The gang is back to discuss what continues to go right for Deadpool & Wolverine, what only went kinda-sorta okay for M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap and what went 104% wrong for Harold and the Purple Crayon. There are fewer digressions than usual, although we do note Warner Bros. Discovery’s very bummer summer and Longlegs being Nicolas Cage’s biggest live-action hit in nearly 17 years while imploring Imax to give the people what they crave: Hundreds of Beavers: The Imax Experience. We also answer our first piece of viewer mail. Keep them coming. Otherwise, we’ll have to actually figure out what to say on our own. Alas, Jeremy had some technical difficulties so he was mostly killed off after the first 1/3. He’ll presumably be resurrected by the next episode.
In terms of the written word…
Jeremy offered up a quick August box office preview.
Ryan offered up a Tales from the Box Office for the tenth anniversary of Guardians of the Galaxy and a requiem for the commercial failure of The Iron Giant. As someone who, even as a 19-year-old, always felt it was a tough sell, I’ll note that the weekend on which it opened, alongside The Sixth Sense, The Thomas Crown Affair, Mystery Men and Dick, might be the very best wide release newbie weekend of my lifetime.
Finally, Lisa continued her Twilight Tuesday series, for which she watches and discusses the final three films in The Twilight Saga for the first time. I cannot wait for her to experience the glory that is Breaking Dawn Part II, but this latest piece is interesting in that it offers something I haven’t seen much of, namely evaluating Robert Pattinson’s performance as Edward Cullen in relation to his more celebrated quirky/goofy turns in Devil All the Time or The Lighthouse.
Meanwhile, she wrote up a piece on the all-but-certain demise of the Disney+ Marvel television “universe.” Honestly, taken on their own, most of the shows were varying degrees of “fine,” (I’m most partial to Hawkeye and She-Hulk), but the damage their existence did to the brand cannot be overstated.
As always, if you like what you hear, like, share, comment, and smash (using a cartoon mallet) that subscribe button with every justified ounce of strength and passion. Oh, and if you want to personally bother us and offer good cheer, requests for in-show discussions and ideas for bonus episodes, ping us at Asktheboxofficepod@gmail.com.
Jeremy Fuster - TheWrap
Lisa Laman - Looper, Cultress and Autostraddle
Ryan C. Scott - SlashFilm and Fangoria
Ep. 27: Deadpool Traps A Purple Crayon