Mixed Bag

113 - Non-Stop

"I don't know who you are, I don't know what you want. But if it's Taken you're looking for, I can tell you, this is only a knock-off."

RRRR! That's right, it's another JetBag 🚨 Emergency Landing 🚨 and this time we're covering Non-Stop (2014) with Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Lupita Nyong'o.

Bill Marks is a burned-out veteran of the Air Marshals service. He views the assignment not as a life-saving duty, but as a desk job in the sky. However, today’s flight will be no routine trip. Shortly into the transatlantic journey from New York to London, he receives a series of mysterious text messages ordering him to have the government transfer $150 million into a secret account, or a passenger will die every 20 minutes.

Who is the killer in this star-studded flight? Will Liam be able to survive a flight without manhandling every single passenger? And is there any moment that will rival the pencil attack from Red Eye? All this and a hearty Oscar nomination chat with Non-Stop.

112 - Wonka (and top tens of 2023)

Another year has passed and it's time to look back on the year and remember the chocolatiers of 2023. Wonka, Barbie, J. Robert Oppenheimer and more.

We've taken one last trip to the chocolate factory to snack upon the confections of Paul King's Wonka starring Timothy Chalamet, Hugh Grant and Olivia Coleman. 

Willy Wonka – chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time – is proof that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.

We've also taken the liberty to share our personal top tens of 2023, visit our Letterboxd pages (James, Cass, Matt) and follow us for more movie updates!

Will we (Hugh) grant this film a bag? Or will we use our pure imagination to dream up a superior version of favourite enigmatic chocolate bud?

111 - Love Actually ft Lucas Neal

Christmas is all around you BagHags and so it's time for our Christmas tradition, Lucas Neal joins us once again for a Christmas Mixed Bag! It's a big one this year, long requested, Love Actually (2003) by Richard Curtis!

THE ULTIMATE ROMANTIC COMEDY.
Follows seemingly unrelated people as their lives begin to intertwine while they fall in – and out – of love. Affections languish and develop as Christmas draws near.

Were the hosts and guest prepared for quite so much fatphobia? Is Alan Rickman 'adorable' as James says? The film attests that it's possible to be "gay as a maypole" and "gay as a picnic basket" but which is more gay? And will we finally view the film from Both Sides Now?

All this and more in our epic two hour episode that concludes our viewings for 2024 (we're taking a break on Christmas Day). Thanks for being with us for another year and merry Mixed Bag viewings this holiday season. 

110 - Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005) ft Dryw McArthur

The chocolate factory is back open! To coincide with the upcoming release of 'Wonka', a definitely not mixed film, we thought we'd take a trip down memory lane to the last Wonka release, Tim Burton's version in 2005 and we are joined by special guest Dryw McArthur!

A young boy wins a tour through the most magnificent chocolate factory in the world, led by the world’s most unusual candy maker.

Are we able to stomach a Johnny Depp film? What elements of the tale have aged badly? Are you pro or anti Grandpa Joe and why is Christopher Lee playing Wonka's dad in this movie?!

We had some minor technical issues on this ep fam but you'll barely notice them.

See you next time for our annual Christmas special episode!

109 - Crossroads

It's Britney, b*tch.

To coincide with the book of the year The Woman in Me, we're looking back to 2002 when Britney made a big swing making a coming of age, road movie with Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning, Crossroads!

DREAMS CHANGE. FRIENDS ARE FOREVER.

Three estranged friends reunite to travel to LA to chase fame, family and romance. 

Does this pop star vanity project pay off? Which is girl is each host? And how will Britney write her hit single, I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman?

108 - Carrie (2013) ft Mike Bryant

Happy Halloween Baghags! We hope your lolly bags are never mixed and it's bottles all the way down.

We're celebrating the Spooky Season with our Foe of the Pod, Mike Bryant, bringing us another scary movie of the mixed variety for our hosts to feast upon! This year, we're going to the prom with Carrie, 2013 edition. 

A reimagining of the classic horror tale about Carrie White, a shy girl outcast by her peers and sheltered by her deeply religious mother, who unleashes telekinetic terror on her small town after being pushed too far at her senior prom.

How will Hit Girl (aka Chloe Grace Moretz) fare when compared to Sissy Spacek? Will Oscar winner Julianne Moore hold a candle to Piper Laurie? And why are they playing WATERPOLO? We all know Matt is a professed landlubber.

All this and more in our Halloween special of Mixed Bag.

107 - Van Helsing

Oh the Hugh-manity! It's another Hugh Jackson flick and we're warming up to Halloween with this action adventure Van Helsing (2004) directed by Stephen Sommers of The Mummy and G.I. Joe fame.

Famed monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing is dispatched to Transylvania to assist the last of the Valerious bloodline in defeating Count Dracula. Anna Valerious reveals that Dracula has formed an unholy alliance with Dr. Frankenstein’s monster and is hell-bent on exacting a centuries-old curse on her family.

Can a film hold the combined might of Van, Frank, Drac, Wolf and Jek/Hy?? When is David Wenham getting his comedic roles back? And will Matt finally be convinced by Hugh?

Also, we do a massive deep dive on Taylor Swift's Eras Tour to kick off Popcorner! Listen in Swifties. 

106- Dean Spanley

Before James got bit by a dog (he's fine) he rather liked these furry animals. We take you to a recording pre-bite when he and the other hosts were 100% gung-ho on the beloved canines.

Introducing Dean Spanley (2008)! Directed by Toa Fraser and starring Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill and Peter O'Toole! If you're a NZer you might vaguely recall this movie, if you're from elsewhere you probably don't have a clue! But what is this forgotten film all about?

Set in Edwardian England where upper lips are always stiff and men from the Colonies are not entirely to be trusted, Fisk Senior has little time or affection for his son, but when the pair visit an eccentric Indian, they start a strange journey that eventually allows the old man to find his heart.

Is Dean a name or a title? Will Peter finally win his Oscar? (No. He was not even nominated for this) and what happens when national treasure Sam Neill sups on a particular wine?

105 - King Kong (2005) ft Jack O’Donnell

It's the eighth wonder of the world, Jack O'Donnell!

That's right, we've got the nicest guy in New Zealand film, Jack O'Donnell talking about Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005)! Before Peter Jackson was union busting and bringing about Hobbit Law with the NZ Government, he was transforming Petone into New York City and making a great big gorilla wreak havoc.

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.

But does this colossal monster movie which was one of the most expensive shoots ever hold up? Can we withstand the power of the three hour runtime? Will PJ ever trump the death scene of Lumpy with those horrific penis monsters?

You can watch Jack O'Donnell's short film Tama right now! It's an excellent watch.

104 - Stardust ft Charlie Potter

Today we're joined by the wonderful Charlie Potter to discuss the magical adventure/romance 'Stardust' (2007) by Matthew Vaughan, adapted from Neil Gaiman's book of the same name.

THIS SUMMER A STAR FALLS. THE CHASE BEGINS.
In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. His journey takes him into a world beyond his wildest dreams and reveals his true identity.

Will this be 'The Princess Bride' for a new generation or is that just inconcievable? Does the combined weight of gay icon Michelle 'Catwoman' Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro playing gay spellbind us? How does the Ricky Gervais cameo land now?

Climb aboard and grab a scabbard to see if this star is soaring or sinking.