Hops and Box Office Flops

As we've discussed on the podcast in prior episodes—such as our MCU Top-10 two-parter ( Part One , Part Two )—we are living in a golden age of superhero cinema. It is a great time to be a fan of these characters. Generally, though, we cover the ones that didn't fare as well at the box office. As an example, last year's Hellboy or 2004's  The Punisher —neither of which grace this pod with their pre...

Jingle All the Way , as silly and over-the-top as it may be, is actually quite a hysterical look at the insanity of Christmas-time consumerism. It's the time of year when parents across the country will literally stop at nothing to secure that one toy their child cannot live without. Though it is not a great film, it is a heck of a lot of fun. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as the workaholic mattress sale...

There's no avoiding that  Terminator: Dark Fate  was a flop. Within two days of its release, the writing was not only on the wall, but in print. Outlets like Variety and The Hollywood Reporter pegged it to lose upward of $100 million. That projection was due, in no small part, to Dark Fate's abysmal opening—just $131 million worldwide in its premiere weekend. No amount of foresight or heroics from...

Released in 2004,  The Punisher  marked the return of the infamous Marvel character to live action. It had been 15 years since his first appearance in  1989's film of the same name, and a lot had changed in the landscape of comic book cinema. The world was at the precipice of what would become a boom, an unfiltered and unfettered influx of properties—not all of which were of the utmost quality. Th...

The past decade has not been kind to poor John Travolta. His star, like the quality of the roles he's taken, has waned. It has been a precipitous decline, culminating in his latest film— The Fanatic . The Fanatic centers around Moose (John Travolta), a super fan whose fixated on attaining the autograph of his favorite actor, Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa). When that proves more difficult than expected...

To paraphrase the legendary CIA operative Charlie Wax (John Travolta),  From Paris with Love  is a straight up Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers Kung Fu  show with guns, drugs, and action galore. It is a film that pulls absolutely no punches. With a body county only surpassed by Travolta's gratuitous use of the F-word, From Paris with Love cares very little for who it offends or for how outlandish its narr...

John Travolta—Scientology's original darling son—spent years attempting to bring L. Ron Hubbard's not-so-classic science fiction novel  Battlefield Earth  to the big screen. It was a great passion of his, which, for us viewers, is quite unfortunate. His dogged determination to appease Hubbard—the founder of the Church of Scientology—by bringing his novel to life in the vein of "Star Wars" is what...

John Carpenter has directed movies that redefined genres in their era—Halloween, Escape from New York, Big Trouble in Little China—so much so, that they remain seminal movies today. One of those films is 1982's  The Thing . Though it was much maligned critically upon its release and was a commercial failure—grossing just over $19 million on a budget of $15 million—The Thing's legacy is epitomized...

The 1980s were chock full of formulaic horror fare. Many of those involved horny teenagers with questionable morals getting slaughtered by a larger than life antagonist. In that sense, Chopping Mall is not all that unique. The set up: Moronic young adults gather at a mall after hours to engage in youthful frivolity. Unfortunately for them, a lightning storm causes a power surge, frying the mainfra...

There was a time in the 1980s when  He-Man and the Masters of the Universe  line reigned atop the mountain of kids' toys. Its massive success made this film's production a no-brainer. It was meant to capitalize on the popularity of those figures, as well as the the cartoon series. But it was too late; by the time it was released in 1987, the fervor for He-Man and his heroic, scantily clad exploits...

In the 1980s and into the 90s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a legitimate phenomenon. Based on a comic of the same name, the immense popularity of the "Heroes in a Half Shell" would spawn countless action figures , a cartoon series (that ran for 10 seasons!), a concert tour/album, a live-action television show, and, of course, big screen movies. If that sounds like the over-commercializati...

Transformers: The Movie  is an interesting study. It's undeniably a flop. Finishing 14th in its opening weekend—behind About Last Night, which was in its sixth week of release—it barely cracked the top-100 for 1986. Carrying a $6 million price tag, its cost was six times greater than the budget used to create 90 minutes of the regular cartoon series. Expectations were clearly high, which is what m...

Nineteen years. That's how long it took for Superman to triumphantly come back to theaters. Yet just as quickly as he flew onto the screen, he was gone faster than a speeding bullet—a victim of low receipts and a distinct lack of enthusiasm for this movie's ponderous take on the "Big Blue Boy Scout."  Though decently reviewed—75% on Rotten Tomatoes with a Metascore of 72—and laden with talent (a p...

After 11 years, 23 movies, $22.5 billion dollars in global box office (the high being Endgame with $2.7 billion and the low being angsty Incredible Hulk with $263.4 million), the first major arc of the MCU has come to an end. The Infinity Saga brought us many superhero highs and created an integrated cinematic universe that none of us ever dreamed was possible. Thus, we knew we had to assemble to...

After 11 years, 23 movies, $22.5 billion dollars in global box office (the high being Endgame with $2.7 billion and the low being angsty Incredible Hulk with $263.4 million), the first major arc of the MCU has come to an end. The Infinity Saga brought us many superhero highs and created an integrated cinematic universe that none of us ever dreamed was possible. Thus, we knew we had to assemble to...

“This is one of the worst marketing campaigns in the history of movies. It’s almost as if they went out of their way to not make us care.” Those words, quoted to Vulture by a former studio marketing chief just prior to  John Carter 's 2012 release, are harsh. But, in truth, they epitomize where the problems originated for this big budget bomb. From its initial teaser onward, Disney was never able...

Rebooting any film is tricky. Doing so barely a decade after the last iteration makes it more so. 2019's Hellboy is a prime example of "Why is this happening?" movie making. Both the original film (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) were generally well liked by audiences and critics (81% and 86% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes with audiences scores of 66% and 71%). Were they o...

We went. We saw. We conquered! Well, sort of. Capt. Cash and I return with the briefest of brief recaps of this year's huge San Diego Comic Con (SDCC), the 50th anniversary of the convention. We offer our thoughts on Marvel's mic dropping Hall H, HBO's Watchmen trailer, and the new Amazon series The Boys, which is based on the comic of the same name! This episode, as I stated, is not in depth, but...

If there is one thing that the MCU can be blamed for, it's the rush to build a movie universe. DC tried, mostly failed, and had to soft reset; Universal's monsters went back into the vault only one film in; and now, sadly,  Godzilla: King of the Monsters  may have taken this burgeoning franchise down that same path. Unlike its 2014 predecessor, which was heavily criticized for its reluctance to sh...

Summer is known for popcorn entertainment, boasting blockbuster films that are meant to be enjoyed with little thought about their message or theme. Starship Troopers is not one of those films. Though it was billed as a straight forward, science fiction action shoot-em-up (just watch the trailer)—and it certainly works as one— Starship Troopers is much more. It's an evocative take on the dangers o...

In 2000, 20th Century Fox’s original X-Men hit theaters. It wasn’t necessarily the only catalyst in the comic book movie boom to come, but it was an important one. It was a proof of concept and demonstrated that as a medium, comic books could translate well to film. 19 years and 11 films later, Fox’s X-Men series has finally come to an end. Its sendoff— X-Men: Dark Phoenix . Like its titular chara...

Tis' the season of big budget movies. The time when theaters play host to all manner of spectacle—featuring films that cost a boatload, but make more in one week than many do in a year.  The 13th Warrior is not one of those films. Well, it is and it isn't Costing over $160 million dollars—a result of extended reshoots and compulsive tinkering—it grossed only $61 million worldwide, earning it the d...

It’s fitting we end our “Coming-of-Age” month of movies with Can’t Hardly Wait. In every sense of the term, it is a teen cult classic. Oozing with 90s nostalgia, its setting will feel familiar to anyone who grew up in that highly confused and musically challenged decade. More important, it’s just a heck of a lot of fun. Featuring Jennifer Love Hewitt—who was at the peak of her stardom—an instantly...

From roughly 1997 to 2002, Freddie Prinze, Jr. was a legitimate thing. The peak of that thing, in terms of overall success and his place in the billing, was  She's All That , an overtly misogynistic tale of a popular, athletic guy who falls for a not-so popular, nerdy girl. She wears glasses; he wears a letterman's jacket. She enjoys art; he frets about actually getting accepted to great colleges...

Caution: This brief podcast is dark and full of spoilers. Capt. Cash and I ( @Writer: TLK ) return for a solemn look at the final episode of Game of Thrones, The Iron Throne. We offer our overall impressions, as well as share our favorite episodes and characters. We also shed light on the things we found to be disappointing as we say goodbye for the last time. Though this season may have underwhel...