The Arts Hole

Michael Sheen is a charismatic left wing preacher we would follow anywhere. And also plays a cult leader in this 2019 Welsh folk horror. The story of a man travelling to a secretive island cult to rescue a young girl, can this indie horror escape the towering shadow of horror classic The Wicker Man? DESK CROW!** **see our Masters & Disasters episode on The Wicker Man for Desk Crow details.  SHOW N...

 By the pricking of our thumbs, something over-rated this way comes...  The VVitch, as this 2015 horror movie somewhat pretentiously styles itself, was a critical darling on release that left us underwhelmed. We've revisited it to find out if a second viewing will lead to us being whelmed after all. SHOW NOTES:  " Hellbound ," a mid-90s Chuck Norris thriller in which he attempts to roundhouse kick...

 Something terrifying and alien is stalking the primordial forests of 1719 America - a g-g-g-girl!  Ignoring the tedious, sexist backlash against the lead casting, this Predator prequel still wasn't very good, but for reasons we'll get into and which, like so many arguments these days, really don't need to involve gender.    SHOW NOTES:  Eating nothing but rabbit, as Naru does at one point, will l...

Auto-correct's mortal enemy, Baz Luhrmann, directs this biopic of a little-known singer who achieved a small measure of success in the 1950s. Tom Hanks co-stars as his manager, Colonel Tom Parker, who in reality was neither a Colonel nor Tom Parker. SHOW NOTES:   Elvis' last filmed performance, covering "Unchained Melody." Big Mama Thornton's original version of "Hound Dog."   BBC Documentary "The...

We schlep ourselves back to Westeros on a ranging to establish whether Game of Thrones spin-off/prequel "House of the Dragon" is actually worth watching.  Will King Something-Or-Other pass the throne on to Princess Whatsit? Will evil Lord Hoohah usurp the throne? Is anyone still paying attention to this?!   We are, so you don't have to. You're welcome. Show us some love:  Buy us a coffee Join our...

Back, once again, with the ill behaviour and cutting edge 90s references - it's The Arts Hole Season 2: Holier Than Thou / Back In The Habit / When Nature Calls...  

Ridley Scott's 2021 historical drama was one of the major flops of recent years, with the combined star power of Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Ben Affleck and Jodie Comer not enough to get people interested in the true story of a rape trial from the 1380s. Although it's still better than 'House of Gucci.'  Content warning for sexual assault.   SHOW NOTES: Republican politicians, literally sharing their...

It affects a lot of people, goes on far longer than you want it to and, whilst there are some good bits, a lot of it isn't great - art imitates life in Judd Apatow's 2021 Covid comedy 'The Bubble.'  We tested positive on this movie but the second line was very faint... SHOW NOTES: *We are both okay and self isolating with a big Asda shop in the freezer so don't worry*  Join our Patreon!   Buy our...

With the latest in a decades-long series of rumours about a Duke Nukem movie, we discuss whether such an iconic (by which we mean: sexist, ludicrous, embarrassingly dated) character could be made to work in a modern film. Luke has two thirds of an idea, which is as much of an idea as he ever has... Back next week with something less stupidly macho!  SHOW NOTES:  For more Patreon bonus episodes you...

Nicolas Cage silently battles possessed children's characters in an abandoned diner in a film that somehow manages to be boring despite the premise and over-long at eighty-five minutes. Join us as we try to work out how what should have been a surefire classic failed so utterly.   SHOW NOTES: Screen Rant article on Cage's silent character - Like a lot of Screen Rant articles, it's bullshit filler...

 We've all woken up from a blackout with consequences hanging over us, but spare a thought for the women of Midwich, who are all knocked mysteriously unconscious and wake up pregnant.  John Wyndham's iconic sci-fi story is the basis for its recent third adaptation, now on Sky. We watched the pilot, which if nothing else perfectly captures the feeling of a missing chunk of time in your life that yo...

In this Pride Month Arts Hole special we take a look at the baffling 90s time capsule that is 'In & Out' This comedy - from the creative team that would go on to punish us with the 2006 'Stepford Wives' remake - can't really decide what we're laughing at or where it stands. We're out.    SHOW NOTES:  Khadija Mbowe's Video Essay "Maybe you should stay in the closet? Coming out re-examined"     Bora...

We go on an epic, five year quest to find a missing girl. Or at least John Wayne does and this whole film feels like we're tagging along in real time.  Often cited as John Wayne's finest film, Luke has long argued that John Ford's 1956 western is a rare example of a classic in dire need of a remake. The themes of racism, obsession and madness are buried under layers of folksy nonsense but Bea is o...

In 1972, Ira Levin wrote a novella so iconic it became an instant shorthand in pop culture and social discourse. In 2004, Hollywood adapted this novel - and changed the beginning, and the end, and put robot dog in it, and Matthew Broderick.  Join us for a classically head-in-hands episode of our Masters & Disasters series as we pit a literary classic against its movie adaptation.  Oh, and Matthew...

As it is Bea's birthday week/month she choose Oscar winning Cher vehicle 'Moonstruck' as her Arts Hole pick. But as the movie ran, Nicholas Cage wasn't the only one losing his shit... We don't recommend you listen to this episode unless you're up for arguments about kitchen sink dramas, the wacky world of John Waters movies, Emma Thompson grudge match round #2 and some TV recommendations instead. ...

In this musical edition of Masters & Disasters, we take a deep dive into Grease 2 and ask "Is 'Grease' still the word?" Turns out, we have some other words that could more aptly describe it... Still, there's a young Michelle Pfeiffer, a leading man who can't hold a tune and the threat of nuclear war, what's not to love? Just don't mention the Hawaiian Luau, Bea still hasn't recovered.    SHOW NOTE...

Raganarok! The death of the gods! The end of all things! Will this third entry from Chris Hemsworth's Thor be able to handle such high stakes? We'll never know, as it didn't bother to try. Join us for a dip into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we explore why Thor: Ragnarok was so weirdly un-engaging.    SHOW NOTES:  Become a patron! www.patreon.com/theartshole     Buy our book! Arts Hole Movie Bi...

 Villainous origin stories have become de rigeur in recent years, with 'Joker' becoming a critical darling and 'Maleficent' making a fortune. Even Marvel's Loki has his own TV show. Surely, however, nobody could make Cruella DeVil sympathetic? Which is true. They couldn't. But they insisted on trying for two and as half hours and we sat through all of it. Will Disco the podcast puppy survive this...

This week is a listener request - or should that be listener troll? - either way, we bring you Rockstar. The 2001 movie nobody heard of starring those titans of rock, Mark Wahlberg and...Jennifer Aniston...but nevermind the odd casting, this movie just wants to deliver that classic rock 'n' roll message, "work hard and follow your dreams"...yeah, it's less "turn it up to 11" and more "switch it th...

A much belated finale to our Valentines romcom season, hey - it was hard to feel all that love in the air with sewage coming through the ceiling... Bea picks the best romantic comedy movies of the last three years meanwhile Luke is digging out overlooked gems from the Arts Hole of the past.  We hope you fall in love with some of these movies and yes, we know, we had you at 'hello' x SHOW NOTES:  B...

We're bringing you multiple Arts Holes this week! First we do a quick follow up on Bea's 2022 pick and Oscar winner 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye' And in a rare restrained move from us, there isn't a spoiler in sight - Praise The Lord!  Then we dive into a bigger Arts Hole with new BBC sitcom 'The Witchfinder' It's a juicy setting with a great comedy cast but for some reason it just didn't set us on fir...

In an "I have never seen..." episode, Bea is exposed to the late nineties joys of "Armageddon," a film in which Michael Bay - the director who skipped every class in film school except "jump cuts" and "explosions" - tackles the subject of a dangerous asteroid by sending Bruce Willis to fuck it to death with a big drill.   It's actually not as awful as its reputation suggests, but that's far from c...

Owen Wilson stars with up-and-coming young musical talent Jennifer Lopez [cough] in this aimless and irrelevant romantic... film... of some kind. There aren't any jokes, we can't describe it as a comedy without someone taking legal action.  SHOW NOTES:  Become a patron! www.patreon.com/theartshole     Buy our book! Arts Hole Movie Bingo Book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arts-Hole-Presents-Movie-Bingo...

After all our house woes we were looking forward to spending some time in the House of Gucci. After watching the movie we think we may have to order a hit on this hit and miss biopic starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver and Jared Leto's prosthetics.    SHOW NOTES:  The Coen Brothers' Art of the Minor Character  - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfJx5k278V4     David Edgar's ideas about how stories revo...

A quick hello and goodbye - for now. As we are temporarily of no fixed abode, the podcast has had to take a brief back seat whilst we pack up our house and move. Normal service resuming asap and, in the meantime, you can get message us with your episode requests, comments and general hellos @artsholepod on Twitter, artsholepodcast@gmail.com or over on Patreon.com/theartshole  Oh - and if you reall...