Tag Archives: filmmaking

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Jamie Lee Curtis: Prom Night (1980)

Leave a comment

We decided to wrap up our Jamie Lee Curtis retrospective by reviewing the classic horror film Prom Night, the film that has inspired many horror movies since it was released and continues to inspire today. What did we think about it? Well, perhaps we should have watched Terror Train instead? There’s some interesting stuff in Prom Night to be sure, but so much of it is either boring or just doesn’t work or is just plain confusing. We even brought in our pal Matt Dykes to help us work through this thing and he had similar problems.

But hey, if there’s anything we learned from this it is that Jamie Lee Curtis is a cinematic treasure. If nothing else, watch the movie for her…and then watch Terror Train.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Jamie Lee Curtis: Halloween h20 (1998)

Leave a comment

We continue our Jamie Lee Curtis retrospective with Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, her celebrated return to both the horror genre and this franchise in particular. We have a lot to say about the film as it’s quite flawed and makes some odd choices throughout. The body count is low, and the mask changes partway through the film into something you might find at a pop up Halloween store. The film introduces Josh Hartnett and his messy hair baggy clothes combo to the world, and we see a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt get a skate to the face. Everything with Jamie Lee Curtis is quite good and she makes a traumatized Laurie Strode believable. Worth watching? Listen to find out.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Jamie Lee Curtis: True Lies (1994)

Leave a comment

We’re traveling back in time to 1994 to talk about True Lies, James Cameron’s take on Bond starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and our lady of the month Jamie Lee Curtis. It’s quite the adventure, filled to the brim with action, humor, and fun performances from everyone involved. The only weak link is Tom Arnold, but he manages to hold on to the harrier jet, as it were.

To assist us in our review of such a classic film we invited our pal Matt Dykes onto the show to give us his perspective.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Jamie Lee Curtis: Knives Out (2019)

Leave a comment

October has arrived, and we decided it would be a great idea to do a retrospective on the top scream queen herself – Jamie Lee Curtis. We start the month with her most recent turn in the Rian Johnson film Knives Out. It’s a tightly-paced and well-written whodunnit with really fun performances. And even though Jamie Lee Curtis doesn’t have as much screen time as we would have liked, she commands every moment and makes this a great way to start our month.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Eve Stewart: Cats (2019)

Leave a comment

We made it to the end of our very enlightening Eve Stewart retrospective and to celebrate we’re discussing the divisive Tom Hooper spectacle Cats. There’s a lot to love in this film, and there’s a lot to hate, and really it boils down to how easy it is for you to get past Rebel Wilson and James Corden’s abysmal performances. Production design here is stellar – big surprise – but Tom Hooper tries his best to focus on other things. Bad Hooper. Bad. All that said, is the film worth watching? Hit that play button and we’ll tell you.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Eve Stewart: De-Lovely (2004)

Leave a comment

Thank you for your patience! This week we’re back to talk about De-Lovely, the next film in our Eve Stewart retrospective. It’s about the musical icon Cole Porter, played with zest by Kevin Kline, as he re-lives the best and worst of his life at the behest of the angel Gabriel (Jonathan Pryce). The film features songs written by Cole Porter, all sung by popular modern musicians. But the question remains: is the film any good?

It’s…charming, but never quite reaches “great.” The real MVP of the film is Eve Stewart and her production design. It’s breathtaking, and quickly overshadows everything else in the film. Join us, won’t you?

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Eve Stewart: A Cure For Wellness (2016)

Leave a comment

The next film in our Eve Stewart retrospective is the Gore Verbinski horror thriller A Cure For Wellness, starring Dane DeHaan, Mia Goth, and Jason Isaacs. The film is a clunky mess, suffering from logic problems as well as a problematic third act. What saves it for us is Stewart’s exceptional production design, which gives the film an atmosphere and mood that makes us want to keep watching despite the significant script problems. We go into all of this and more in the episode, so don’t wait another minute to hit that play button on your podcast player of choice.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

Eve Stewart: Nicholas Nickleby (2002)

Leave a comment

A new month brings us a new filmmaker and for September we decided to breakdown the lively career of production designer Eve Stewart, starting with 2002’s Nicholas Nickleby, starring Charlie Hunnam, Jamie Bell, and Christopher Plummer. It’s a film that’s exceptionally designed and looks absolutely gorgeous, but that has almost nothing else going for it. The performances are fine, but the tone of the film oscillates so much between farce and prestige period drama that it’s hard to really connect to anything the actors are doing. And don’t get us started about couches being dragged outside of houses for leisure. Did we mention that the film is gorgeous?

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

SNL: Superstar (1999)

Leave a comment

So I guess this is hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Behind the Hype, where we’re talking about Superstar, starring the amazing and hilarious Molly Shannon. You want to do what? Now? Well, sure. We should warn you that what follows is a very quotable film that transcends its sketches on SNL and provides some genuine laughs. It may not be as good or considered to be a classic quite like the rest of the movies we discussed this month, but it was very entertaining.

We also discuss the Marry Katherine Gallagher sketches that inspired the movie, and Macgruber…which was rough.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY

ATH Presents: Behind the Hype

SNL: Wayne’s World (1992)

Leave a comment

It’s Wayne’s World, Wayne’s World! Party On! Excellent. Wew wew wew weewwwww! In a month of SNL films, it was only a matter of time before we discussed this cultural touchstone of a film and give it the effusive praise that it deserves. And a podcast about one of the best SNL films wouldn’t be nearly as awesome without a special guest. We’re joined (for the first time since our rebrand as Behind the Hype) by Brok Holliday from Damage Boost. He’s the choice of a new generation.

We also discuss some of the SNL shorts that inspired the film, and dove into a brief discussion about how the Wayne’s World sketches worked better overall and had a better transition to film than the Conehead ones and the Blues Brothers musical numbers.

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE

OR LISTEN THROUGH THE FINE SERVICES BELOW!

A link image to Stitcher Radio.

SUBSCRIBE ON APPLE PODCASTS, GOOGLE PLAY, & SPOTIFY