Mixed Bag

125 - Memoirs of a Geisha

Our Period Princess continues with Rob Marshall's Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

A sweeping romantic epic set in Japan in the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Directed by Rob and produced by a whole bunch of the white guys, Memoirs of a Geisha started out as a smash hit bestseller, also written by a white guy, Arthur Golden. This adaptation was criticized for casting non-Japanese actors in lead roles but was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three,  Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. So is this memoir something worth opening or was it a story "that should never be told" as the opening narration states?

124 - The Other Boleyn Girl

It's the start of a new miniseries, it's time for Period Princess! 👸

It's a new era and what better way to kick it off with the ultimate page turner of 2001, The Other Boleyn Girl adapted into this feature film in 2008. Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana.

A sumptuous and sensual tale of intrigue, romance and betrayal set against the backdrop of a defining moment in European history: two beautiful sisters, Anne and Mary Boleyn, driven by their family’s blind ambition, compete for the love of the handsome and passionate King Henry VIII. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Will this sexy version of the Tutor times work its charms? 

Other texts discussed are Scavengers Reign, Ukyio, Pain and Glory, Inside Out 2, The Mole, The Getaway and Joe Biden and world politics.

123 - To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar

Cassandra filling in here for James who does the regular captions! Today we're celebrating 🎉 🌈   ᑭŘ𝕀đẸ 爪ｏ𝓝Ⓣｈ  🌈 🎉 here at Mixed Bag so it's time for a queer cinema classic that none of us have seen before.

Vida (Patrick Swayze), Noxima (Wesley Snipes) and Chi Chi (John Leguizamo) are three New York drag queens travelling cross country to the Miss America Drag pageant when they are waylaid in small town USA. Can their fabulousness bring a little joie d'vivre to this sad wee town, or will the locals not take too kindly to realising these three 'career women' have Adam's apples?

In Pop Corner we talk about the Decemberists' As It Ever Was, So It Will Be Again, Black Country New Road, The Taste of Things, cinema etiquette drama, Ren Faire, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, the Tony Awards, Charli XCX's Brat, Heartbreak Hotel, Bon Iver's classic album Ice [?] and the glory of sound-cancelling headphones.

122 - Dinosaur

It's the year 2000. It's the first 3D animated film from Walt Disney. It's Dinosaur. And it's a very unhinged episode, we had a blast with this one. Plus, we had a special guest drop in briefly, Cass' brother, Nathan!

An orphaned dinosaur raised by lemurs joins an arduous trek to a sancturary after a meteorite shower destroys his family home. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

It's the final of our personal childhood picks and we're rounding it out with Disney's Dinosaur. Who could forget the epic tale of Aladar, his lemurs and his two elderly friends Eema and Baylene? Everyone, it turns out! Well, it's available now on Disney Plus. Why not listen in to hear how Matt, Cass and Jimmy found this journey back, way waaaay back in time?

Quick Mix 3 - The Return of the Mixed

We're back for a mini quick mix this week! Discussions include Grey's Anatony, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, A Highland Song, Animal Well and Telling Lies.

See you next week for a return to our Childhood Movies!

121 - Now and Then

We're continuing our childhood picks with 1995's Now and Then, starring an absolutely stacked cast including Christina Ricci, Rosie O'Donnell, Demi Moore, Gaby Hoffmann, Thora Birch, Melanie Griffiths, Rita Wilson and Ashleigh Aston Moore. But what is this film? Does it even exist?

Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends – Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta – recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Will this girls version of Stand By Me stand up? How much Now and how much Then are we talking? And when is the return of Ashleigh Aston Moore? All this and more in our latest Mixed Bag! 

120 - Mouse Hunt

It's time for more personal picks from your hosts and James has landed on one fairly lost to time Mouse Hunt (1997). Before Gore Verbinski was documenting pirates in the Caribbean, he was making his debut feature with Nathan Lane and Lee Evans about a pesky mouse that won't go away.

Down-on-their luck brothers, Lars and Ernie Smuntz, aren’t happy with the crumbling old mansion they inherit… until they discover the estate is worth millions. Before they can cash in, they have to rid the house of its single, stubborn occupant—a tiny and tenacious mouse. (Sourced from Letterboxd).

Will this film that distressed young James still have the same effect today? Will Cass and Matt enjoy the slapstick shenanigans or is this a childhood watch that should remain forgotten?

Also featuring an in-depth discussion of the new film Challengers, the song J was trying to reference was the "yeah yeah yeah" one but he forgot words. 

 

119 - The Inbetweeners Movie w Ellie Stewart

Ellie Stewart returns to the podcast with the final part of the trilogy, Ghostbusters, Hook and The Inbetweeners Movie! (2011). Based on the TV show, will this gross out boys comedy be a dream come true or will our opinion be inbetween good and bad?

High school graduation just wouldn’t be complete without an un-chaperoned, uninhibited and unforgettable final holiday. At least that’s what Will, Jay, Simon and Neil think when they book a two-week stay on an exotic Greek island. As their dreams of sun-drenched days and booze-filled nights are left hopelessly unfulfilled, the lads fight their way into the party scene with hilariously humiliating results in this smash hit UK raunchy comedy. (Sourced from Letterboxd).

Don't forget to check out Ellie and Cassandra in Destiny's Cousin: The Reunion Spectacular, on during the New Zealand International Comedy Festival from the 7-9 May! Further info and tickets available at this link: https://www.comedyfestival.co.nz/find-a-show/destinys-cousin-the-reunion-spectacular/

118 - NYAD

NYAD

Love her or hate her, know her or don't, NYAD (2023) and Diana Nyad herself have been in the news lately with the Academy Award nominations of Annette Benning and Jodie Foster for said film. But who is she? 

Athlete Diana Nyad sets out at 60 to achieve a nearly impossible lifelong dream: to swim from Cuba to Florida across more than 100 miles of open ocean. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

That's right, controversial swimmer and sometime pathological liar Diana Nyad is being covered and whether she swum assisted or unassisted, there's one thing for certain, Annette is giving it her ALL in this performance. From the very first shot she is blazing intensity. But is the movie any good?

Will you need multiple attempts to watch this movie like Diana Nyad needed to swim from Cuba to Florida? How deep can your voice go? And has your mind never been clearer?

117 - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

It's time.

The foundational text. The Rosetta Stone of Dream Blunt Rotation. The one you've all been waiting for.

SALMON FISHING IN THE YEMEN!

What is there to say. The name speaks for itself. But will provide some context. 

Made in 2011, it's Emily's last rotation (for now) and her scene partner has appeared on the podcast before, Moulin Rouge's Ewen McGregor.

A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible. (Letterboxd)

Did you know Salmon Fishing isn't some bizarre improbable true story, it's just totally made up? It was the debut of author Paul Torday who was aged 60! A big fan of salmon fishing and having lived a life of bureaucracy, he decided to write a comic novel and turned into a smash hit. We'll glad he was able to watch his efforts be turned into a film before his death in 2013. 

See whether this relatively forgotten film is a fish flop or a surprise catch with our latest Mixed Bag.