Franchise Detours Crooked Table Productions

Just as the zombie genre returned to life, Shaun of the Dead emerged as a cult classic that redefined the landscape of horror-comedy. As we dissect the intricacies of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy in our latest mega-series, we delve into the film that set the tone for Edgar Wright's signature work.

Clare Brunton of W-Rated joins us to shed light on how Shaun of the Dead balances gore and gags to create a cleverly constructed satire. Taking aim at the mundanity of life and horror tropes, Wright and co-writer/star Simon Pegg set a standard for genre fusion that's rarely been matched.

So grab a Cornetto (if you can find them near you), and listen in as we unravel how 2004's Shaun of the Dead laid the groundwork for a thematic trilogy of comedy genre mash-ups that continue to captivate and entertain audiences worldwide decades later. How's that for a slice of fried gold?

Just when you thought Dark Phoenix put an underwhelming bow on the Fox era of X-Men movies, The New Mutants comes along to further complicate the franchise's legacy. In this BONUS episode to our mega-series following the X-Men movie franchise, we'll go in-depth on the oft-forgotten 2020 film.

On paper, The New Mutants should have been an easy win. Taking the X-Men universe headfirst into horror seemed like an intriguing departure. Then, of course, The New Mutants' continual delays led the world to (perhaps rightfully) suspect something was amiss behind the scenes.

Jackson Smith of Nightfall Entertainment joins the final Franchise Detours of 2023 as we explore the unique world of The New Mutants. We'll discuss the film's horror aesthetic, its connection to the broader X-Men universe, and how it aimed to give the franchise a fresh perspective 11 films in.

Join us as we venture into the eerie and enigmatic world of The New Mutants and determine why this risky experiment didn't quite pay off.
LISTEN on Apple, Spotify, GoodPods, and other podcatchers: https://linktr.ee/crookedtable

Our X-Men mega-series comes to a close (or does it?) with 2019's Dark Phoenix, as the franchise takes a second stab at one of the comics' most iconic storylines. With X-Men: The Last Stand far behind him, can first-time director Simon Kinberg (who cowrote that 2006 movie) right past wrongs?

Darin Lundberg of NostalgiaCast joins us to unravel the mysteries of Dark Phoenix. We'll explore the film's poor reception, its role as the series' unintended conclusion, and Sophie Turner's lead performance as Jean Grey. Most of all, we'll address whether Dark Phoenix does justice to this story.

Join us as we witness the rise of the Phoenix and determine where Dark Phoenix leaves the X-Men movie legacy ahead of the mutants' MCU debut.
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The claws are out and the adamantium is gleaming as we dive into the final chapter in the Wolverine trilogy. Hugh Jackman's iconic portrayal of the mutant hero faced a bumpy road in his solo films. But was 2017's Logan, featuring returning The Wolverine director James Mangold, worth the wait?

Fans wondered if they'd ever see the character's true potential on the big screen. Fortunately, Jackman's determination to bring Logan's story to a fitting conclusion paid off. In Logan, we witness an aging, world-weary Wolverine confronting his past and grappling with his own mortality.

Film critic Catherine Gonzales joins us to dissect the gritty world of Logan. We'll explore how it ties into the broader X-Men universe, the character's journey throughout the franchise, and the film's impact on the superhero genre. Moreover, we'll weigh in on Wolverine's return in Deadpool 3.

Join us as we celebrate the Wolverine's final and most poignant outing, discussing the legacy of Logan and its place in cinematic history.
LISTEN on Apple, Spotify, GoodPods, and other podcatchers: https://linktr.ee/crookedtable

After exploring time travel and creating a shared universe with X-Men: Days of Future Past, where could the sequel go next? Why, the gods, of course! For better or worse, 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse pits the Marvel mutants against their most formidable enemy yet: a big, blue Oscar Isaac.

In this episode, Clare Brunton of W-Rated helps us uncover the truth behind director Bryan Singer's most divisive X-Men installment. We'll discuss whether the movie is actually unjustly hated, how it serves as a prequel to Singer's original trilogy, and whether Isaac's performance hurts or helps.

Join us as we journey back to the Apocalypse and decide whether the movie lives up to its name. Is this where the X-Films finally jumped the shark?
LISTEN on Apple, Spotify, GoodPods, and other podcatchers: https://linktr.ee/crookedtable

After The Avengers, superhero cinema has never been the same. Suddenly, everything needed to be interconnected, featuring tons of characters and an increasingly complicated timeline. Naturally, the X-Men series retroactively created its own shared universe of sorts with X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Fourteen years after the first film, director Bryan Singer's film combined the original trilogy cast and that of X-Men: First Class to create a time-travel adventure that raised the bar for what Marvel's mutants could do onscreen. Or at the very least, it put pressure on the series to be more ambitious.

Film critic Rosa Parra joins Franchise Detours to travel back to 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, a movie that feels like even more of a wild swing nearly a decade later. We'll discuss its unique place in the series, that epic cast, and how this installment may have doomed the series going forward.

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