Mixed Bag

103 - Katy Perry: Part of Me

Another first for Mixed Bag season 2, our very first documentary!

Cast your mind back to 2012 when Katy Perry was on top of the world, dating Russell Brand and her new movie Katy Perry: Part of Me was hitting cinemas in 3D!

Giving fans unprecedented access to the real life of the music sensation, Katy Perry: Part of Me exposes the hard work, dedication and phenomenal talent of a girl who remained true to herself and her vision in order to achieve her dreams.

But did Katy deliver a candy covered confectionary or is there something darker going on in this film? Is this actually the Marriage Story of popstar docos? Everyday when Katy wakes up does she hope Russell's dead? (OK bit dark, it's a quote OK?)

Listen in to see if this is a Firework or just a Teenage Dream we'd rather forget.

102 - Red Eye

It might be the summer of Cillian Murphy in 2023 with Oppenheimer but what about 4 August 2005, when this very week 18 years ago today, Red Eye was released and the general public realised just how 'killer' Cillian could be. Starring Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy and Brian Cox and directed by beloved horror filmmaker Wes Craven!

FEAR TAKES FLIGHT.
A woman is kidnapped by a stranger on a routine flight. Threatened by the potential murder of her father, she is pulled into a plot to assist her captor in offing a politician.

Is Brian Cox going to be the secret big bad? Could Wes reinvent the slasher genre again after the success of Scream? And where is Red Eye 2 aka Red Eyes?

This episode featuring a couple new surprises as we continue season 2 of Mixed Bag.

Pop Corner discussions includes Patrick Barnes shout out, Big Hero 6, Pixar Sequels, The Carpenters, Dredge, The Bear, average Richard E. Grant impressions, Aliens are real, Off Menu Podcast, Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning: Part Two, The Firm, Wild segues, NZIFF and Sinead O'Connor.

101 - Pokémon Detective Pikachu ft Emily K. Brown

Pika pika! We're heading back just four years to revisit Pokémon Detective Pikachu with performer, director and Pokémon aficionado, Emily K. Brown!

We get talking our favourite little 151 critters and how this action adventure starring Ryan Reynolds and Justice Smith sat with us.

PARTNER UP! In a world where people collect pocket-size monsters (Pokémon) to do battle, a boy comes across an intelligent monster who seeks to be a detective. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Pop Corner discussed in Popcorner includes Barbie and Oppenheimer (relatively spoiler free but if you want to see both films knowing nothing, skip 7:13 - 18:00), Siren: Survivor the Island, Dungeons and Drag Queens, Dimension 20, Emmy Nominations, Traitors Australia, Cocaine Bear and FIFA Women's World Cup.

100 - Twilight [Live]

"Say it. Out Loud."

"100 episodes"

That's right, we're 100 episodes old, Baghags! To celebrate, we gathered together at Vogelmorn Hall on a cold July evening and celebrated with an iconic Mixed film and franchise, Twilight (2008). Huge thanks to Patrick Barnes for the sound and AV, Cass' parents for the screen, our readers Ed, Catherine, Mike and Jared and to our special guest! Listen to the end to discover who it is and visit our socials for the video version.

WHEN YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER, WHAT DO YOU LIVE FOR?

When Bella Swan moves to a small town in the Pacific Northwest to live with her father, she meets the reclusive Edward Cullen, a mysterious classmate who reveals himself to be a 108-year-old vampire. Despite Edward’s repeated cautions, Bella can’t help but fall in love with him, a fatal move that endangers her own life when a coven of bloodsuckers try to challenge the Cullen clan. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

What is there to say about Twilight? A huge franchise that introduced Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart to the world, it was a massive sensation but is the first film any good? Matt, Cass and James and our live audience cast a critical eye over Catherine Hardwicke's film and revisit the fashion, soundtrack and crazes of 2008. 

Thanks again for listening and here's to 100 more!

99 - Ready Player One

ARE YOU READY?

Because we've reached the end of our MixedBerg Miniseries with the only way we could, Speilberg's retrospective on legacy by cramming so much IP on the screen at all times!

That's right it's Ready Player One! (2018)

Based on the popular book of the same name, Ready Player One imagines an OASIS world where the VR headset is king and everybody is obsessed with Mark Rylance. 

A BETTER REALITY AWAITS.
When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.

Will Steven bring the magic touch to this loving ode to video games? Why are the avatars and the world of Oasis so drab? And why is Mark Rylance acting like thaaaat...?!

Don't forget to RSVP for our Live Event Twilight here so we know who's coming! Featuring many surprises including a special guest who may or may not be associated with the film...!
https://www.facebook.com/events/258968476818293

mixed bag live: twilight
SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2023 AT 6:30 PM – 11 PM
Vogelmorn Community - 93 Mornington Road, Brooklyn

SaveVUW and StopTheCuts petition: https://teu.ac.nz/campaigns/stop-the-cuts/

 

98 - War Horse

Picture the scene: You're Steven Speilberg. Congrats! You've made a lot of great movies! You sit down to a show on the West End and you see a hella great show with some stonking great horse puppets. You think to yourself, this is one wicked tale, time to nix those horsies.

That's right, it's the movie no one was calling for, it's Best Picture nominee War Horse (2011), the second entry in our MixedBerg Miniseries.

Do you want two hours and 26 minutes about some horses that go to war? Have we got the picture for you!

SEPARATED BY WAR. TESTED BY BATTLE. BOUND BY FRIENDSHIP.
Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend. (Sourced from Letterboxd)

Catch Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Emily Watson and Peter Mullan and more catch some feelings for a horse called Joey. Does this play adaptation lose its lustre with real horses? Is it a yay or a neigh? And why do our episodes about horses get so damn weird and giggly. Find out in the one, the ONLY... WAR HORSE.

97 - Hook ft Ellie Stewart

Because we were a little late with some episodes, we're dropping a new miniseries a few days early!

Welcome to the mini miniseries of Mixed-Berg, the covering of Steven Speilberg's mixed films in the lead up to our 100th episode! And to kick things off, we're joined by returning guest, Ellie Stewart!

So put on your pirate hat and think a happy thought because we're flying to Never Neverland with Hook (1991) starring Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman and Julia Roberts!

WHAT IF PETER PAN GREW UP?

The boy who wasn’t supposed to grow up—Peter Pan—does just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. During his trip to see Granny Wendy in London, the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter’s kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland.

96 - Fifty Shades of Grey

"Mr. Grey will see you now"

We're finishing off our Personal Picks with the steamy Fifty Shades of Grey! Released in 2015 and an adaptation of the ridiculously popular book of the same name, Fifty Shades stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan who, like their Twilight compatriates, have gone on to bigger and better things.

When college senior Anastasia Steele steps in for her sick roommate to interview prominent businessman Christian Grey for their campus paper, little does she realize the path her life will take. Christian, as enigmatic as he is rich and powerful, finds himself strangely drawn to Ana, and she to him. Though sexually inexperienced, Ana plunges headlong into an affair – and learns that Christian’s true sexual proclivities push the boundaries of pain and pleasure.

But the big question on everybody's lips... is it any good? Or is it even mixed? Listen in to James, Cass and Matt as they explore all fifty shades of f'ed up.

Popcorner kernels include Graveyard Keeper, The Traitors Australia, Beau is Afraid, Infinity Pool, Renfield, The Tony Awards, Abbot Elementary and Jury Duty.

95 - Entrapment

(Heads up, the audio sounds a little different this episode! We don't think it's hugely distracting but just a little mic mix up.)

In our second entry in Romance Personal Picks, we're heading back to 1999 with Entrapment. Y2K was just around the corner, Catherine Zeta-Jones was getting regular work and aged movie stars were still having extremely younger women as their love interests. 

Two thieves, who travel in elegant circles, try to outsmart each other and, in the process, end up falling in love.

You might know the laser scene but does the whole film hold up? What is the definition of Entrapment? And what will be our final entry into the Romance Personal Picks be?

94 - Sliding Doors

You're waiting for a train, or rather you're running for one! Do you make it through the sliding doors? Or do you just miss it?

The ultimate brain tickler in multiversal mysteries starring Ms. Goop herself, Gwyneth Paltrow!

Released in the same year as her Oscar-winning turn in Shakespeare in Love, Sliding Doors (1998) sees Gwyn donning the British accent again as we follow two parallel stories of Helen. 

London publicist Helen, effortlessly slides between parallel storylines that show what happens when she does or does not catch a train back to her apartment. Love. Romantic entanglements. Deception. Trust. Friendship. Comedy. All come into focus as the two stories shift back and forth, overlap and surprisingly converge. (Sourced from Letterboxd).

Will John Hannah be suitably charming? How many Monty Python references are too many? And are you ready for quite how dark this movie is willing to go? All this in more in the first of our personal picks on the theme of love/sex/affairs as we get closer to 100 episodes of Mixed Bag!