Mixed Bag

There's no Mixed Bag this week but instead, we're treating you to an audio drama that Cassandra and James have been working on: Apocalypse Songs. The five episode series follows a local radio station reporter Amy Louise Chen (Cassandra Tse) investigating the tapes of Clara Wilson (Catherine Gavigan-Binnie), an obscure 1960s musician whose cryptic lyrics seem to have predicted the future. Amy joins...

Meryl Streep Jonathan Demme Diablo Cody. Killer combo right? But things were a bit Ricki-ety for Ricki and the Flash (2015) when it first opened and the years haven't been kind. Despite a stacked cast of Meryl, Kevin Kline and Audra McDonald, it's certainly in the mixed area of Meryl oeuvre. The Mixed Bag team sought it out to see if it's the star Ricki always dreams of being of it's just a Flash...

It's the first of our Meryl Streep Season and we're kicking it off with a bang with Mamma Mia (2008) Please consider signing petitions and donating to the Black Lives Matter movement: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/# And please visit ArmsDown. NZ so they can provide you with useful scripts to let the NZ Police and your local MP know that Aotearoa doesn't want Armed Police Patrols: https://arms...

Welcome to The Village. There are some rules for you to follow: 1. Let Kevin Karn on the podcast for he is good. 2. Do not get too mad at the twists though they annoy. 3. Bag it or biff it. There is no in-between. Misunderstood masterpiece or infuriating twaddle? M. Night Shyamalan's 2004 'period piece' is counted by some as the beginning of his 'bad patch'. But is The Village something to be avoi...

"He's a pinball wizard There has got to be a twist A pinball wizard's Got such a supple wrist!"   A boy that witnesses his father being murdered by his stepfather and mother goes deaf, dumb and blind before becoming a pinball wizard and founding a cult.   Yeah, just your average 70s flick. Welcome to 'Tommy' (1975) directed by Ken Russell! Chosen because the Mixed Bag team were desperate to see An...

"Your teacher says take off your robes" It's the final episode of our 1993 mini season and we're going out with a belt! That's right, it's Sister Act 2, Back in the Habit, starring Whoopi Goldberg and icon of the 90s Lauryn Hill. Despised by the critics on its release (7% on Rotten Tomatoes), dismissed by some fans and cherished by others, the debate on Sister Act 2 is well and truly mixed. Was De...

Ahhh clubs. We've all been in one, but have you ever heard of one with such joy? Or luck? No, never. Welcome to The Joy Luck Club by returning director Wayne Wang (Maid in Manhattan) the second in our 1993 mini season. Starring the voice of Mulan herself, Ming-Na Wen, and Adapted from a bestseller by author Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club explores the relationship between Chinese-American women and the...

All this lockdown making you feel a little grumpy? Let your anxiety and frustration be expressed by two of the best grumps around, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau! The very first of our '93 picks, Grumpy Old Men was a childhood pick from host James, where John Gustovson (Lemmon) and Max Goldman's (Matthau) whole life is three actions: bicker, argue and fish. That is until a mysterious and zany new...

"This is how the world ends, not with a whimper but with a bang." What does The Rock, Sarah Michelle Gellar, two Sean William Scotts, Justin Timberlake and enough SNL cast members to be a full episode create? Richard Kelly's Southland Tales. We're joined by the delightful Johnny Crawford, Vice-President of the Film Society to guide us through this labyrinthine plot and immerse us in the then-futur...

We reached a landmark, 20 episodes! To celebrate we're going to go plant some American flags on planets and wish the legendary Bill Irwin a happy birthday. That's right, we're off to space! Christopher Nolan's 2014 epic Interstellar was a giant but how many people actually saw it? James certainly didn't and he was a big Nolan fan, why did the worm turn against ol' Chris and why are you calling Jam...

Yo! You want some papes?  Welcome to the turn of the century, where we newsies gotta distributes these papes and we're gettin paid nuttin' for 'em! I'm getting angry, and I know my pal Jack Kelly (Christain Bale) is too! I sure hope he starts a revolt so we newsies can unionize, all while dancin our scruffy feet off an' singin' our little lungs out! A huge Box Office flop, this is the film Disney...

Does your marriage need a little zhoosh? How about solving a murder together? That's what Audrey (Jennifer Aniston) and Nick (Adam Sandler) find themselves doing when Charles Cavendish (Luke Evans) invites them on a luxury cruise ship. The first of our weekly series starts with Netflix's Murder Mystery so you can watch along and see if you agree. You'll be getting a lot more of the Mixed Bag team...

Take a moment from your real life to step into... the Imaginarium. It's 2009, Jude Law, Johnny Depp and Colin Farrell hold the same cultural cache, Andrew Garfield goes uncredited on the film's poster and Terry Gilliam hasn't put a Monty Python style foot in his mouth with comments about white men and how they're the real victims. No, this is a time when there's a duel between a Doctor and a Devil...

2002. It was a different time. Treasure Island? Pff! Forget that, it's a whole damn PLANET, mate! Joseph Gordon Levitt was hot stuff, fresh off 3rd Rock From The Sun and about to carve out his career as a serious actor, what better teen to take on the iconic role of Jim Hawkins. Disney was... well, struggling but there was great innovation to be made playing with 2D and 3D animation, did they crac...

Say listener, you, yes you! You wanna gig, kid? The years 1958 and we've got the scoop of the century! Vernon Hudsucker has gone kaput, kablamo! Who'll take over the company? His righthand man, the cigar chomping Sidney J Mussburger? Or will it be some nobody from the street? Hurry up kid, this story ain't gunna write itself!  This week we're joined by the incredible Jonny Potts, watching a VHS co...

It was the summer of 1999 and Freddie Prince Jr was riding the wave of stardom, starring in an incredibly loose adaptation of Pygmalion and My Fair Lady with rising star Rachael Leigh Cook. Featuring the most insane cast of the 90s and three, count 'em, THREE stars of the upcoming Scooby Doo. Don't be silent on this like Sarah Michelle Gellar's cameo, you've got to see this star studded cast ft Us...

"Eva!" Antonio Banderas roared, bathed in a river of flowing water, dancing freely and celebrating the glory and majesty of María Eva Duarte de Perón. Did Matt, Cass and James feel similarly towards the First Lady of Argentina and this film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Evita? Does Madonna steal our hearts or only our time? When will Antonio Banderas' Oscar come? Why is Jonathan...

"I See You" That's right, for our first episode of 2020, we're doing one of the biggest films of all time, the one that everyone forgot. Folks, welcome back to Pandora.   Matt, Cass and James not only waded into the hyper-blue depths of this 2009 juggernaut, we watched the extended cut, featuring more creatures, more Sigourney and the occasional dodgy CGI shot. Were the trio charmed by the visit t...

"Would you like to see me make the Jellicle choice?" It's here Baguettes. The moment you've been waiting for, you've had your Christmas presents but there's one more waiting for you on your podcast feed. Our thoughts on the horrific Lovcraftian Phantasmagoria CATS (2019) by Tom Hooper. Some of Hollywood's best performers (and Rebel Wilson) star in this nightmare fuel. Don't miss your opportunity t...

It's part two of our Christmas double with Lucas Neal! Lucas wanted to watch iconic Christmas movie, wholesome and loving with likeable characters and its heart in the right place. Instead we watched The Family Stone. The plot follows the Christmas holiday misadventures of the Stone family when the eldest son, (Dermot Mulroney), brings his uptight girlfriend (Sarah Jessica Parker) home with the in...

"Last Christmas, I recommended my pod but the very next day, you unsubscribed away" **SPOILER WARNING** Be warned, we spoil the hell out of Paul Feig's Last Christmas, starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding. And we're joined by special guest and Christmas connoisseur Lucas Neal!  Will A Simple Favour from Tom help Kate appreciate the true power of Christmas? Why does he always dress the same? Ca...

If you wanna be my lover, you gotta listen to my pod! It's our first ep with a guest and we're going to the World of Spice with Catherine Zulver! What's it like to revisit this camp classic for spice aficionados Cass, Matt and Cat? What does a spice virgin like James think of Ginger, Scary, Posh, Sporty and Baby as well as an irate Richard E. Grant, Roger Moore's pets and creepy alien fans? Follow...

"Tina, pass me the axe." Happy (belated) Halloween, Baguettes. Is there anything more iconic that Faye Dunaway giving it her all as Joan Crawford? Matt, Cass and James didn't know because they had not yet witnessed the mesmerising train wreck that is Mommie Dearest (1981), based on Christina Crawford's tell-all memoir published a year after her mother's death. Find out if they're biffing Crawford...

One big island demands one big episode, we're looking at Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island! Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo as well groomed men of the 50s you just love to ship, these duly appointed federal marshals are gunna smoke out all the nonsense on this isle. Where's Rachel Solando? Why did Michelle Williams book this gig? Why are you all wet, baby? Can James' Halloween pick sway...

To Infinity and beyond? With Nick and Norah and their playlist? Cass, Matt and James are doubting their chances with this indie mixed bag starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings about one long night of music, love and way too much gross out humour. Will we placing this flick on our nostalgia playlist or is it going the way of the tape and CD, straight into the biff? Follow us on Facebook ( MixedBag...