Overhated

As a big thanks to all our listeners, I've invited Erik Childress to join me for a discussion regarding 2023's most overhated films. And yes, there were a few. We also run through a big batch of recent Patreon episodes, ramble a bit about random nerd minutiae, and talk about the show's awesome new sponsor. Fun stuff!  Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at  patreon.com/...

It was the highest grossing movie of 2000, so how hated could it be, right? Big thanks to film nerd Merrill Barr (@merrillbarr) for his firm and energetic defense of the most controversial chapter in a widely adored franchise. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at  patreon.com/scottEweinberg . Subscribe to hear them all now! Check out the list of episodes here:  bit.ly...

Call it The Quickening; call it The Renegade Cut; it's still Highlander 2 , which means it's one of the most feverishly savaged movies we've ever covered on Overhated. Big thanks to veteran film critic Fred Topel (@fredtopel) for joining me in this very amusing conversation. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at  patreon.com/scottEweinberg . Subscribe to hear them all...

This episode is dedicated to my wonderful friend James Rocchi, who recently passed away at the age of 51. Today (12/29) was his birthday. It's mine as well.  This was one of James' favorite "popcorn movies," so I sat down with TV writer Shawna Benson (@shawnabenson), who also loved James deeply, to discuss the over-the-top lunacy of Battleship. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ mor...

Back in 1986, right in between Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II , Eddie Murphy did a movie for Paramount that opened, made a decent amount of money, and promptly vanished from our collective memory. In this episode you'll hear me and writer / producer Zack Stentz (@musezack) discuss our fond memories of this odd film, and our opinions on how it holds up now. Enjoy! (Thanks, patrons!) not...

Early in his career M. Night Shyamalan became known as the "twist ending" director, which reminds me of a great Reggie Jackson quote: "the only problem with hitting four home runs in one game is that now people want you to do it every night."  In other words, this filmmaker painted himself into a "twist ending" corner, at least for one movie, and the result was an oddly beautiful period piece that...

Nobody mocked Jules Verne when he wanted to travel into the center of the Earth in his stories -- so why does everyone love to pick on The Core so dang much? To answer that question about this movie we have guest host Amanda Smith (@amandasmithsays) of the Disaster Girls podcast.  If this movie ever needs a lawyer, she's who it should call. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more ep...

What happens when a hard-headed young filmmaker butts heads with anonymous studio executives who hate his movie? In 1983 you'd get something like The Keep , which is half a mess and half a pretty damn good horror movie with a cool setting, some memorable music, and a very curious cast. Joining me for this discussion is filmmaker / DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika (@Lauzirika), and this is a man w...

If you're listening to Overhated on a normal podcast feed, cool! and thanks. But if you want a lot more episodes, right now, you can subscribe at  patreon.com/scottEweinberg . In this bonus episode, Eric and I discuss the last several Patreon episodes, which means titles like Battle: Los Angeles, Poltergeist III, Envy, Jurassic Park III, and yes, Space Jam. Check it out!

You'd have to be a hardcore Christmas movie fanatic to truly enjoy this wacky Arnold farce from the mid-'90s, right? Perhaps. Fortunately we happen to have just such an Xmas fan in guest host / podcast producer Jordan Kauwling (@cinnamonlafemme), and she's got plenty to say about what she likes about this flick. As for me, well. I'm sort of a Scrooge in this episode. Thanks for listening to Overha...

My pal Jeff Bayer (@bayerjeff) has two little kids, and that's why he's grown to love this big-budget animated feature that made good money, yet still managed to help destroy an entire studio. (sad but true!) Join me Jeff, Santa, Easter Bunny, and the rest of the gang on this goofy episode of Overhated. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at  patreon.com/scottEweinberg...

It's one of the biggest bombs in modern movie history; financially, critically, artistically, you name it. It's an infamous mess made all the more fascinating by Julie Salamon's fantastic book (and podcast !) The Devil's Candy , and it still stands as a movie that film nerds love to banter about. For example, in this episode I'm joined by film critic / author / old friend Jason Bailey (@jasondashb...

A few years ago it sure seemed like this follow-up to Casino Royale was the most hated Bond film of all time, but then Spectre showed up and all of a sudden Solace didn't seem quite so unwelcome. Join me and film critic / Bond fan Pramit Chaterjee (@pramitheus) for a discussion about "Casino Royale 2," and how it's not nearly as forgettable as we thought it was ten years ago. Thank you to Pramit,...

When Steven Spielberg is firing on all cylinders he delivers movies like Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Jurassic Park. But even when he's only firing on 75% of his cylinders he still turns out "lesser" movies like 1991's Hook, which has a seriously passionate fanbase despite being generally regarded as one of his second-tier films. Big thank to film critic Danielle Solzman (@danielleSATM) for...

Some call it a horrifying fever dream; others refer to it as a cinematic panic attack. And those are the people who like it! General audiences back in 2017 were clearly unhappy with what Darren Aronofsky was doling out this time around -- but some brave moviegoers, and a good portion of film critics, found a lot to like. And this insane thriller has earned lots of new fans over the past few years....

When is a TV-to-movie adaptation not exactly a TV-to-movie adaptation? When it's a super-meta ball of confusion like Nora Ephron's colorful yet confused adaptation of the classic sitcom Bewitched . This is an oddly unspectacular movie, but with talent like Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, and Steve Carell on board, there's got to be a little bit of gold here... right?...

If you want to do a podcast about historically lambasted movies, you're going to come across the certifiably wacky 1936 propaganda flick Reefer Madness eventually -- and boy does this thing hold up as an unintentional laugh riot. For this episode I'm joined by film & game critic Shaurya Chawla (@_ShauryaChawla), and suffice to say that we continue to be endlessly amused by this very stupid film th...

Horror fans are a ridiculously loyal sort, but for the most part they don't love change. Back in 1982, producers John Carpenter and Debra Hill wanted to shake things up in their Halloween franchise. Instead of just bringing boogeyman Michael Myers back for a third slash-fest, the franchise would now be done anthology-style. As in: each new Halloween movie would be its very own thing. Like Tales fr...

Scott Weinberg is joined by his "resident Spielberg expert" Erik Childress to preview some of the latest episodes of Overhated. You can listen to them all right now by heading over to his Patreon feed at patreon.com/scottEweinberg. Subscribe for just a couple bucks and you can listen to over 90+ more episodes available right now. Check out the list of episodes here: bit.ly/3WZiLFk . Subscribe wher...

The long-awaited big-screen version of the beloved Star Trek TV series was heralded as a huge cinematic event at the tail end of 1979 -- and it turned out to be a smash hit too. So why does the film seem to have a relatively lukewarm reputation among critics and general movie-watchers? To this day the film is remembered as a bit too long, and a bit too focused on the undeniable majesty of giant sp...

Sometimes the weirdest movies end up striking a chord deep within your genre-loving soul; for example, this simple sci-fi / horror combo managed to entertain me a lot more than it did most film critics -- and now it's gone on to spawn two certifiably insane sequels that (yep) I also enjoy. So I asked my friend Liam O'Donnell (@liamodin) to join me. Since he co-wrote the first movie and directed bo...

I wanted to get a special guest for this highly-requested cult favorite, so I reached out to the man who wrote it: Philadelphia's own Steven de Souza (@StevenEdeSouza)! We cover all sorts of Hawk-related info. from production to box office to the exceedingly brutal reviews. Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at patreon.com/scottEweinberg . Subscribe to hear them all no...

I have a list of over 200 films I share with potential guests if they need help choosing a movie for Overhated. But this guest didn't even need the list. She offered up the 2002 vampire flick  Queen of the Damned , and I thought "hell, that's a good pick." So thanks to Danishka Esterhazy (@desterhazy), director of the lovably twisted Banana Splits Movie and the admirably amusing new Slumber Party...

The mid-1990s were a strange time full of strange movies, and this is one of them. It's a future-noir anti-corporate sci-fi action absurdist farce... and I'm here to discuss it with the excellent Akela Cooper, a writer/producer on Luke Cage , Star Trek: Strange New Worlds , and last summer's horror hit Malignant . (@AkelaCooper) Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episodes at pa...

The critics were not pleased with this movie back in 1994, but you know who was? The rest of the civilized world. It was a huge smash, it sold tons of kooky merchandise, and kids seemed to love it. So I decided to take a second look, and my guest is L.A. Podfidential's Chauncey Telese (@bigchaunc64). He toured the Bedrock set as a kid! Thanks for listening to Overhated! There are 100+ more episode...