, and we are dying to figure out why. Katherine is on assignment this week, and I had it in my head that it was episode 13 (it would have been perfect!), but I...

This week, it's an episode focused on one of Failurepiece's favorite directors--Alex Proyas. The visionary behind The Crow, Dark City is his striking follow up, a financial flop that earned the title of best film of 1998 from Roger Ebert. Let's see how it holds up. Come along, won't you?

Another Monday, and another exploration of a cinematic disaster--in this case, one of the biggest box office bombs in history. The Wachowski-directed Speed Racer. Their first post-Matrix project, the siblings from Chi-town chose to adapt and update a beloved 60s anime, but in doing so might have put the wrong actor in the winner's circle and color timed things...a little hot. But, is Speed Racer t...

In this week's discussion, your co-hosts rave a little bit about the financial disaster that is 2012's Dredd. Another Alex Garland joint (and maybe more of one than his producer/writer credit calls for), it is a film that has found cult status after solid reviews and a negative box office run. A violent, gory, surprisingly great take on a popular character from the UK comics scene, Dredd attempts...

In an episode that we could barely wait to do, your grid-lovin' co-hosts crash the system and talk about Joseph Kosinski's criminally underrated Tron: Legacy, one of Disney's pre-Marvel attempts to franchise build in a post-Pirates of the Caribbean world. Is it too generic for its own good? Perhaps. Does it build on a series that most people have never heard of or cared about in attempt to reach c...

It's the second episode of our breakdown of Catherine Hardwicke's Twilight--the YA rocket engine that launched a thousand franchises. The technical glitches are sorted, the sound quality is back to normal, and our discussion gets deep into the good stuff--like vampire baseball. Take a listen, won't you?