In this short episode, the Film Shrapnel lads discuss IMDb ratings and their accuracy. There’s a lot to talk about and Craig has prepared some talking points.

Who primarily uses IMDb, and does that skew ratings for certain genres and prevent international cinema from getting as much attention as Western films? What about the top-rated films on IMDb? Does The Shawshank Redemption belong at the top? Are other measurements more effective? What about Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic?

This episode is a redo of an episode we recorded last year for season 2, but unfortunately, we had mega bad audio issues, so we had to axe it. (It all started when Tobias and Craig disagreed on whether the 1999 version of The Mummy was a good film.)

Enjoy!

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We’re finally doing something Lynch! Why did it take us so long? With the legendary director’s death last year, we had to watch something of his, and it just so happens that Wild at Heart is one of Tobias’s favourite films of all time.

It also features Nicholas Cage in a role that fits him perfectly, Laura Dern at her finest, and Willem Defoe stealing the limelight in the creepiest way possible.

After Megalopolis and Neil Breen’s Twisted Pair, Wild at Heart was a breath of well-needed fresh air.

Enjoy!

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What on Earth happened to this film? How did the legendary director of The Godfather end up creating this monstrously bad movie? Tobias and Craig are at a loss. Try as they might, there’s little redeemable to discuss in Megalopolis.

What makes it sadder is Coppola sank his wine business to pay for this pitiful film, and it will probably be the last thing he ever makes. It’s a film he should never have made. Visually, it's yucky. The acting is horrid (except for a few cast members that we really like). But most of all, so much of it doesn’t make any sense.

In fact, the plot is so muddled, it’s hard to believe Coppola worked on this film for decades before it got made.

It’s a sad and frustrating film, and there’s a lot to talk about.

Enjoy!

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Tobias tells Craig his plan to reimagine The Warriors—The Warriors FC—and Craig is more than happy to help him flesh out this idea.

Here’s the plot: Imagine The Warriors was set in modern-day London. All the top English football firms are getting together for a big meet-up at the edge of the city. They’re going to team up for England at the World Cup to beat the crap out of all the other fans abroad, but suddenly ‘Cyrus’ is shot, and the Warriors FC are blamed and must escape home while other firms hunt them down.

We talk a lot about English actors and get distracted by characters called Craig in movies (they’re always the worst). No West Ham fans allowed!

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Tobias has been nagging Craig to watch The Warriors for years. Craig finally caved in, and it was super worth it. While it’s a dated film and there’s plenty to laugh at, there’s also a lot of good stuff to talk about, and it’s very influential.

The plot is simple. A street gang must get from one side of New York to the other while the rest of the city hunts them down falsely believing they assassinated the chief of the biggest gang in the city.

The Warriors is flamboyant and super 80s (for a movie from 1979), the dialogue is ridiculous, and the role of women is problematic. However, the bulk of the film is just a bunch of ‘kids’ trying to survive and get home. There’s no social message, though could’ve had more action.

It’s a film that deserves a remake. Tobias has a plan, and he reveals it all in the next episode!

Enjoy!

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Twisted Pair was Craig’s idea, and Tobias absolutely hates this film. Despite that, there’s so much to talk about—but none of it is good. There’s not much intelligence here… BUT we did laugh a lot.

What is Twisted Pair about? It’s pretty hard to tell. Like other Neil Breen films, he’s the director, producer, writer, and stars as the protagonist.

What makes this one special is that he plays twins—one with a terrible fake beard. It’s like an awful student film, or as Tobias described it, “it’s like watching someone shouting at pigeons in the park.”

There’s so much stock footage and green screen that it’ll make your eyes puke. Twisted Pair definitely belongs in the ‘so bad it’s good pile.’ We originally planned to do a month of Breen films, but it looks like there’s no chance we can convince Tobias to do that! We’ll need to recover from this. Might just read a book to recover from this one!

Note: At one point, Craig says that Breen made his money as a real estate agent. In reality, he’s an architect.

Enjoy!

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Following The Substance, we’re watching another excellent film from 2024. Surprisingly, it’s a horror film… with Hugh Grant as the villain? As strange as it sounds, Grant makes this film an amazing watch.

What makes his role even more impressive, is that you can’t but help agree with the things his character says. Heretic could be called a ‘Christian horror’ movie. It discusses many of the flaws in Christianity but without belittling the religion.

It suggests that Christians can still follow the faith despite knowing that there are some things that don’t quite make sense or parts of Christianity potentially borrowed from others.

Lastly, it’s also refreshing to see Mormon characters played as regular people, not just an okay faith to laugh at.

Enjoy!

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We’re starting Film Shrapnel season 3 with one of the best films of 2024! The Substance.

Excellent use of the body horror genre to explore feminist themes around fame, body image and age. We loved this film. So much to talk about. Was this film robbed at the Oscars? We think so!

We’re very passionate about this film! It’s the best Cronenberg film he never made. It’s hard to believe it’s only the director’s second-ever film.

Had to record twice because of audio issues the first time. :( But maybe that helped us make this conversation more interesting.

Enjoy!

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