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PODCAST

Tentpole Trauma

Tentpole Trauma

A podcast where we look at movies that came with hype and high hopes, but left with crushing disappointment, either critically, at the box office, or both.

tv & film film history

All Episodes

01:13:56

Willow (1988)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/12

How do you follow up the wildly successful original Star Wars trilogy? If you’re George Lucas, you get your buddy Ron Howard to direct a Lord of the Rings riff starring Val Kilmer and the actor who played the lead Ewok in Return of the Jedi! The resulting film, 1988’s curiously titled Willow, did not conjure magic at the box office, but has engendered enough fan good will to spawn a current Disney + series. Join swashbuckling buddies Sebastian and Richard as they revisit this staple of 80s cinematic

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01:22:55

Zardoz

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/05

Director John Boorman was riding high off the success of Deliverance in 1974, but when he couldn’t get his adaptation of Lord of the Rings off of the ground, he opted instead for a mind-bending journey into sci fi with his bizarre vision of the future, Zardoz. 20th Century Fox hoped they had another 2001: A Space Odyssey or Planet of the Apes on their hands, but despite the presence of Sean Connery in the lead, the reaction to the admittedly absurd film was poisonous. Join Sebastian and Troy, two

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01:18:48

Blade: Trinity

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/11/21

The Blade franchise was rolling full force when the third entry, helmed by writer David S. Goyer, hit theaters in 2004. Rumors of star Wesley Snipes’ unhappiness with the franchise’s new direction — namely adding hot young stars Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel to the cast as usurping vampire hunters — plagued the production, and the resulting film flopped with fans and staked out diminished box office returns. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Fear of a Black Movie Critic’s VQ as they drag this tonally

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01:19:49

Crimes of the Future

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/11/14

Hopes were high for celebrated Canadian auteur David Cronenberg’s return to the body horror genre he all but originated, and the trailers for his 2022 film Crimes of the Future promised serious sci fi weirdness. But despite a strong showing on the festival circuit, the film disappointed many fans and didn’t make the cut at the box office. Join Sebastian and Cronenberg superfan Troy as they dissect this curious late stage offering from one of the true masters of science fiction horror.

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01:17:19

Treasure Planet

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/11/07

With the failure of Atlantis: The Lost Empire, blood was already in the water for Disney’s next animated outing, a sci fi update of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island. Sadly, when Treasure Planet finally landed in 2002, despite its impressive visuals and a talented cast of voice actors, it sunk like a pirate’s chest at the box office. Join Sebastian and Richard as they sail the stars and re-appreciate this buried treasure of 2D animation.

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01:59:51

Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/10/31

Seemingly doomed from the start, the sixth installment of the famed Halloween series, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, shaped up to be a rotten pumpkin for fans when it hit theaters in 1995. Helmed by Joe Chapelle and written by super fan Daniel Farrands, the film added a ludicrous backstory for the iconic slasher, suffered the real life death of mainstay Donald Pleasence, and featured a baffling debut performance by future Ant-Man Paul Rudd. Join Sebastian, Matt, and the Grindbin podcast’s

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01:38:21

Hellraiser: Bloodline

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/10/24

One of the most disturbing and distinctive horror franchises of the 80s, Clive Barker’s Hellraiser series, with its iconic figurehead Pinhead, was poised to torment moviegoers well into the 90s and beyond. Unfortunately the fourth film in the series, attributed to fictional director Alan Smithee, took the chain wielding Cenobites into space and ultimately into the dustbins of straight-to-video hell. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Rodney in lamenting this puzzle-box mess of a movie — they have such

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01:06:21

In the Mouth of Madness

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/10/17

If any filmmaker was capable of bringing the horrific insanity of HP Lovecraft to the big screen in the mid 90s, it was John Carpenter. Though not a direct adaptation of any specific Lovecraft work, 1994’s In the Mouth of Madness boasts the talents of madmen Sam Neill and Jurgen Prochnow, but failed to make an impression at the box office. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they summon the Old Ones and lose their minds over this undervalued entry in the Carpenter canon.

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01:05:26

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/10/10

By the mid-eighties the Friday the 13th franchise was all but unstoppable; even part 4’s promise of being “the final chapter” became an empty promise when the box office receipts came in. But despite the fresh start implied by the title, Danny Steinman’s Friday the 13th: A New Beginning got a stale reception from critics and threatened to end the hockey masked slasher series once and for all. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they resurrect (not really) Jason Voorhees for a discussion on this sleazy,

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01:18:30

Atlantis: The Lost Empire

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/09/26

Riding high of a decade of triumph, Disney was hoping to capture the boy demographic with their Jules Verne inspired adventure Atlantis: The Lost Empire. But despite impressive, CG enhanced animation and a strong voice cast led by Michael J. Fox and Leonard Nimoy, the film was the first Disney animated feature in over a decade to disappoint at the box office. Join Sebastian and Richard as they decipher the secrets of the sunken kingdom to determine how this enjoyable romp fell short.

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01:10:32

Dragonslayer

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/09/19

Helping to usher in the sword and sorcery boom of the early 80s, Matthew Robbins’ Dragonslayer was a big budget extravaganza that required the financing of both Paramount and Disney studios. But despite delivering jaw-dropping effects and a solid hero’s journey storyline, the film failed to catch the box office fire necessary to justify its considerable expense. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they brave the dragon’s lair to revisit this Game of Thrones inspiring fantasy classic.

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01:15:17

Sorcerer

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/09/12

Riding high off his smash hit The Exorcist, director William Friedkin decided his follow-up would be a big budget remake of Henri Clouzot’s seminal suspense film Wages of Fear. Friedkin’s effort, inexplicably retitled Sorcerer, was a brutal South American shoot with Jaws star Roy Scheider in the lead, but a little movie called Star Wars exploded on to the scene, leaving Sorcerer to break down at the box office. Join Sebastian and Troy as they brave the perils of the jungle in a truck full of

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01:46:28

The Phantom

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/08/29

Part two of pulp hero appreciation continues with everyone’s favorite purple-suited, jungle dwelling crime fighter, the Phantom! Batman meets Indiana Jones was likely the elevator pitch that sold Paramount pictures on adapting Lee Falk’s long-running comic strip, but despite the able efforts of Billy Zane, Treat Williams, Catherine Zeta Jones and Kristy Swanson, the Ghost Who Walks took a nosedive at the box office. Join Sebastian and guest host Matt Anderson as they slam evil and take on the mantle

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01:33:55

The Shadow

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/08/22

Who knows what box office disappointments lurk in the hearts of men? Coming in the — pun intended — shadow of Tim Burton’s mega hit Batman, 1994’s The Shadow tried to capture a similar pulpy magic. But despite a strong turn by Alec Baldwin in the titular role, the hoped-for superhero franchise never materialized. Join Sebastian and Matt as they pluck the weed of crime and taste the bitter fruit of this maligned but enjoyable crimefighting caper.

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01:00:45

Supergirl

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/08/14

Look… up in the sky… it’s a bird… it’s a dame… it’s… a big budget flop! The Superman franchise was starting to stumble by the time Supergirl made her big screen debut in 1984, and despite the star power of Faye Dunaway and Peter O’Toole the film proved further kryptonite at the box office and with critics. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they unravel the mysteries of the omegahedron and take flight with this bugnuts slice of superhero cinema.

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01:46:25

The Last Boy Scout

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/08/08

Armed with a high-priced Shane Black script and starring Bruce Willis at the height of his action hero stardom, Tony Scott’s The Last Boy Scout was poised to be a 1991 Christmas season juggernaut. But lackluster reviews and a disappointing box office take tarnished the film’s reputation until it emerged as a cult classic several decades later. Join Sebastian and Rodney at the kickoff line as they battle on the gridiron over this compellingly mean-spirited underperformer.

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01:01:30

Cursed

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/07/30

Reuniting the team behind Scream for a post-modern take on the werewolf genre seemed like a dream…until it devolved into a nightmare. Years of reshoots and production hell truly earned Wes Craven’s Cursed its name, and when it eventually hit theaters in 2005 audiences and critics were howling for blood. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they attempt to reevaluate and show pity for this catastrophic lycanthropic misfire.

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00:56:58

The Huntsman: Winter's War

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/07/22

2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman was something of a surprise hit, so it’s no surprise that Universal Studios ordered a sequel. Unfortunately by the time 2016 rolled around both director Rupert Sanders and star Kristen Stewart were off on other projects, leaving Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron to shoulder the film along with newcomers Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt, resulting in an icy reception. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they consult the magic mirror to determine why The Huntsman:

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01:08:30

The Golden Compass

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/07/15

The film industry was hungry for fantasy franchises after the success of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, and while Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials series didn’t seem an obvious choice, there was certainly potential in its alternate dimensional vision and chosen one narrative. But despite the presence Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Eva Green and cgi polar bears, Chris Weitz’s muddled effort, renamed The Golden Compass, failed to ignite the imagination of audiences and critics, bombing at the

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01:08:24

The Mummy (2017)

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/07/01

Hopes were high for the launch of Universal’s “Dark Universe”, a full slate of high profile, interconnected, big budget blockbusters that would revive the classic line-up of Universal Monsters. With mega-star Tom Cruise tapped to headline the first official effort — an action packed reboot of The Mummy directed by A-list writer Alex Kurtzman — success seemed all but inevitable, and yet the film tanked badly with audiences and critics. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they crack open the sarcophagus

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159 results

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