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It's once again the most holly, jolly time of the year - "Failure to Franchise presents Trev and Chris-tmas," when we gift each other movies off our long F2F list that we might otherwise not be getting to anytime soon. First up, Chris gifts Trev a notorious box-office and critical flop that Trev has nonetheless always wanted to see ever since it first half-heartedly sputtered into theaters. But...why? Perhaps it has something to do with the film's bizarre origins. After all, how many would-be Hollywood blockbusters can legitimately claim to come from the mind of an actual four-year-old? Well, Monster Trucks can! So strap in and buckle up, as we take this surprisingly star-studded take on the "boy and his pet monster" trope out for a spin around the track.
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In the return of our "Success to Series" spin-off show, we're taking a look at one of the most popular and unique horror franchises of the 2000s, Final Destination. What is it about the series' pitch-black humor and overly-elaborate death scenes that we find so amusing? We try to get to the bottom of this question, while also exploring the original film's surprising TV origins, sharing our favorite deaths from each installment, ranking the individual films, and paying tribute to the late, great Tony Todd. Plus, we write and share Final Destination-style death scenes for each other! So watch out for falling objects, make sure to step over any tripping hazards, and - whatever you do - don't drive behind any logging trucks while you listen to this in-depth discussion of Final Destination.
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"Noyce-vember," our month-long tribute to journeyman director Phillip Noyce, concludes! So how did Noyce follow up the disappointment of 1997's The Saint (which we looked at last time), you ask? Simple - by recruiting one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Denzel Washington, teaming him with a young starlet on the brink of mega-stardom named Angelina Jolie, and putting them together in an adaptation of a recent hit crime-thriller novel. Sounds like a good plan, right? Except he ended up with another failed franchise starter! What's the deal?? Well, we're taking a look at The Bone Collector to see if it's a truly worthy entry in the "90s serial killer movie" canon, or just another tired Se7en wannabe.
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Here at Failure to Franchise, we love a dependable journeyman. And that's why we're kicking off "Noyce-vember," a one month tribute to one of Hollywood's (well, technically, Australia's) most unsung journeymen directors, Phillip Noyce. First up, his 1997 adaptation of The Saint, a popular vigilante character who had already graced the world of literature, radio, film, and - most notably - a beloved '60s television series starring Roger Moore. For this wannabe movie blockbuster version, Noyce recruited Val Kilmer as the titular master of disguise. After 1995's Batman Forever and Heat culminated a fairly undeniable cinematic run for Kilmer, a few misses in 1996 meant The Saint - the movie he chose to do instead of another Batman film - was an important moment in his career...the moment where moving forward he would either be confirmed as a legitimate, franchise-launching leading man, or seen more a comeback-seeking former star more known for his alleged difficulty to work with. Well, we all know how that worked out. But should The Saint have elevated Kilmer to another level? We discuss this, and much more!
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An iconic character, beloved around the world. A fairly successful box-office haul. And a creative team including Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Kathleen Kennedy, Peter Jackson, and Steven freakin' Spielberg!! What the hell is this movie doing on our show?! That's what we're here to figure out, as "Animation (3D)evastation" concludes with a look at The Adventures of Tintin. Sought after as a movie project by Spielberg as early as 1983, it may have taken over three decades to finally make it to the big screen, but this meant the project had time for its breathtaking motion-capture CGI technology to catch up to the visions of its filmmakers. Would those technological breakthroughs be enough to satisfy the character's global audience...and win over the less familiar American audience? And if not, why not? We discuss this and much more, as we ask the eternal question, "just what is this Tintin guy's deal, anyway?"
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It's a long held belief in Hollywood that, with only a few exceptions, cinematic adaptations of video games just don't work. So perhaps it's not surprising that the makers of the first big-screen Final Fantasy movie in 2001 thought it would be more beneficial to concentrate on at least creating a groundbreaking technological achievement, rather than worry about sticking to the story elements and tone the popular game series was known for. But when that desire ended up causing a lengthy, over-budget, and complicated production, the question became - and remains - was their ambition applaudable or misguided? Or maybe both? We're kicking off "Animation (3D)evastation" by asking that very question...and pondering the possibilities of fully digital movie stars, with Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
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Our "Animation (2D)evastation" month concludes with The Road to El Dorado, Dreamworks Animation's 2000 attempt not only to pay tribute to the classic Bob Hope & Bing Crosby Road To... movies of the past, but also - more importantly - try to beat Disney at their own game with a rollicking, animated musical adventure. And they even went the distance of recruiting Lion King music collaborators Tim Rice and Elton John to try to recapture the same magic again. So what exactly kept Road to El Dorado from enjoying Lion King-level success? Why does it enjoy a cult following today? And how important is it to have everyone involved with the production of a movie trying to make the same kind of movie? We discuss all this, and more!
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"Animation (2D)evastation," a month dedicated to two 2D animated failed franchise starters, kicks off with a look at 1999's Doug's 1st Movie. Based on Doug, the hit series that started as one of the original "Nicktoons" on Nickelodeon, before being bought by Disney and moving to Disney for its later seasons, Doug's 1st Movie was an attempt to see if the series could make the jump to feature length. Though, to be fair, not necessarily theatrical success, at least at first, since the project was first conceived as a straight-to-video effort. So what made Disney change their minds and decide to put it in theaters, and was it a good decision? Well, we're covering it on this show, so you probably know the answer to that, but still, we're here to talk about it!
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We're wrapping up our "Summer Surprise" series with an unexpectedly timely episode. With Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice coming soon, we're taking a look at one of director Tim Burton's lesser remembered films, one that certainly didn't get a sequel (duh). This YA lit adaptation (shudder) is essentially Burton's riff on the X-Men, as Eva Green does her best Professor Xavier impression as the headmistress of a special home for children with unique abilities. Does Burton's unique aesthetic fit well with the source material? Is the film too gruesome for young children? Most importantly, is Eva Green given enough screentime?? We discuss all this and more, as we get stuck inside the time loop that is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.
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"Summer Surprise" continues, with our look at the 2019 reboot of the popular, long-running Child's Play/Chucky franchise. But unlike most reboots, this one had an interesting wrinkle; it was done at a time when the filmmakers behind the original Chucky franchise still had every intention of keeping their series going, as well. So how did this attempt at a separate, parallel Chucky continuity come to be? How did it work to differentiate itself from the other version? And in doing so, did it stay true to the spirit of the original Child's Play, or did it establish too much of its own identity, thus making it hard to view as part of the same franchise? We tackle all these questions, and more.
This is for Tupac.
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Our annual "Summer Surprise" series, in which our movies are chosen by an online randomizer, kicks off, with F2F's second Luc Besson. We both loved The Fifth Element, but what do we think of Besson's more grounded, earthbound, 1994 hitman action-thriller, Leon: The Professional? Remembered as the cinematic debut of a young Natalie Portman, and for an iconic, meme-generating Gary Oldman performance, as well as introducing a global audience to French star Jean Reno, the film remains highly controversial today, thirty years after its release, for elements both onscreen and off. But do those controversial elements detract from the movie, or make it more compelling? How much can and should one separate an artist's real life from the art they produce? We ponder this, and much more, as we wade into the dicey waters of discussing Leon: The Professional.
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Just because the movies we watch might be considered "failures," doesn't mean the same can be said for our podcast! That's right, it's our 100th episode, a special look back at four year's worth of covering Hollywood mistakes, missteps, and misfires. To celebrate the occasion, we've each picked our favorite movies and performances from the 99 films we've featured so far, as well as our least favorite movies, and we also have special shout-outs for the most frequent directors, screenwriters, and actors from the first four years of F2F movies. Plus, as is tradition, we allow an online randomizer to pick our next three movies as we head into our annual "Summer Surprise" theme series.
Thank you to everyone who has listened and/or subscribed over these 100 episodes. Here's to the next 100...and probably more, since Hollywood can't seem to permanently learn any lessons!
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"Summer Sweeps" concludes, with a look at Universal's 2009 attempt to launch another series of big-budget dinosaur adventure movies. This time, they turned to a cult-classic 70s television series from famed producers and puppeteers, Sid & Marty Krofft. But by giving the movie a comedic bent the show never had, and by trading in the practical FX of the original for glossy CGI, did the filmmakers behind Land of the Lost truly pay tribute to the source material, or potentially disrespect it? We discuss this, the merits of juvenile humor, whether Will Ferrell could ever transition to pure drama, and much more. So join us for this final "Summer Sweeps" entry before our 100th Episode spectacular!
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"Summer Sweeps" rolls right along, as we turn our attention to the cinematic adaptation of Get Smart, the popular 60s television spy-spoof from comic legends Mel Brooks and Buck Henry. For the movie version, Hollywood recruited heavy-hitters such as Steve Carrell, Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin, and even Dwayne "Franchise Viagra" Johnson, and were rewarded with a genuine hit. So why didn't the success of the film spawn the hoped-for franchise? What's the deal with straight-to-video spin-off films? How much Subway product placement is too much Subway product placement? And, most importantly, does the Get Smart movie live up to the comedic legacy of the original series? We discuss all this, and more!
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"Summer Sweeps" rolls on, with our look at Michael Mann's 2006 adaptation of his classic '80s detective series, Miami Vice. Coming back to the property that played a big part in making his Hollywood career, and doing so with a recently minted movie star in Colin Farrell and recent Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, probably seemed like a can't-lose scenario for Mann. But the movie version of Miami Vice was a notoriously chaotic and even dangerous production, before the film itself was released to lackluster box-office and confused reactions from audiences and critics alike, many of whom seem befuddled the film was so different than the show that inspired it. In recent years, the movie has been reclaimed by a devoted cult of fans who say it was simply ahead of its time. So who's right - the Vice-heads, or the original detractors?
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Our "Summers Sweep" look at failed movie adaptations of classic TV series continues, with one of the more "movies that time forgot" entries we've ever covered: the 1999 update of the late 60s/early 70s, "youth-delinquents-turned-undercover-cops" detective series, The Mod Squad. Despite an impressive cast - including Claire Danes, Omar Epps, Giovanni Ribisi, Dennis Farina, Josh Brolin, and Richard Jenkins - the Mod Squad movie still failed to make much of an impact with critics or audiences at the time of its release...or in the years since. Could it be that trying to update a premise so inextricably tied to a particular time-period and youth movement was a bad idea? We ponder this question and more, while also discussing the importance of exposition in origin stories, the value of commercial tie-ins with Levis Jeans, and the risks of "going Full Ribisi." So take a listen, if you can dig it, daddy-o.
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May is here, and that means it's time for "Summer Sweeps," a five-episode look at failed cinematic adaptations of classic television series. First up, The Avengers. No, not those Avengers! We're talking about the 1998 attempted-blockbuster, starring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman, and Sean Connery, based on the cult-classic British spy action-comedy series of the '60s. While the original show - which had a fascinating development history - was popular in both the UK and North America, and made stars out of both Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg, the '98 movie was, well, less well-received. But what went wrong? Does the movie manage to capture the campy-charm of its source material? Can the entirety of a decade-spanning, ever-evolving series really be encapsulated in a 90-minute movie? And is there a potentially more successful longer-cut of the film, waiting to be seen? We discuss all this, and more!
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"Evil Easter" concludes, with a look at 2013's Evil Dead...uhhh, remake? Reboot? Re-imagining? Look, whatever you want to call it, it's another movie where a bunch of kids in a cabin get murdered by demonic forces, okay? The question is, without the franchise's beloved, iconic leading man, Bruce Campbell, and with series director Sam Raimi now just in a producer role instead of in the director's chair, could new director Fede Alvarez and a brand new cast manage to capture the bloody-good-time spirit of the original trilogy? And what tone would the 2013 entry even aim for, given the tonal smorgasbord of the first three movies? Come with us as we head to the cabin, stupidly read from the obviously evil book, and seek to answer these questions, and more.
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Our "Evil Easter" month kicks off with Evilspeak, from 1981...or, uh, 1982. Look, we'll explain. All you need to know is this a Satanic Panic-fueled story of a bullied young cadet at a military academy who uses an Apple II computer to translate the Latin passages in a mysterious old book he finds, in the process allowing demonic forces to take over the computer, and - eventually - him, as well. Yeah, yeah, a really common story, but this one has Clint Howard in his first movie leading role! A gory cult classic that was intense enough to end up on the infamous UK "Video Nasties" list, Evilspeak still didn't manage to earn any sequels, even in a decade quick to create supernatural-slasher franchises when it could. So, what happened? We discuss this, as well as our thoughts on the film, and Clint Howard as a performer, in general.
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"Monster March Madness" concludes with our look at 2007's totally-normal-named Dragon Wars: D-War, the first South Korean film to receive a wide theatrical release in North America! Wow, with a fact like that, it must be something special, right? Well, yeah, sorta...just not in the way you might think. Join us as we discuss the film's, uh, interesting writer/director, Shim Hyung-rae, before delving into Dragon Wars' FX, characters, and narrative decisions. Take our word for it...this is a wild one.
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