The Arts Hole: Recent Episodes
The Arts Hole Podcast
A long stare into the pop culture abyss as one award winning script writer and one unemployed drunk try to take films, TV shows and books apart and work out what‘s gone wrong.
America never understood the appeal of the Krankies, as evidenced by this woefully botched adaptation.
...None of that is true, but it would have been more entertaining than this absolute nothing of a film from 2004. Still, Happy Christmas.
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Listener request episode! Moana is back, and this time the stakes are... Less? We look at the hurried and underwhelming sequel to the previous, much better Disney movie.
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Listener request episode! We go down the Warren rabbit hole as wholesome franchise heroes (but real life pedo-grifters) Ed & Lorraine Warren battle demons for what might be the final "Conjuring" movie, except it probably won't be if the franchise remains profitable.
SHOW NOTES:
Article on the Warren's controversy quoted in the show
Hollywood Reporter article on the Warrens and the franchise
Netflix documentary 'The Devil on Trial'
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It's the end of the world as we know it, and we feel conned.
Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow turns in a frankly unfinished movie that might or might not be about a nuclear strike on America. We'll never know! Console yourself with the brief appearances of some actors you like and let us be frustrated on your behalf.
SHOW NOTES:
Jo Light's great story analysis of House of Dynamite on No Film School
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A Halloween roundup episode as we talk about things that we didn't critique fully, things we actually liked, and why feminism remains a battleground in horror as well as in increasingly horrifying reality.
SHOW NOTES:
Find out more about the F-Rating project
'Last Fuckable Day' comedy sketch
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Even a man who is pure of heart, and says his prayers at night,
May become a wolf in a promising film that rapidly turns to shite...
Invisible Man writer/director Leigh Whanell tries to reinvent another classic monster franchise, and while it's not a total howler it definitely goes to the dogs by the final act. We do our best to diagnose where this often-quite-good horror story falls apart.
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Because we're not allowed anything new, someone decided to dig up Stephen King's 1975 novel, infect it with some of the existing 1980 adaptation, and turn it into this pale, anemic, soulless version of itself. It's the story of a small town being taken over by the undead, under the command of a mysterious, wealthy stranger. Vampires don't show up in mirrors, but audiences didn't show up at all. There's plenty of sucking, just not the kind you'd want.
References:
Video essay on Sinners
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Twenty-three years after the initial zombie outbreak, it's "28 Years Later", because these people are film makers not mathematicians, dammit!
A weird, interesting, sort-of-good film with the weirdest ending in recent memory, we take a look at a horror film in which Britain has become a dystopian, isolated, backwards-facing failed state. If you can picture that.
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With A.I. dominating the news, we watched a film directed by an Oscar-winner, starring a multiple Oscar-nominee and former two time Sexiest Man Alive.
Unfortunately, that multi-Oscar-nominee and former sexy man was Johnny Depp, who was just getting started on the demolition of his own career and personal life. He gives a performance that would have to substantially improve to qualify as "phoned in."
Strap in for "Transcendence", a film which hardly anyone saw and even fewer people remember, and which nearly asks several Big, Important Questions. But then doesn't.
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Ice Cube is a surveillance "expert" who spends all his time spying on his kids and glaring irritably at a laptop from an empty office.
Oh, also there's an alien invasion, but it doesn't come up as often as you'd think.
We discuss a film that might be the single best argument for never letting anything enter the public domain ever again...
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Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which is the worst-advised remake of all?
This is a strong contender. The attempt to update "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" resulted in angry racists, public in-fighting amongst actual dwarves, and two leads who apparently were not of one mind on the Israel/Gaza genocide.
Was the finished film worth all the angst? No. Of course not.
SHOW NOTES:
Hazel Gale's channel on Jung & story therapy
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You've seen a belly flop! You've seen the Fosbury flop! But you'll have seen two precious hours of your life wasted if you see Tim Burton's Disney remake flop from 2019. The story of an elephant with big ears that somehow causes everyone to be an unrelenting dick, we examine one of Disney's many CGI updates that really didn't seem necessary, and discuss the original Dumbo's questionable credentials.
SHOW NOTES:
Jenny Nicholson's video essay on Dumbo
David Harewood on Blackface
Girl on Film's video essay on the work of Tim Burton
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Bill Skarsgard perches on FKA Twigs before getting in a flap about her murder in this pointless, tedious remake of a film that actually wasn't that great in the first place. If some cultures believe that a crow will carry your spirit to the afterlife, and that sometimes, if something bad enough happens, it will bring you back again, this film is bad enough to make everyone involved functionally immortal.
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Remember the early 2000s? Remember the endless, cookie-cutter rom-coms? Remember when Republican states were seen as charmingly folksy and not the instigators of Fascism and global collapse?
We do, but we're old as shit.
In spite of this, neither of us had ever seen "Sweet Home Alabama," a film that we knew starred Reese Witherspoon and was presumably set in Alabama. With this scant knowledge, like the maniac from the "Saw" franchise, we decided to play a game.
Join us if you want to play along at home. Or if you just want to see how we do.
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Director Eli Roth is handed an easy project: adapt a successful video game franchise with a built-in story and pre-established sense of humour. How does he do?
Let's not feign suspense. Even non-gamers were aware of what a calamity this became. Join us on the deserted wastelands of the Planet Pandora as we explore the deserted wasteland of ideas that is Borderlands.
SHOW NOTES:
Link to the first game's introduction scene, which is better than the entirety of this film.
Corridor Crew look at Megalopolis
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As awards season heats up, we look back at what we've enjoyed over the past twelve months. It's still an audio only-show, so you'll just have to believe us that all famous recipients turned up to collect their trophies, they were just too shy to be on the show. Thanks to Elton John for hosting the after-party.
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She is woman, hear her bark. And complain.
Mostly the complaining thing, actually.
Amy Adams has a baby and finds herself turning into a dog, in a movie that rapidly goes astray until we're all ready to sit up and beg for a plot. It's pretty ruff. At least, according to this wag.
...kibble.
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There's white powder everywhere and Tim Allen is in a lot of trouble! What is this, an airport in the seventies?!
No. It's a seemingly lightweight Christmas movie that neither of us had ever seen, which turns out to be more depressing than watching a reindeer choke on a lump of coal.
Download our free Christmas Movie Bingo cards here!
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Tim Allen was a drug smuggler: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/tim-allen-arrested-smuggling-cocaine/
Two hugely popular stars in a festive buddy romp?! How can this be anything less than "alright as something to stick on over Christmas," without ever exceeding that exact level of quality?!
We take a look at 'Red One', a film that's... fine.
Download our free Christmas Movie Bingo cards here!
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Variety article that mentions how Sony weren't actually banned from using Spider-Man in their Spider-Man-less Spider-movies: https://variety.com/2024/film/news/kraven-sony-marvel-movies-not-dead-1236249221/
As 'Hot Frosty' turned out to be a lot better than it had any right to be, we moved straight on to 'Madame Web.' How bad could it be?
Bad enough that it taints everything even tangentially related to spiders. Ziggy Stardust is a worse album because this film exists. You will no longer want to see things on the web because this film exists. Dakota Johnson is... No, alright, she seems like she was always awful.
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Get ready to feel the burn! ...Is absolutely not the tagline for this film. Although it should have been.
Divisive, weird and a clash of social classes, our podcast is all of those things this week as we look at Emerald Fennell's controversial, homoerotic, twisty, semi-satirical, possibly plagiarised film Saltburn.
SHOW NOTES:
Broey Deschanel's video essay 'The Untalented Mr Ripley'
Robot mushrooms; be afraid
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An update on where we've been, what we've been watching, and our thoughts on a movie that has been called "horrible" and "the worst movie ever made" by the people who were in it. In a year where Dean Cain released six films, that CAN'T be true...
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Director Jan de Bont, having exhausted all his pacing directing "Speed," delivers a grindingly slow haunted house movie based off someone mostly remembering having once read the back cover of Shirley Jackson's novel. Catherine Zeta Jones looks fantastic, Owen Wilson looks confused, and everyone involved should look embarrassed.
Contains spoilers for The Haunting of Hill House novel
SHOW NOTES:
Just watch the 1963 movie
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If you go down to the woods today, you'd better bring a tripod. Or at least someone who can hold a camera steady. Nobody told the three student film makers who were rumoured to have disappeared in the woods...
Luke and Bea disagree - which might have been a better show title - on the merits of the iconic found footage horror film, rounding out our series on the films of 1999.
SHOW NOTES:
A couple of times we refer to 'Cinema vérité' but totally forget to explain it. Essentially it's the idea of 'fly on the wall' like the camera is just observing reality. Here's a proper explainer "What is Cinema Vérité?"
Some modern found footage horrors we love -
Cam
Unfriended
Late Night With the Devil
Webcast
Blair Witch 2: Book of Shadows the most intensely 2000s thing ever
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A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away... people thought this film would actually be good.
It wasn't!
George Lucas returned to the beloved science fiction saga that made his name and fortune for a prequel that has since become a byword for awful. We slogged through this absolute chore of a space opera, even though we hated it. And if hate leads to the Dark Side, sign us up, because it HAS to be more fun than this.
Thoughts, requests, detailed pie charts on how we're wrong? Email us at Artsholepodcast@gmail.com or find Bea on Instagram @Bea_roberts_writer
SHOW NOTES:
Day of the Dolphin
That infamous Folger's coffee ad
Why we were shouting "Pork Markets!"
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The kids are alright! As is this movie. Which is about all that can be said for it, if we're honest. Having developed a reputation at the time for scandalous sexuality, this teen coming-of-age movie is actually pretty banal by almost any metric. Although someone does fuck a pie. So... There's that...?
Requests? Thoughts on pie or just want to tell us what you got up to at band camp, email us at Artsholepodcast@gmail.com or find Bea on Instagram @Bea_roberts_writer
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The internet's boyfriend Keanu Reeves plays a very confused man hurtled through dimensions sometimes covered in goo - but sadly this isn't 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure' it's 1999's iconic 'The Matrix' Ahhh, the goo, explains why they're all wearing wipe clean fabrics.
Red pill? Blue pill? Chill pill? Tell us what pills you're enjoying by emailing us at Artsholepodcast@gmail.com or find Bea on Instagram @Bea_roberts_writer
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Breaking (we think) four of the eight rules of Fight Club here as we discuss David Fincher's much-talked-about precursor to everything that's wrong with the modern manosphere. We're not sure what Fincher shot this movie on, but if we had to guess, we'd say incel-luloid.
Hey you! You wanna fight? Yeah well email us Artsholepodcast@gmail.com or find Bea on Instagram @Bea_roberts_writer (we only fight with words, food or dance)
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The first of our new 1999 series, in which we examine movies from what turned out to be a weirdly pivotal year. In this case, Oscar-bait Boomer whinge "American Beauty," starring relatable, normal, everyman actor Kevin Spacey...
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We got over-stimulated, mistakes were made, and we ended up watching Showgirls. Is Paul Verhoeven's critically mauled stripper movie really as bad as its reputation suggests? Does a bear shit in the woods? And how do you like having nice tits, anyway? At least one of these questions will be answered.
If you have a question, request, suggestion or disturbing slash fiction involving Luke and Kyle MacLachlan, etc you can email us Artsholepodcast@gmail.com or find Bea on Instagram @Bea_roberts_writer
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Ban the bum! ...numbing... length... of films like this.
Christopher Nolan's Oscar-winning film tells the story of Robert Downey Jr.'s Lewis Strauss and his campaign to become Secretary of Commerce. Also there's some stuff about the potential annihilation of all life on earth thanks to the invention of the atom bomb, but they honestly don't go into it, much.
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Come on Arts Hole let's go part...s...hole. Hard as it is to believe, we stared at Margot Robbie for two hours and still have complaints.
With awards season fast approaching, we finally weigh in on the big movie of 2023.
SHOW NOTES:
Barbie proportions vs. human woman
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Regular Arts Hole episodes coming soon but for now here's a free mini creative writing class from Bea!
Find out more here and sign up before 8th Feb for your 50% discount!
www.bearobertswriter.com
A year after the horror movie "Jack Frost" came this unintentionally horrific family movie of the same name, in which Michael Keaton plays a man who is brought back as what can only be described as a Snow Wight*. It's a bad idea, but it's also handled ineptly. Merry Christmas!
*If you, like Bea, did not get this joke apparently it's a very highbrow Luke pun about ghosts.
Bruce Willis singing...
Arts Hole Christmas Movie Bingo our little present to you x
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All aboard! ...Wait, no, sorry. All are bored by Robert Zemeckis' completely CGI Christmas movie about a magic train that can chug along on rails like a non-magic train, as well as no other things. None of the characters have names and all of them are Tom Hanks and if you want it to make sense, so did we.
Luke's long digression - or at least one of them - is about this movie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_of_the_North_Pole
Head to Bea's Instagram if you want to see a side by side comparison of Conductor Tom Hanks & murderer Dr. Crippen...
Arts Hole Christmas Movie Bingo - our little present to you x
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Listen, and understand. James Cameron is out there. He can't be bargained with. He can't be reasoned with. He doesn't feel shame, or remorse, or when a script is woefully in need of another draft. And he absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until we agree that giant blue cat monsters are sexy and cool. We've threatened this for a while, but settle in, because we finally watched Avatar 2.
Correction: In the episode Bea says that Avatar: The Way of Water cost 2 billion US dollars to make; budget estimates actually range from $460 million to over $1 billion of combined production and marketing costs. The $2 billion figure came from James Cameron quoted in a Variety article from January 2023 saying the film would need to make $2 billion dollars to break even.
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Tom Cruise is a gay-coded immortal, who coincidentally plays a vampire in the movie adaptation of Anne Rice's book. It's not very good, but it did lead to a superb TV series. We look at why the recent 'Interview With The Vampire' series has bite, while the movie version just sucks.
We also go into why former Superman Dean Cain's people reached out to us and what we did next...
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With The Nun Two in cinemas now we take a look at The Nun One: The Nunnaning, which takes place in the same cinematic universe as The Conjuring, detailing another allegedly true haunting. Have the dead returned to torment us, or is it just the force of habit? ...Sorry.
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Call us Ishmael. No wait - that other thing - The Arts Hole Season 3! We're back and so's Brendan Fraser in Darren Arronofsky's "The Whale" We take a deep dive with this beast but thankfully come up for air. God, this film is depressing...
Content Warning: Discussions of suicide.
Things we mention:
The brilliant work of Fat Activist Aubrey Gordon
A Single Man
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The gambling dens of the Nevada desert are the setting for this musical which is largely set on a boat and doesn't feature any gambling, for some reason.
Elvis Presley scored an unlikely cinematic success at the height of Beatlemania as he pursues Ann Margaret in ways that our grandparents' generation apparently considered cute and which would now see you taken into custody. Join us for a confused romp that ends with far more violent deaths than anyone expected.
Still, the score is catchy as hell. Everybody! "Bright lights city gonna set my soul..."
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Ralph Fiennes was nominated for an Emmy for his performance as the outrageous, homicidal chef in this new horror comedy but is it a potboiler or just a load of old ham?
Plus we're back! - to say we're going again, but just for a bit...
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Join us and Disco the Podcast Puppy for 2022's New Year round up episode in a new awards format we're calling 'The Holeys'! Does it work? You be the judge of that as we judge the film and TV of 2022.
SHOW NOTES:
All the titles we talked about in the order I can remember them in as I type this, plus where to find them.
TV:
Peacemaker - Sky
Minx - Paramount Plus
Inside Job - Netflix
Invincible - Amazon Prime
Severance - Apple TV
Succession - Sky
The Boys - Amazon Prime
Blackbird - Apple TV
Barry - Sky
Girls5Eva - Sky
She Hulk: Attorney at Law - Disney Plus
Everything I Know About Love - BBC
The English - BBC
Only Murders In The Building - Disney Plus
MOVIES:
The Banshees of Inisherin - Disney Plus
Glass Onion - Netflix
The Lost City - Amazon
Bullet Train - Amazon
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Perhaps inevitably, we have reached the point where we had to acknowledge the existence of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 'Jingle All The Way' Some of you asked for this. You sadists. You unhinged, coal-hearted monsters.
SHOW NOTES:
Back Door Santa if you think the song title's spicy wait till you hear the lyrics...
Our Free Christmas Movie Bingo
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Back for more punishment, we return to regular programming with critical punching bag 'Falling For Christmas' Expect meaningful baubles, magic Santas and sexual chemistry like two genitaless snowmen. Ho-ho-oh-no-Lohan.
SHOW NOTES:
Our Free Christmas Movie Bingo
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An update and a round up of what we've been watching, where we've been and what we think of Wednesday and the Wonder. That's what, where, Wednesday and Wonder.
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Under pressure from Amazon Prime recommendations and our peers, we grit our teeth through Moonfall, a film which imagines (wrongly) what would happen if the moon... fell.
It's the most distressing space-based project shown to a global audience since the Challenger disaster.
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Olivia Wilde took "difficult second project" to new heights with a movie that has generated FAR more publicity for its director's behind-the-scenes behaviour than anything else.
We checked to see if the film itself was actually any good. Which it wasn't. Which is why it's on our show.
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A roundup of everything Halloween-y for the hallowed weenies who listen to our show.
TV, film and a couple of books for our Amish listeners, who presumably have the show transcribed onto slates and delivered to them by hand. It's an entirely separate Patreon tier...
All recommendations from the last couple of years but if you're looking for our classic horror picks then have a scroll to find our Halloween Recommendations 2021 episode! #JusticeForAnnieWilkes
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Run! Don't walk from...THE BLOB! Advice that really only applies to 1988's 'The Blob' which really shifts it unlike 1958's 'The Blob' which, well, keeps blob-blob-blobbing along.
In this Halloween edition of our Masters & Disasters series we have a rare remake which tops the original despite the fact it stars Kevin Dillon (or does it?)
SHOW NOTES:
Watch 1988's The Blob for free on Youtube.
You can also watch the 1958 The Blob free on Youtube.
That original theme tune ear worm - listen at your peril...
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In typically iconoclastic fashion, John Carpenter's 1988 movie 'They Live' manages to be both iconic and largely ignored. We dive into an almost-great film in which wrestler 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper learns that the world is run by inhuman parasites and all advertising is objectively evil. He's basically a very buff, thirty-five year old man with the brain of most of the guys from your first year of university.
Incidentally, we recorded this ahead of the Tory leadership vote in the UK, with no idea how much of a clown show that would have become by the time we released it...
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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 NOTES:
Just watch The Wicker Man
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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 Evil itself. There's a high probability Luke is remembering this as being better than it was, given that he saw it when he was about nine...
A goat walking upright is creepy as hell.
"Witchy Woman," an objectively better song for the end credits.
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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 lead to "rabbit starvation" or protein poisoning.
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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 Burger and the King" dealing with Elvis' relationship with food.
The current whereabouts of Michael Jackson's chimp, Bubbles, who is 39 years of age and enjoys painting and listening to flute music, which sounds weirdly like a Tindr profile.
The always weird photo of that time Elvis turned up at the White House and requested an audience with Nixon. It's fortunate that we have this photo, as between alcohol (Nixon) and prescription drugs (Presley) there's a decent chance that neither man had any idea that this happened:
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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.
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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 gender politics and scientific beliefs with people from the fourteenth century: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/04/todd-akin-dies-514988
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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
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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:
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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 churned out by hacks.
Ash Vs. The Evil Dead, the series this movie wishes it was.
Once again, the "Community" clip on Nicolas Cage.
Cage's new movie, "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent"
Jean Claude Van Johnson series that absolutely should have got a second series.
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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 you'll never get back...
EDIT TO ADD: We recorded this before the recent American Supreme Court Decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, back in the days when forced pregnancy was still a creepy, science fiction idea and not a horrifying reality. Solidarity with women in Northern Ireland, Malta, America and anywhere else where they have no right to control their own bodies.
SHOW NOTES:
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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"
Borat 2020 Debutante Ball scene
The documentary Luke mentions "Killing Patient Zero"
Buzzfeed article about best and worst LGBTQ+ movie representation as voted by LGBTQ+ viewers
Jessica Kellgren-Fozard's Youtube channel
Rowan Ellis' Youtube channel
We didn't mention her on the podcast but Contrapoints also talks about media representation on her excellent Youtube channel, primarily about Trans representation.
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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 on hand to fix the problems and re-structure this into something that could be really compelling.
A film we can't improve? That'll be the day...
SHOW NOTES:
The legendary Leroy Jenkins, patron saint of failed frontal assaults: https://youtu.be/mLyOj_QD4a4
Hank Worden, the cowboy actor who played Mose and whose name Luke couldn't find: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Worden
When Bea mentions 'whiteness' as being invented; this brilliant podcast series unpacks the construction of the idea of the 'white race' which is a relatively new idea:
https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/
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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 Broderick killed two women, just in case we forget to mention it.
P.S. Disco the podcast puppy was frolicking in the garden during the recording of this episode so she does not appear but she is fine and well and covered in grass cuttings.
SHOW NOTES:
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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.
Enjoy?
SHOW NOTES:
Moonstruck trailer - https://youtu.be/M01_2CKL6PU
Sir Arthur Striebgriebling - https://youtu.be/iuE_a1pTsO4
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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 NOTES:
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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:
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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 episode unscathed or will Cruella's fashion and sympathetic origin story tempt Bea to the dark side?! PUUUUUPPIES!!!!! thunder crack, lightning flash
SHOW NOTES:
Corrections
1) Cruella was released in 2021 not 2019
2) Luke did not mean to say "they're stupid cos they're orphans." He just meant that the care system often unfortunately leaves children with sub-par education opportunities and that people who grow up in care can be disproportionately under-educated, which is not the same as being stupid. His views on Emma Thompson remain unchanged.
Video essay on Cruella from The Take - https://youtu.be/luEEV_UiArQ
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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 the fuck off"
SHOW NOTES:
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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:
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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 fire....
SHOW NOTES:
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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 calling it "good." Join us for a trip down memory lane to a simpler, dumber time in an episode best described as Nostalgiupidity.
SHOW NOTES:
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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:
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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 revolve around a central polarity can be found in his playwriting manual 'How Plays Work'
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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 really miss us, why not buy a copy of our book?! Arts Hole Movie Bingo available here.
In this Romcom Season edition of Masters & Disasters we're talking literal and figurative shitshows as we unpick what went wrong with 2018's gender-swapped 'Overboard' whilst dealing with a real life plumbing emergency!
We're diving into two screwball romcoms built on a dodgy gaslighting premise - 1987's 'Overboard' starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell and 2018's bilingual, interracial, gender swapped remake starring Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris. We find one of them surprisingly ship-shape whilst the other needs to be jettisoned...
In this lightly scatty episode an excited Disco interrupts Luke, Dyno-Rod interrupts the podcast and Luke constantly interrupts Bea because he forgot to take his ADHD medication.
SHOW NOTES:
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In a change to the romcom schedule we're releasing this bonus Patreon episode where, well, there's no easy way to say this - we've fallen headfirst into Dean Cain's Arts Hole and it isn't pretty.
If you're a child of the 90s you may be thinking what has this beloved superhero actor been up to since 'Lois & Clark: New Adventures of Superman'? The answer involves talking animals, upsetting political views and chastising people for not finding Bigfoot...yes we may have been drinking in this early episode-lette from 2020 but we blame Dean Cain!
SHOW NOTES:
10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty - strong recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JhDEks8H_U
The Three Dogateers - less strong recommend: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jESbfyDJoiA
Beverly Hills Christmas - do we really need to say?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUWg7kRl5EU
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With Valentine's Day fast approaching, we start looking at romantic movies with "I Give It A Year," an ambitious but unsuccessful British anti-romcom.
SHOW NOTES:
Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen) laments his broken marriage in "The Naked Gun" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5OQMoSCrqw
Once again for newbies, an explanation of the Bechdel Test: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test
Archer's mad scientist, Dr. Krieger, showing how to stack gags, explain character and make a callback all in one scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VZLXTQmnG
The trailer for upcoming car crash/dumpster fire "Marry Me," which we will absolutely be covering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebv9_rNb5Ig
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Luke loses his Sex and the City virginity as we take a look at SATC TV reboot 'And Just Like That...' It's been ten years since Carrie last chugged a Cosmo on our screens and now she's back, from outerspace, she just walked in to find us here with a... confused look on our faces... What have the gang been up to? Is there still sex in that city and where, oh where, is Samantha?
SHOW NOTES:
The Aristocrats joke explained: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Aristocrats
Mark Kermode's iconic review of Sex and the City 2: https://youtu.be/uHeQeHstrsc
Just watch Girls5Eva instead: https://youtu.be/WlUYv_EtEAg
The Bruce Willis cover from a record that a fan sent us out of spite: https://www.heyuguys.com/great-crossovers-stars/
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Thomasin McKenzie plays Anya Taylor-Joy in the sixties, except she doesn't because it's now, except when it isn't, and there are ghosts, but not really. Which might explain why at least one of the characters is played by Dr. Who.
Confused? Screenwriters Edgar Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns seem like they were. We do our best to unpick the aesthetically beautiful and creatively hollow 'Last Night In Soho' - with reference to 'Huxley Pig' and 'Goodnight Sweetheart' because we're nothing if not cutting edge round here.
SHOW NOTES:
Huxley Pig, the children's show about an anthropomorphic pig and his pet seagull, which shares some plot mechanics with Last Night In Soho but ultimately makes a lot more sense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBmssqb0NFA
Goodnight Sweetheart, a BBC sitcom with a similar premise, in which Nicholas Lyndhurst found a portal to the 1940s and used it to cheat on his wife:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodnight_Sweetheart_(TV_series)
Trailer for "The Limey", a 1999 neo-noir with some related themes. It's far more meditative than the trailer implies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h_iD1us304
"Tiptoes," a jaw-dropping fan request that we've elected not to cover because it's already such a punching bag, is dissected pretty well over on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BHE1kmoeAc
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Christian Slater has the heart of a baboon - or does he?! - in this bizarre ape-themed romantic drama from 1993. Bea half remembers this from an old VHS tape and Luke has questions...seriously, 90s movies gave us some weird ideas about 'romance'.
SHOW NOTES:
Our friend Adam and his excellent rock'n'roll furniture business, Broken Neck: https://brokenneck.co.uk/shop/empire-2-lamp/
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James Cameron's 2009 mega blockbuster was once the most successful film of all time. How has it faded from view so quickly? A film with this many blue CGI cat people should never be so forgettable...
SHOW NOTES:
Once again, our oft-used "Community" clip about whether Nicolas Cage is good or not. It's weird how often this crops up...
https://youtu.be/F1XCUo_Uu8M
Hana Shams Riazuddin's article "Why Avatar is a truly dangerous film" - https://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/why-avatar-is-a-truly-dangerous-film/
Excellent Rich Hall documentary, "Inventing The Indian," which deals with (among other things) the cliché of a white man being so smart that he becomes a better native than any of the other natives with only a few weeks practice:
https://youtu.be/dmP3gGj9yjM
An end of year / start of year episode in which we answer some questions, make some recommendations, look back on the good and the bad of 2021 and make some predictions about the upcoming year.
Predictions are limited to movies, books and TV since the last time Luke predicted anything he accidentally started the Omicron variant. Sorry about that.
SHOW NOTES:
Our friend Adam and his excellent rock'n'roll furniture business, Broken Neck: https://brokenneck.co.uk/shop/empire-2-lamp/
Brilliant Youtube Channel exploring the art of the soundtrack: Sideways - https://www.youtube.com/c/Sideways440
Jezebel article on 'Love Actually' by Lindy West - https://jezebel.com/i-rewatched-love-actually-and-am-here-to-ruin-it-for-al-1485136388
'Home Alone' America's Favourite Child Soldier article -
https://www.vice.com/en/article/8gkbjg/americas-favorite-child-soldier-home-alone-25-years-later
Long lecture from Kevin Smith on how Hollywood producers work, referenced part about Barbra Streisand's hairdresser starts about 5:25: https://youtu.be/Wo2KB1dEDdk
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A thirty year cinematic saga, telling the story of a slow-witted but kind-hearted boxer from the slums of Philadelphia, his wife, his brother in law, and then somehow Mr. T, a robot and a Russian giant. Strap in for a long, strange ride as we cover every Rocky movie.
SHOW NOTES:
The Movies Made Us Do It, co-hosted by Luke's friend Rich who crops up with some borrowed points:
https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2R1cnNwcm9kdWN0aW9ucy9mZWVkLnhtbA/episode/ZHVyc3Byb2R1Y3Rpb25zLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tLzA2ZjAwNDRlLTU4YjUtMzkxNS05YmUxLTcyZWY2MzhjNGI3YQ?sa=X&ved=0CAUQkfYCahcKEwjIipS_8Pz0AhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQCg&hl=en-NL
The deliberately crap driving montage from Garth Merenghi's Dark Place:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OO-ZGP68-3w
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Christmas Bonus! Brooke Shields and Cary Elwes - the dream team of late eighties cinema - finally come together thirty years too late in a perfectly adequate Christmas movie. Dodgy Scots accents aside, and the fact that it's formulaic ay eff, it's... fine. Bea enjoyed it. Luke less so. Apologies to the people of Scotland for our terrible accents, although unlike Cary Elwes, we know that they're bad...
One features the Wet Bandits and one is just a damp squib, despite the CGI pyrotechnics. In this special Christmas edition of Masters and Disasters we unpack why 1991's 'Home Alone' is a festive classic but this year's 'Home Sweet Home Alone' is definitely not sweet and best left alone. Child trafficking, OJ jokes, the institutional racism of American police - how is this movie not a beloved family classic already?!
SHOW NOTES:
Just one of the many, MANY tracks on Bob Dylan's album "Christmas In The Heart," which you can have in your heart but which isn't recommended for aural consumption: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWd-IsevG_A
Home Alone & Joseph Campbell's 12 stages of the hero: https://youtu.be/wnlpo5n7x5Q
The Black Knight showing no pain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRwCPUEND1U
Steve Martin TRYING not to show pain in his consultation with Caine's fake Doctor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXUI7bb2wLc
Free Christmas Bingo game! Link takes you to our Patreon, too, if you feel generous...
https://www.patreon.com/posts/59476770
Neither free nor Christmas related all-genre year-round bingo book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arts-Hole-Presents-Movie-Bingo-ebook/dp/B09N1T35KG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+arts+hole+presents...+movie+bingo&qid=1638698382&s=books&sr=1-1
Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito star in a Christmas comedy, which sounds like it should be formulaic but adequate.
Turns out it's one, but not the other.
Join us as we plumb the depths of a laugh-free and often surprisingly unpleasant holiday effort from one actor who everyone likes and another who killed two people.
SHOW NOTES:
Matthew Broderick's car crash - the actual one, not this movie:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Broderick#1987_car_crash
Free Christmas Bingo game! Link takes you to our Patreon, too, if you feel generous...
https://www.patreon.com/posts/59476770
Neither free nor Christmas related all-genre year-round bingo book:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arts-Hole-Presents-Movie-Bingo-ebook/dp/B09N1T35KG/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+arts+hole+presents...+movie+bingo&qid=1638698382&s=books&sr=1-1
Not Last Christmas but the Christmas before last, we watched the movie 'Last Christmas.' Two years later, we're still fuming...
In the season of goodwill, Bea came to this movie with high hopes of an irreverent, Christmas feminist romcom romp from Emma Thompson and Bryony Kimmings and those hopes were dashed, through the snow. And the terrible plotting.
Don't forget we are launching our free give-away Christmas Movie Bingo! You can also find new, exclusive bonus episodes on our Patreon page. The first one is about Dean Cain, fascism and talking dogs - no, really.
Details in the show notes below!
SHOW NOTES:
Patreon where you can download our Christmas Movie Bingo for free and support the show, if you choose to - www.patreon.com/theartshole
Tom Waits' beautiful 'Christmas Card From a Hooker in Minneapolis' - https://youtu.be/mxVo5mjK4eg
Email us at artsholepodcast@gmail.com or say hello on Twitter @artsholepod
It's not a feel-good tween movie, not yet a grown up drama. We take a look at the wreckage of Britney Spears' movie vehicle, kick the tyres, suck our teeth and tell you it's going to take a lot to get this thing running smoothly.
Filmed at the height of Britney's pop princess power, why did this road movie take her and the audience nowhere? Recorded in 2020, before the fallout from #FreeBritney, we take a look at this weird little movie and ponder what forces were in play behind the scenes.
SHOW NOTES:
Ralph Macchio's "Crossroads," which is at least a less depressing and more musically competent movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntrCbhQw8yg
An article on a new documentary charting just how weirdly, scuzzily obsessed the tabloids were with Britney Spears' sex life: https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/sexist-treatment-of-britney-spears-retold-in-new-documentary
"BookSmart," a much better and much more uplifting "Girls want to have fun before they graduate" film: https://youtu.be/Uhd3lo_IWJc
In this episode, recorded in the depths of 2020, we re-litigate the famously awful action comedy starring Sly Stallone and Estelle Getty. One of them is a meddling old lady, and one of them is a tough cop!
It would have been a lot more interesting if the casting for those roles wasn't the way around you're thinking, but sadly, as with a lot of this film, things are done prosaically by the numbers.
What's a McGuffin? How do capers work? Are Stallone's jeans literally sprayed on?! All this and more on this week's Arts Hoooooole.
SHOW NOTES:
Why was Hulk Hogan cancelled? Trigger warning for startling racism:
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/jul/26/hulk-hogan-wrestling-racism-gawker
What was that about billionaires getting hair plugs?
https://pagesix.com/2018/07/25/its-highly-likely-elon-musk-spent-over-20k-on-hair-transplant-surgery-doctor-says/.
[NB: Musk has evidently increased his value tenfold in the last couple of years. Tax the rich, people...]
Online second hand books so you don't have to use Amazon:
https://www.wob.com/en-gb
Musical superstars Cher and Christina Aguilera team up for a gritty tale of addiction, revenge and corporate greed in this hard hitting, edge-of-your-seat thriller from 2008.
We're just kidding; it's glittery and fabulous and there are lots of campy dance numbers. It's also, as Luke is forced to admit, better than you might expect.
Recorded in 2020.
SHOW NOTES:
Todd in the Shadows video essay on Burlesque - https://youtu.be/3tItp0JA_wU
Released in December of 1989, "Tango & Cash" was the last and most eighties of the eighties action movie trend. We do our best to explain a complex and meaningless plot, and try to fix a film that is at once brilliant and terrible in equal measure.
Originally recorded 2020.
SHOW NOTES:
The scene in Jackie Chan's Police Story that VERY loosely inspired this movie's opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFo_NjgwJbQ
Bea mentioned the Bechdel test, which is a way of watching scripted media to see how sexist it is. In order to pass the Bechdel test, two women who have named characters need to have a conversation about something, and that something can't be a man. A staggering number of films, plays and TV shows can't manage this.
Gun Boot! https://youtu.be/K6r5vGVmEM0?t=49
Based on a movie based on a book based on a true story that was made up, "The Conjuring" is the latest iteration of the "Amityville Horror" legend. In this case, it's the story of a family who move into a haunted house. If that doesn't sound very original or interesting, maybe trust that instinct...
SHOW NOTES:
The surprisingly sweet "Poltergay" : https://www.amazon.com/Poltergay-English-Subtitled-Julie-Depardieu/dp/B00KV89C8W
The surprisingly harrowing Ryan Reynolds comedy "The Voices" : https://www.amazon.com/Voices-Ryan-Reynolds/dp/B00T9DFQCQ
A more skeptical take on the Amityville "haunting" : https://www.oxygen.com/martinis-murder/amityville-horror-hoax-the-true-crime-story-behind-lutz-family-famous-haunted-house
Because October is not all Pumpkins and fun sized Mars Bars, we wanted to honour Black History Month. Luke suggested getting a black guest, Bea pointed out that this gig in unpaid and that two white people asking someone black to work for free might have some awkward precedents. Instead, this week we take a quick tour through some of our favourite contemporary pieces of Black Art.
SHOW NOTES:
Akala's Oxford Union Lecture: https://youtu.be/WUtAxUQjwB4
Black Dynamite: https://youtu.be/96Y24a0cyCE
"Trouble in Mind" at the National Theatre: https://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/trouble-in-mind
Related to "Bad Hair", the great David Bowie asking some awkward questions during an MTV interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZGiVzIr8Qg
Our friend Adam makes very cool furniture out of old, broken instruments over at: https://www.facebook.com/brokenneckrg/
Seeing White Podcast: https://www.sceneonradio.org/seeing-white/
Our favourite black cultural commentators:
The Nod Podcast: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/the-nod
F.D. Signifier: https://www.youtube.com/c/FDSignifire
Shanspeare: https://www.youtube.com/c/Shanspeare
Khadija Mbowe: https://www.youtube.com/c/KhadijaMbowe
Second in our series about related projects, one which succeeds and one which doesn't. In this episode, it's Luke's pick, and he is comparing Ridley Scott's seminal 1979 sci-fi horror "Alien" with Ridley Scott's wanky 2017 prequel "Alien: Covenant."
SHOW NOTES:
The crew of "Covenant" dressed as they think appropriate for first contact with an unknown world: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/on-and-off-the-avenue/a-workwear-jacket-worthy-of-drake-and-alien-covenant
The "plot" of the first Alien prequel, "Prometheus" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeoP0V8yNVQ
Cinema Sins is just as annoyed as Luke was: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBGECC5U09Q
The "chestburster" scene from the original "Alien," complete with Ash (Ian Holm) staring longingly after the creature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPQ7om598OM
In space, no one can hear you play the fucking recorder: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skppRyDy2Ng
In 2009, movie studios took a gamble on the controversial idea that Megan Fox was attractive - which became their whole marketing strategy for a film that's actually a feminist-inflected horror comedy about a possessed cheerleader. Post #MeToo, the film has finally found an audience, but does it have the teeth of, say, "Teeth" ? Does it have the flavour of "Ginger Snaps" ? Is Megan Fox a "Promising Young Woman" ?
...Alright, we'll stop...
SHOW NOTES:
Teeth (2007) https://youtu.be/g8HbLQy2_cI
Ginger Snaps (2000) https://youtu.be/lRXT1J0kqdY
The Take essay on Jennifer's Body & the female gaze https://youtu.be/X7Twg8rG2HI
Our brand new MySpace page! www.myspace.com/theartsholepod
Ancient, malevolent, desiccated human remains with eerie power (Tom Cruise) get into a fight with some Egyptian chick. This was the movie that launched and then immediately sank Universal's "Dark Universe" project, for reasons that are painfully clear on screen.
SHOW NOTES:
Variety article on the problems with leaving a film under Cruise control: https://variety.com/2017/film/news/the-mummy-meltdown-tom-cruise-1202465742/
The original, "too big to fail" launch of the Dark Universe, containing the iconic picture in which all actors in the project are absolutely, definitely in the same room as one another: https://www.ign.com/articles/2017/05/22/dark-universe-announced-as-universal-monsters-shared-universe-depp-bardem-condon-and-elfman-confirmed
First of a series comparing one great piece of work with a related, terrible piece of work. In this case, 1973's cult classic Brit Horror "The Wicker Man" versus 2006's shit horror "The Wicker Man," with Nicolas FREAKIN' CAGE! Oooooh. OOOOooooOOOh AAAAHHH! I'm a sexy cat...
Show Notes:
Worst of The Wicker Man: https://youtu.be/e6i2WRreARo
Nicolas Cage explained: https://youtu.be/F1XCUo_Uu8M
In the spirit of celebrating the good as well as bashing the bad, and in the run up to Halloween, we take a break from criticising to talk about some of the scary movies that we love. Ten films each, plus wild cards and honourable mentions and, if we're honest, probably a fair bit of bending the rules and outright cheating.
Now that the sexist battleground has quietened, we take a look at the 2016 all-girl Ghostbusters reboot, not to be confused with the upcoming all-children reboot, and presumably far ahead of 2025's inevitable all-dog effort, or Ghostbusters Vs. Predator, or whatever else they're going to do to resurrect a franchise that should probably be left to decay in peace...
Episode two of the Arts Hole, recorded in 2020, deals with the frankly-always-expected return of serial killer Michael Myers. Jamie Lee Curtis stars in this eleventh entry into a franchise as unkillable as its antagonist, this time ignoring the other nine movies. Is it a masterpiece? A flawed gem? A disaster? You'll have to find out by playing the sound of the podcast towards the tiny hairs in your inner ear.
Welcome to the inaugural dive into The Arts Hole with your hosts Luke, Bea and Disco the podcast puppy. We're kicking off with the stuff of Luke's childhood nightmares, 1989's Pet Sematary. We'll be taking the movie apart and seeing if we can resurrect it into a better form. Although sometimes, dead is better...
NOTES:
Compilation of the Judd Crandle character's cameos in South Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogq-voFC6H8