Welcome to the aughts, P-Bog! Shame about that box office. But seriously, it’s impressive (and a similarity he shares with PJ Hogan) that people kept financing Peter Bogdanovich’s films despite so many of them being flops. But did THE CAT’S MEOW deserve its financial failure or was it worthy of its critical praise? This Real Talk segment tries to a…

Peter Bogdanovich stayed true to form as he entered the new millennium: by making a movie about stuff that happened almost a hundred years prior. THE CAT’S MEOW was a moderate hit with critics - so-called movie buffs who were happy P-Bog was just performing the same old tricks from earlier in his career. It takes more than a cast of fresh faces to …

Maybe Peter Pan adaptations are not meant to be box office hits. Don’t think so? Listen to us go through an unsettling overview of Neverland disappointments as we circle PJ Hogan’s critically celebrated but financially underwhelming PETER PAN. But reviews and dollars aside, how do we feel about this fourth PJ Party? Is it a rebound for Hogan, getti…

Sometimes you can’t help but fail upwards. After the disastrous reception to Unconditional Love, PJ Hogan was somehow handed the keys to one of the most recognizable IPs in the world, and he was able to put his own quirky spin on the PETER PAN mythos. Critics gave it a fresh Tomatometer score, so that means The Contrarians need to give The Lost Boy…

Regardless of whether anyone considers NOISES OFF a good or bad Peter Bogdanovich movie, it’s ludicrous that it’s not spoken about more often - and don’t even get us started on the meager Rotten Tomatoes coverage. But then again, a movie adaptation about a play that is in itself about the staging of a play could be a little too meta for some audien…

Welcome to The 90s, P-Bog style! After a tumultuous intermittent run during the previous decade, Peter Bogdanovich assembled another all-star cast and tried to make audiences laugh again with a film adaptation of the successful play NOISES OFF. If Rotten Tomatoes is to be believed, critics shrugged it off, if they even bothered to check it out. A s…

The release and reception of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE was akin to diving off a cliff after impressively free-soloing said cliff. The movie has its passionate defenders, so could it be that its failure was simply a reflection of a studio’s botched handling of an unusual comedy? Or did PJ Hogan whiff after giving the world two home runs back to back? And a…

It’s like PJ Hogan took all the complaints about him not being able to do anything but wedding-centric movies and set off to make his third film the most offbeat midlife crisis comedy of them all. As you would expect, change-averse critics and audiences turned their backs on this bold new direction in the filmmaker’s career and UNCONDITIONAL LOVE b…

Our boy P-Bog took a hell of a tumble with this one. But you know what, you could say the same about Nickelodeon, and we disagreed with the Tomatometer on that one. So, is ILLEGALLY YOURS another instance of a good movie not getting a fair shake from critics and audiences? Can “Peter Bogdanovich does an 80s comedy” really be that bad of an idea? Ou…

Rob Lowe and Peter Bogdanovich: The 80s team-up the world clearly was not ready for. Perhaps the most misunderstood movie in the acclaimed director’s filmography, ILLEGALLY YOURS barely has enough reviews on Rotten Tomatoes to even be acknowledged as rotten - a clear sign that more people need to watch this adorable jury duty adventure. Listen to A…

Okay, let’s get serious about this. Whether you think it’s a little weird for PJ Hogan to follow his wedding-themed debut with another wedding movie, there’s a lot to chew on when it comes to MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING. How do we feel about the film’s moral stance? Does it embrace rom-com tropes more than it subverts them? Did Rupert Everett burn bri…

Wait a minute, didn’t we JUST do this? A wedding movie from Aussie director PJ Hogan? Perhaps the most shameless example of a filmmaker selling out as quickly as they could, MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING was a massive box office and critical success, so in a way you can’t blame Hogan for going Hollywood. You can nitpick his sophomore effort to death, ho…

The fresher they are, the harder they rot… or something along those lines. Peter Bogdanovich’s amazing initial run of movies eventually had to hit a rough patch, and NICKELODEON is infamously known as the project that derailed his career almost for good. Were critics and audiences too tough on P-Bog’s love letter to silent filmmaking? How do The Co…

Legend says the great Peter Bogdanovich once asked “Who would dare live in a pineapple under the sea?”. Unfortunately, studios were not interested in exploring the answer to that question just yet, so instead P-Bog made a comedy about the early days of filmmaking. NICKELODEON was a huge bomb and it’s branded with a 17% Tomatometer score, so it’s ti…

Do you like ABBA? That could determine how you ultimately feel about MURIEL’S WEDDING. But there’s more to PJ Hogan’s feature film debut than its memorable soundtrack, and The Contrarians will get into it in this Real Talk segment. Does the comedy balance out the tragedy? Is the film too unfair toward some of its characters? And does the unstoppabl…

Welcome to our first PJ Party of the Summer: a wedding party! Aussie filmmaker PJ Hogan jumpstarted Toni Collette’s career (and his own) with a cringy, depressing so-called comedy full of despicable characters and ABBA songs. Should we ignore MURIEL’S WEDDINGS many failings just because it gave us one of the best actresses of our generation? Listen…

Friends, you better be ready for a major influx of Bogdaknowledge through your summer. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW was the obvious starting point for this journey, but did it wow The Contrarians as much as it seems to have done with pretty much the entire world? Can we relate to the struggles of the citizens of Anarene? Can we share the nostalgia for thi…

Our summer event begins! “Bogdanofilms & PJ Parties” opens with a bang: a Peter Bogdanovich coming-of-age flick so revered, it could be argued the filmmaker was never able to top it - and it was right at the beginning of his career. But is the Tomatometer too easily impressed by THE LAST PICTURE SHOW? Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to figure ou…

MAD HEIDI is a crowdfunded indie production, so of course we are bound to support it on at least some level. But the question is, does it work for us as a movie? Or are we just more enamored with the idea of such a wacky film coming about from a grassroots effort? We’ll say this: one Contrarian is more in sync with Swissplotation than the other. Li…

Apparently, at some point in the past few years, society decided it was okay to pick on lactose intolerant people. How else can you explain the unexpected success of MAD HEIDI, a Swiss schlockfest that spends its runtime making jokes about cheese and making fun of anyone who can’t drink a glass of whole milk? Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to m…

Not being a Quentin Tarantino movie isn’t a mortal sin, and there’s a wide range of quality when it comes to Tarantino wannabes anyway - not that we’re sure THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD is trying to be one. But if you remove the QT factor (or lack thereof), how does this Andy Garcia vehicle come across? Can 90s nostalgia work wonders in …

Pity any gangster movie that came out in the post-Pulp-Fiction 90s. THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD couldn’t escape the comparisons to beloved Tarantino fare, and critics decided that was enough to turn their backs on Andy Garcia and his band of chatty criminals. Listen to Alex & Julio as they go to bat for Scott Rosenberg’s tale of redempt…

Okay, Ari Aster. This is where we give you a fair shake. It’s been established throughout the run of this show that neither Alex nor Julio care for Hereditary or Midsommar. But this Real Talk segment forces The Contrarians to articulate their feelings beyond snarky jokes, and consider that maybe they haven’t been giving Mr. Aster and his fans enoug…

To hear critics tell it, Ari Aster reimagined the horror genre with HEREDITARY, his Tomatometer fresh debut. It doesn’t matter that the movie abandons its exploration of grief halfway through its runtime, and it doesn’t matter that the third act requires a character to drop a phonebook’s worth of exposition for it to make sense. Sometimes, people j…

While Alex dropped little bits of pro wrestling trivia during Contrarians Corner, he saved all the heavy stuff for the second half of the episode. Is it possible to enjoy a mainstream biopic when you are quite familiar with the subject being explored? Is it a blessing in disguise to be ignorant of Saraya’s real life journey while watching Fighting …

Leave it to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to take Saraya “Paige” Bevis’ story and make it all about himself. FIGHTING WITH MY FAMILY celebrates how cool The Rock thinks he is while also trying to portray pro wrestling as the most wholesome sport in the world. The problem? We’ve already watched movies like The Wrestler and The Iron Claw, which pulled ba…

Perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise that Quentin Tarantino was forced to split KILL BILL in two, since it’s hard to imagine both volumes holding together as a single movie - and some would argue they barely hold together as a two-parter. Is that an actual concern when it comes to appreciating Volume 2? Alex, Julio, and Chas have different experienc…

It took us almost ten years to make it to 200 (numbered) episodes. It feels like it took The Bride almost as long to finally get to Bill. KILL BILL VOLUME 2 presents Tarantino fans with a conundrum: if you liked Volume 1, you’re out of luck because this one is nothing like it. And if you liked Tarantino’s more “traditional” work, this isn’t as good…

It’s quite a different experience, appreciating KILL BILL: VOLUME 1 as the most recent Quentin Tarantino outing, versus watching it as the fourth of nine movies in his filmography. Has time and an expanded context softened Alex’s stance when it comes to The Bride’s adventures? Has Julio been overrating the first Kill Bill for almost twenty years? H…

The fourth film from Quentin Tarantino was a left turn in a career that so far had given us verbose bank robbers, verbose gangsters, and verbose, um, flight attendants turned money launderers? QT zigged by giving us wall-to-wall soulless Uma Thurman action in a homage to the kung-fu movies he watched instead of going to film school. Critics loved i…

Well, this episode features two hardcore FRIDAY THE 13TH fans and someone who doesn’t even care for horror movies most of the time. Get ready for some contention now that we are in the Real Talk part of the show! How does each of us react to the idea that maybe the 2009 Jason Voorhees adventure was aimed at potential new fans, so old fans need to c…

Can you believe it’s been 15 years since the last FRIDAY THE 13TH theatrical release? Apparently, critics and audiences had issues with an installment of the franchise that actually took itself seriously. Listen to Alex & Julio, joined by Stew from the Stew World Order podcast, as they re-evaluate the battle between Sam Winchester and Jason Voorhee…

Hey, we are both Seinfeld appreciators. So that should be a starting point with DUNSTON CHECKS IN, right? How do we truly feel about Jason Alexander’s leading man capabilities, especially in the context of a kids movie? And what’s our tolerance level when it comes to Dunston himself? Can our love for the 90s help us connect to this movie or is this…

As we race toward our 200th episode, it’s time to get into some monkey business. Some 90s Monkey Business even. How many Jason Alexander starring vehicles can you name? How many of them feature an adorable ape as his co-star? Listen to Alex & Julio as they scoff at DUNSTON CHECKS IN’s appalling 17% Tomatometer score! Marvel at Faye Danaway’s career…

Did the plot holes and plot contrivances in YOUR NAME bother us as much as we expressed during Contrarians Corner? Are we immune to the charms of anime, or maybe just not receptive to modern anime? Was this a good entry point into Japanese animation for Alex and can Julio stop comparing it to a Studio Ghibli production? All this and more on this Re…

Japanese animation: The Final Frontier! Or at least you would think so, considering how long it has taken The Contrarians to tackle anime on the show. Join Alex & Julio as they travel back to 2016, to pick apart YOUR NAME - a movie celebrated by anyone who has not seen Freaky Friday! Let’s answer the question on everyone’s minds: do you even have t…

Look, Brian De Palma is still making movies. But yes, they are not the Hollywood productions of his heyday. Was his fall from grace inevitable, and, more importantly, deserved? Is THE BLACK DAHLIA as bad as people say? Or in fact, could THE BLACK DAHLIA be actually as good as we said it was in Contrarians Corner? This Real Talk segment dives into t…

It’s been 17 years since Brian De Palma took a James Ellroy novel, called up emerging superstars Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, and Hillary Swank and said, hey, let’s put on a noir show. Critics hated it, audiences avoided it, and De Palma hasn’t made a major studio film since. Listen to Alex & Julio as they rediscover THE BLACK …

With the Contrarians gimmick set aside, this Real Talk segment features a wide range of opinions regarding Nicolas Winding Refn and his work. Longtime listeners know how Alex feels about Drive and The Neon Demon — or at least how he felt before this rewatch. And we’ve hinted to Ryan’s actual Neon Demon feelings fairly strongly. But that’s only half…

Nicolas Winding Refn was in a pretty awkward place after releasing Only God Forgives. The popularity he amassed when he made Drive seemed to implode with the follow-up. So what did he do? He doubled down on the weirdness and released a biting, irreverent satire about the L.A. modeling scene. Listen to Alex & Julio discuss THE NEON DEMON with the he…

Once again, we are starting the new year with a Denzel Washington movie. RICOCHET may divide the Contrarians far more than The Bone Collector did, however. How do Alex & Julio truly feel about this hidden gem/stain in Denzel’s filmography? Can at least one of them appreciate the fun trashiness of Steven de Souza’s screenplay? And we all know Kevin …

Imagine you are a young Denzel Washington and you just won your first Oscar. How do you show Hollywood you are not a one-hit wonder? Somehow, Denzel thought the answer was to face off against a predictably deranged John Lithgow in a schlocky thriller. And, based on RICOCHET’s fresh Tomatometer score, it worked! Listen to Alex & Julio as they pick a…

So, as of this posting, it’s basically impossible to stream DROP DEAD GORGEOUS in the U.S. Is that reflective of its quality, its controversial sense of humor, or both? Alex has been enthusiastic about the movie ever since he found out it was on the schedule, but will Julio share that excitement now that we are being serious? And is it easier to na…

Middle America exposed!!! And before the MAGA years, mind you. Unsurprisingly, this didn’t go over particularly well with conservative critics, and so DROP DEAD GORGEOUS’ Tomatometer score is divisive at best. Listen to Alex & Julio as they celebrate the rare mockumentary that’s not a Christopher Guest product: an incisive look at the beauty pagean…

You could make an argument that none of the players involved in JERRY MAGUIRE have ever been better. Tom Cruise, Renée Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr., Cameron Crowe… forget whatever acclaim they garnered in the future, maybe this rom-sports-com is where they peaked. Or maybe not. Maybe at least one of The Contrarians is too close to this film to judge…

Hey, look, it’s Hollywood mega-star Tom Cruise trying to play a regular guy. Wonder if movie critics will fall for it? Of course they did! JERRY MAGUIRE is fresh on the Tomatometer despite being among the worst examples of Cameron Crowe’s mannered dialogue and overproduced soundtracks. Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to figure out what exactly i…

Okay, let’s get serious about The Flintstones - because apparently that’s how the world has decided we must judge this 1994 live-action adaptation. Is there a silent majority that thinks this movie is good and has the internet’s echo chamber fed the Tomatometer in this instance? Can we all at least agree that Halle Berry and Kyle MacLachlan are STU…

You know we are too far gone as a society when we can’t appreciate the beauty of a perfect Flintstones live-action adaptation. We dare you, all of you, to propose a better cast. This was it: there won’t be a better Fred than John Goodman. And if anybody was ever going to crack the puzzle of Barney Rubble’s character, it would be Rick Moranis. But c…

By now, we know that THE SUICIDE SQUAD was basically James Gunn’s DCEU audition - one that he passed with flying colors. Would we have given him the job though? As you would expect, this Real Talk segment sees Alex struggling with his love for John Cena versus his aversion to movies that run over two hours - plus finally assimilating Margot Robbie’…

We used to wait at least a decade before giving a failed adaptation another shot at being reimagined. Now we pump out remakes, reboots, and requels faster than WB can shelve them. And that’s how we ended up with a SUICIDE SQUAD sort-of-sequel that didn’t even bother to change its title all that much. Listen to Alex & Julio as they try to make sense…