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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

01:44:19

The Dark Tower

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/02/06

Stephen King's The Dark Tower fantasy series has been a long-gestating white whale project in Hollywood, passing through countless development hands and having many promising false starts. Hopes were high when a feature film finally came to fruition in 2017 starring Idris Elba as the heroic Gunslinger and Matthew McConaughey as his Man in Black nemesis, onlyto be dashed when the film arrived as a slapdash, woefully truncated pastiche with little fealty to the beloved source material or its iconic

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01:23:38

Showgirls

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/23

Madman director Paul Verhoeven was riding high off of several blockbuster successes when he re-teamed with Basic Instinct writer and fellow madman Joe Ezterhaus for a film about the sordid lives of Las Vegas showgirls. Their resulting collaboration, 1995’s Showgirls, was met with resounding box office failure and critical derision, tanking the career of its unlikely lead, Saved By the Bell’s Elizabeth Berkeley. Join Sebastian, Jennifer and Violent Night writer Josh Miller as they hit the stage to

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01:27:43

Masters of the Universe

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/16

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe may have been past their prime by 1987, but that didn’t stop shlockmeisters Golan and Globus from capitalizing on the popular toy and cartoon property by attempting a big budget film adaptation. Despite casting a near-perfect He-Man in Dolph Lundgren and boasting up and comer Courteney Cox, as well as a delightfully hammy Frank Langella in the role of the villainous Skeletor, the film tanked with fans and critics and helped to bankrupt Cannon films. Join

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01:02:11

Stir of Echoes

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/09

Spirits were high for A list screenwriter David Koepp’s sophomore directorial outing, an adaptation of the Richard Matheson short story A Stir of Echoes. But despite the presence of leading man Kevin Bacon, the film’s release was six degrees too close to another mega hit ghost story with a similar premise, burying Koepp’s otherwise solid effort in an early box office grave. Join Sebastian and Jennifer as they unearth this underrated late 90s supernatural thriller and discuss whether or not it has

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01:00:29

The Happening

Tentpole Trauma ·

2023/01/02

Following the high profile failure of Lady In the Water, famed director M. Night Shyamalan ignored the naysayers and doubled down on absurd high concepts with 2008’s The Happening. The results were resoundingly mocked by fans and critics alike, dragging down the director’s already sinking reputation, as well as the careers of leads Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel. Join Sebastian and Jennifer for a cool lemon drank as they attempt to justify this loopy and enjoyably ludicrous happening.

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01:25:10

Tentpole Triumph: Avatar

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/28

It’s a post Christmas miracle from Pandora — Tentpole Trauma sees you, and you’ve been very nice this year, so as a gift we give you this month’s Tentpole Triumph discussion of Avatar as a bonus episode! Join Sebastian, Chris and Rodney as they finally hash it out over the #1 box office champ of all time, director James Cameron and what they anticipate from the long awaited sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. If you like what you hear, consider becoming a Patreon subscriber at —

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01:41:19

Alita: Battle Angel

Tentpole Trauma ·

2022/12/19

Many expected that James Cameron’s long promised adaptation of the famed manga Battle Angel Alita would never materialize, but when the megastar director conceded the reigns to Robert Rodriguez, the project was at last brought to life. Sadly, the uncanny valley effect of the film’s bug-eyed CG protagonist did not entice large audiences, and while well regarded by fans of the manga, the response was not effusive enough to guarantee the sequel promised in the film’s ending. Join Sebastian, Chris and

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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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166 results

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