Mixed Bag

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!

93 - Gothika

We've reached the end of our Hello Halle series! We're sending her off with this taut psychological thriller 'GOTHIKA' (2003).

After a car crash, a criminal psychologist regains consciousness only to find that she’s a patient in the same mental institution that currently employs her. It seems she’s been accused of murdering her husband—but she has no memory of committing the crime. As she tries to regain her memory and convince her co-workers of her innocence, a vengeful spirit uses her as an earthly pawn, which further convinces everyone of her guilt.

That's all very well but WHO or WHAT is Gothika? Will Robert Downey Jr put on the charm or the smarm and who knew Penélope Cruz is in this?! Not us. Join us for one last time to celebrate Halle in this blue blue BLUE movie! 

92 - Monster’s Ball

It's time! It's the film that won Halle Berry her Oscar and we've timed it perfectly to discuss the 95th Oscars. The first and second time a Person of Colour has won Best Actress at the Academy Awards. 

With that celebratory but also bleak premise, let's look at the film itself. Releasing in the same year as Swordfish, Monster's Ball (2001) is a completely different kettle of fish:

Set in the southern USA, a racist white man, Hank, falls in love with a black woman named Leticia. Ironically, Hank is a prison guard working on Death Row who executed Leticia’s husband. Hank and Leticia’s inter-racial affair leads to confusion and new ideas for the two unlikely lovers.

Who know that's what Monster's Ball is about? We certainly didn't! But what is the Monster's Ball? What role is Heath Ledger is playing and why is he billed ABOVE Halle in the opening credits? Will we buy this very Oscar-y baity premise or is Billy Bob a flop as Prince Charming at the Ball? Listen in and see for our penultimate episode of Hello Halle! 

91 - Swordfish

"You know what the problem with Hollywood is? They make shit. Unbelievable, unremarkable shit." So says Gabriel (John Travolta) in Swordfish (2001), but does this assessment apply to his own movie?

Cast your mind back to June 2001, the hairdos were wild, the pants were leather,  the tips were frosted and terrorism and vehicles smashing into buildings were something freely depicted onscreen. 😬 

Starring John Travolta with some...questionable facial choices, a baby-faced Hugh Jackman and the star of our miniseries, Halle Berry! In the thick of her capable kickass heroine era, will she actually get something to do or just deliver more bad lines in a sexy but aloof way?

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n’er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.

Join us as we dive in to see if this is a Swordfish or more of a Spoonfish.

90 - B.A.P.S

Hello Halle once again!

We started with one of Halle Berry's most well-known roles so we thought we'd take a trip back to 1997 to discuss one of Halle's first leading roles, B.A.P.S (1997). And to keep the 1997 train going, we spend the first 20 minutes discussing Titanic: 25th Anniversary so if you're a Jack & Rose-head like we are, be sure to tune in.

Two clueless homegirls move to L.A. to become dancers, but instead find themselves scamming a dying millionaire to eventually become B*A*P*S (Black American Princesses).

How will Halle handle a comedy? How come Martin Landau is in this flick? Is the film deserving of its 15% on Rotten Tomatoes and 4.6!! on Imdb or are the criticism about the stereotypes justified? Find out all this and more in our latest Mixed Bag with Halle Berry.

89 - Die Another Day

I̶̡̢̛͖̖͖̓ ̴̪̗̃͗̂t̷̘̳̹̜͍̣̒h̷̼̤͎̋̈́̚͝ȋ̵̡͔̪͇͑̎̈́͗̉̈́n̶̺̻̑͝k̷̛̹͈̮̥̜̋͌̕ ̶̡̛̤̯̜̲̯̿̽̚͠I̶̘̫̿͛͜͝'̵̪͉̰͔͔̹̈́̍̈͒͐́l̷͚͚̀̆l̷͈͓̾̓̍̍̌̃̾ ̶̨̮̐́͊̔͐̌̓͘D̷͉̊̒į̶̛̙̫͙͉̠̓͋̀͝ͅe̷̢̡̡̘̻̬̙͕̅̄̀̅,̴̟̅̑͆̑ ̵̛̝͓̆̍̒̀͘ä̸̗̹̠̯́n̵͔̜̔̏̌̌͂̔o̷͓̕ͅt̴̰̭̐̇́̚ḩ̸̝͂̈́͜e̶̝̦̻͎̩̳̫̾́̉͂͘̕͠r̵̢̯̹̘̦̅͌̊͆͠͝ ̷͉̱͍̠͎̬̾̂̿͊̾̋ḓ̸͖͈̥̳͔̑a̴̧̤̰̘͇̪͐y̴̪̬̠̯̒̋̑̀

It's time to take you back to the wild, stylish times of 2002! Random slow mo! Upbeat techno Madonna! Cool waterboarding montages??

It's time to check out Lee Tamahori's Die Another Day, the final entry in the Pierce Brosnan Bonds and our very first new miniseries, 'Hello Halle!'

That's right, over five episodes we're going to be looking back into the films of Halle Berry, Storm herself to celebrate her work and analyse the mixed entries in her filmography.

Up first is one of her biggest films, the film that killed Bond for a time before Daniel Craig brought him back.

Bond takes on a North Korean leader who undergoes DNA replacement procedures that allow him to assume different identities. American agent, Jinx Johnson assists Bond in his attempt to thwart the villain’s plans to exploit a satellite that is powered by solar energy.

Are we throwing this movie into a second sun or are we partial to a bit of ice palace in our shaken not stirred martini?

88 - M3GAN

She's got a point. She's an icon, she is a legend, and she is the moment.

It's M3GAN, bot.

That's right it's the smash hit by kiwi director Gerard Johnstone. Available in cinemas now, the Mixed Bag crew head to the cinema once against to see if this robot is a TikTok flash in the pan or the real deal. 

A brilliant toy company roboticist uses artificial intelligence to develop M3GAN, a life-like doll programmed to emotionally bond with her newly orphaned niece. But when the doll’s programming works too well, she becomes overprotective of her new friend with terrifying results.

Starring Allison Williams and a bevy of New Zealand talent, join us as we determine if, like friendship, filmmaking has evolved. 🤖

Pop Corner discussions: The Traitors, The Circle, The Appeal, The Hobbit, Where Lies the Water, The Fablemans and Oscar predictions.