Craft Disservices Just Enough Trope

This week, impressive computer magic can do anything as we hit the slopes (and the streets) to save the reputation of Superman III!

Writer and podcaster Joe Mazel joins the show to talk about the probably not as bad as you remember third installment in the Christopher Reeve Superman franchise. With Lois out of town and things quiet in Metropolis, Clark Kent takes an opportunity to return to his hometown of Smallville for his 20th high school reunion. But unbeknownst to him, a new and more insidious threat is emerging to seize control of the world's computer systems and he'll need the help of morally flexible hacker Gus Gorman to defeat a cybernetic menace!

The Reeve Superman films stand within a now almost unrecognizable era of big-budget genre films, where studios like Warner Brothers lent out their most valuable properties to whoever had the money and ambition to bring them to the screen. Though the current verticality of the superhero blockbuster has led to more consistency in output, there is something to say for the erratic charm of superhero films of yore, when Richard Pryor could star as a hacker with a heart of gold or Clark could enjoy the simple pleasures of homemade dog food. In this episode, we talk about the unasked for humor of the Lester Superman films, the charming throwback of Reeve's Man of Steel, the titanic scale of the Superman blockbusters of the past, defining Supes for a new millennium, the deep bench of the DC Universe, the way the film's characters are all met with personal challenges of growth, and that "wacky" opening sequence.

Plus, we also discuss the "humorous" Marvel style, marrying your cousin on Krypton, subbing Alberta for NYC, sun-kissed Superman, Richard Pryor's Star Wars cantina, a lack of "snow" jokes, paying off your acid, God becoming the Devil, the RoboCop/Schwarzenegger matrix, and the tragedy of Brad!

Citizen Kane is a jerk!

Constantine
Rotten Tomatoes: 30%
Metacritic: 44
IMDB: 5/10

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This Halloween, Craft Disservices rises from the dead for a discussion about an early comic book film so underrated it's scary: 2005's "Constantine"!

Film critic and author Darren Mooney of the Escapist joins the show to talk about the only recently remembered film adaptation of the classic Vertigo comic "Hellblazer". Post-"Matrix" Keanu Reeves stars as the blue-collar warlock Constantine, a paranormal investigator damned to Hell for his sins and his generally lousy attitude. When police detective Angela Dodson's twin sister dies under mysterious circumstances, Constantine will find himself pulled into a war between Heaven and Hell with innocent souls hanging in the balance!

Constantine is something of an odd artifact of the pre-Nolan, pre-Downey landscape of comic films. It was a financial success, but critics (and some audiences) bounced off of its murky morality and turgid visuals. It's only from the perspective of our current sanitized MCU Purgatory that some have looked back to efforts like Constantine as films standing in the gap between the forces of brand recognition and marketability. In this episode, we talk about how you "couldn't make this today", the exaggerated "death of cinema", how the algorithm determines what gets made, the film's stark Bush-era immigration metaphors, and how critics often recoil from "odd" movies.

Plus, we talk about famous grump Alan Moore, mid-period Keanu, the last gasp of the non-franchise comic film, Black Adam's baldness, Nic Cage, "theological noir", Rachel Weisz in a tub, hugging and learning, a great Satan, swinging for the fences with your adaptation, "Ennisonian", and angels with dirty faces!

Don't hex us, Alan Moore!

Constantine
Rotten Tomatoes: 46%
Metacritic: 50
IMDB: 7/10

Follow Darren on Twitter and check out The 250!
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http://www.twitter.com/thetwofifty

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Come for the Disney name, stay for the treachery, death by misadventure, and rampant tobacco use . . . we're battening the hatches and diving to "Atlantis: The Lost Empire!"

Blogger, podcaster, and critic Noel Thingvall joins the show to talk about the ambitious Disney film that failed to reach a broader audience but succeeded in showing what animated features could accomplish. Milo Thatch wants to follow in the famous footsteps of his explorer grandfather, but he'll find himself caught up in a sinister plot to discover and exploit the fabled sunken city of Atlantis!

Disney animation had dominated the box office (and home video market) since its revival in 1989 with "The Little Mermaid", but as the 2000s dawned, it found itself facing a creative brain-drain and diminishing returns. With "Atlantis", the House of Mouse called on lauded creators, talented designers, and a star-studded voice cast to give life to a sweeping epic adventure that could appeal to older audiences as well as selling toys. "Atlantis" was met with indifference by the general public but over the years it's come to be appreciated for its unique sense of design, its adult aesthetic, and the humor and gravitas of its performances. On this episode, we discuss the film's pioneering blend of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation, the influence of Mike Mignola's art on "Atlantis" and future films, the film's basis in the Disney adventure films of the '50s, the myth of Atlantis as social trauma preserved in myth, the film's aborted Viking prologue, its better-than-you-think sequel, and why sci-fi animation is a hard sell in Hollywood.

Plus, we talk about video game films and why they rarely work, being openly geek, the influence of anime on Disney and Western animation, Joss Whedon and his involvement with the film, SO MANY DEATHS, skinny Indiana Jones, stealing from "Stargate", letting your kid choose your movie project, the secret origin of "Disney PG", a Bollywood "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", #ReleaseTheMurphyCut, and "John Carter" comes up more than you'd expect!

It's a ragtag found-family of pirates that make a heel turn and then make a face turn and have among their member a plucky young female mechanic!

Atlantis: The Lost Empire Scores
Rotten Tomatoes: 49%
Metacritic: 52
IMDB: 6.9/10

Follow Noel on Twitter and check out his other podcasts!
http://www.twitter.com/NoelCT
http://noelct.blogspot.com/

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Everybody get up, it's time to slam as we do a real jam on 1996's “Space Jam"!

Musician and podcaster Gooey Fame joins the show to talk about the classic basketball/Looney Tunes/Michael Jordan comeback film that launched 1000 Hot Topic t-shirts! His Airness has gone from dunkin' on faces to running the bases but when the Looney Tunes find themselves facing slavery on Moron Mountain, Bugs and crew will have to convince the GOAT to lace up his Air Jordans for one last game!

It's hard to fully elucidate how huge a phenomenon Michael Jordan was in the '90s and it's even more difficult to explain what a shock it was that he quit the sport he'd mastered after winning 3 championships back-to-back-to-back with his whole career ahead of him. It's almost as unbelievable as a shoe commercial becoming a live-action Looney tunes feature, but Jordan's affability and charisma as a pitchman rivaled even his on-court abilities. On this episode, we discuss the film's origins in the Air and Hare spots, the ubiquity of '90s basketball culture, Jordan's shocking defection to the minors, the tragic death of his father following his 3rd championship win, the amazing voice talent in the film, the classic soundtrack, the revolutionary techniques used in bringing the Tunes and the Monstars to life, the movie's showbiz meta-commentary, the film's immortal website, and of course, Lola Bunny.

Plus, we talk about the state of video game and wrestling movies, Cliffy B as the net Kevin Feige, emo sports, Rotten Tomatoes as film nerd ESPN, putting all the hats on other hats, "Jordan Rides the Bus", Shazam vs. Kazaam, Bill Murray's 1-900 number, June Foray, the hollow Earth, WB kayfabe, the film's surprising parallels with "Us", Gooey finally getting Charles "Bark"-ley, Aaron mispronouncing "Nike" a bunch, and the existential terror that is the Michael Ball.

Mike's Secret Stuff. Not even once.

Space Jam Scores
Rotten Tomatoes: 42%
Metacritic: 59
IMDB: 6.4/10

Follow Gooey on Twitter and check out their other podcasts!
http://www.twitter.com/gooeyfame
http://www.twitter.com/PWRVpodcast
http://www.twitter.com/eifpod
http://www.twitter.com/virtualtheaterx

Watch the SB Nation expose on the big game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DppXWDwf258

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We're done playing games this week as we jump into the first video game movie adaptation, 1993's “Super Mario Bros."!

Author and returning guest Melissa “Frickin” Olson is back to talk about another ground-breaking film project swallowed by its own ambitions. Mario and Luigi Mario just want to fix pipes and beat the Scapellis, but when Daisy is kidnapped into an alternate version of New York, the Mario Brothers will have to confront a strange new world, an army of devolved monsters, and defeat King Koopa to rescue Daisy and save the world!

In 2019, the "video game movie" is a well-established and often maligned genre But in 1993, the creators of Super Mario Bros. were working without a map (or a strategy guide) and the assemblage of raw talent involved in the production, combined with the creative but inexperienced directors, left us with a transitional fossil of a picture, engrossing in its weirdness and enlightening in its shortcomings. On this episode, we discuss the surprising talent behind the film, the birth pains of video game cinema, how modern genre films "look for the mutants", recreating the "gameplay loop" in film, Shigeru Miyamoto's reaction to the movie, the proto-cyberpunk origins of the film, Roger Ebert's change of heart about video games, and the tangle of screenwriters who tried to hammer out a narrative from an 8-bit Nintendo game.

Plus, we talk about being a cry baby pee pants about horror, the rules of TED talks, William Gibson's Super Mario Bros., RIP Bike Guy, Noo Yawk dinos, the fantastic Fiona Shaw, the film's secret Disney status, the "Did That Just Happen" count, the surprisingly good Angry Birds movies, the cast's nostalgic reactions, and justice for Disney princesses!

#TRUSTTHEFUNGUS

Super Mario Bros. Scores
Rotten Tomatoes: 23%
Metacritic: NA
IMDB: 4.0/10

Follow Melissa on Twitter, check out her website, and watch her TED Talk!
http://www.twitter.com/melissafolson
http://www.melissafolson.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aUPlcynqPI

Pre-order the latest book in the Boundary series, Boundary Haunted, out December 3rd!
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Craft Disservices makes its belated return in style as we reflect on Orson Welles's 1948 noir classic "The Lady From Shanghai"!

Writer and game designer Robin D. Laws joins the show to talk about another near-masterpiece from the iconoclastic actor/director. Michael O'Hara thought he knew about trouble, but when he falls for the beautiful wife of a bitter, ruthless lawyer, he finds himself drawn into a game of revenge, murder, and tarrrrrget practice!

Orson Welles burst onto the Hollywood scene in 1941 with his debut feature, "Citizen Kane", employing the techniques he honed in theater and radio to subvert the cinematic trends of the time. But more often than not, he found his creativity stymied by studio bosses who were unwilling to indulge his fancies and a viewing public who weren't ready to take the journey he was offering them. On this episode, we discuss the struggles Welles had with the studio in getting the picture made, his casting (and shearing) of his estranged wife Rita Hayworth, the questionable veracity of self-aggrandizing Hollywood tales, how Welles's techniques inspired later filmmakers, the milage of auteur theory in a commercial market, and the true ambitions of the film's many signature setpieces.

Plus, we talk about the definition and origins of film noir, a movie about drunk people, Harry Cohn: Hollywood Super-Villain, sailing (unsteadily) with Errol Flynn, screwing over William Castle, picking your adaptation at random, "Latin crime jazz", the conscientiousness of Chinese opera performers, synonyms for "trashy", the Wong Kar Wai remake that never happened, Aaron capes for his boy Yorgos Lanthimos, Robin doubts the Brechtianism of Welles, and we debut the "I Have to Fight You" podcast!

This is without a doubt the best murder for hire, put yourself on the witness stand, bad Irish accent, hall of mirrors shootout, scary aquarium, mariachi luau film ever made!

The Lady From Shanghai Scores
Rotten Tomatoes: 86%
Metacritic: NA
IMDB: 7.7/10

Check out Robin's podcast, Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff!
http://www.kenandrobintalkaboutstuff.com

Get Robin's books on Amazon!
Beating the Story
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Hamlet's Hit Points
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Buy The Lady From Shanghai on Blu-ray!
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