179 - The Way

"This will be one of the shorter Mixed Bag episodes." - Cassandra Tse, 2026. Lol, lmao even. Today we begin our stupidest miniseries yet: The Way Way Back Machine, where we take a look at three films no one is talking about: The Way, The Way Back, and The Way Way Back. "When his son dies while hiking the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, Tom flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child’s life, he decides to complete the 500-mile mountain trek to Spain. Tom soon joins up with other travelers and realizes they’re all searching for something." (Letterboxd). Cass, Matt and Jamie are here to ask you the all-important question: how did you celebrate the 15th anniversary of The Way? But beforehand, there are plenty of Pop Corner kernels to snack on, including Wildwood, ParaNorman (2012), Eddie and Golgator (which you can view right here!), PrimeTime, Anthonie Tonnon's Cinematographer, Slumber Party Massacre II (1987), The Birds (1963), Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1982), The Celebrity Traitors and Survivor 51. Plus, RIP to Sir Patrick Stewart.

Release delayed by one day due to Labour Day, thanks for your patience Bag Hags! Today we are joined, as we are every Halloween, by the Foe of the Pod, Mike Bryant. This has led to an episode so long that Cass had to delete all the other audio files off her computer in order to have space to edit it. Today we discuss a film that was slammed on release, but has since been reclaimed as a nostalgic classic: 2007's Trick 'R Treat. Four interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the one guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank, and a bitter old recluse receives an uninvited guest. (Sourced from Letterboxd). But first, we have miles and miles of Pop Corner kernels to snack on, which I've divided here by category: Films We're Looking Forward To PrimeTime You Can See Everything Elsinore Wildwood Clayface Capturing Bigfoot Wild Horse Nine Cass's Corner Digger The pro-shot of Hadestown Sense & Sensibility The Social Reckoning Jamie's Corner The Beyond (1981) The Cremator (1969) Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979) Diabolique (1955) Tenebre (1982) Body Double (1984) Inferno (1980) RIP to BioWare :'( Mike's Corner Queens of the Dead (2025) Arachnophobia (1990) Theatre of Blood (1973) Orlando (1992) Run Lola Run (1998) Jason X (2001) Matt's Corner Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) NAZA The expectations (remix) music video Troye Sivan's "She's the Best"

Chat, are we chopped and unc? We are three millennials and as such we have never seen Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Here to change all that is Gen Z correspondent LC, of The Silver Fox Office fame. Greg Heffley is headed for big things, but first he has to survive the scariest, most humiliating experience of any kid’s life – middle school! That won’t be easy, considering he’s surrounded by hairy-freckled morons, wedgie-loving bullies and a moldy slice of cheese with nuclear cooties! (Sourced from Letterboxd). In the Pop Corner, conversation includes discussion of the musical Cabaret, Wings of Desire (1987), Roman J. Israel Esq. (2017) and several pop girlies that Matt thinks are about to break out of the Khia asylum (listen to the ep for more details!).

It's finally here! Ever since 2023 we have been at the forefront of all Coyote vs. ACME related news and today we bring you a massive scoop: the film is in cinemas, and it's good. After Acme products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Roadrunner, Wile E. Coyote decides to hire a billboard lawyer to sue the Acme Corporation. (Sourced from Letterboxd). Your hosts laughed and laughed, and even admit to getting a little teary at times due to the beautiful portrayal of Wile E. and Road Runner's eternal friendship (seriously). But can they forgive this film for not including their favourite lil queer icon Marvin the Martian? Over in the Pop Corner, we talk Drive Your Plow Over The Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, Tony, Phoebe Bridgers' Lost Weekend, PlayTime (1967), Resident Evil (2026) and The End of Oak Street.

"Dipping sauces are at the core of American culture." "If I have a kid... what if I name her Cinema?" Such insights as these can only be brought to you by the Mixed Bag trio. Did you miss us? Are you on the edge of your seats to find out what we thought of 2005's Cursed, a werewolf movie that was re-shot more times than its central monster was by the LAPD? Well, too bad, because first you'll have to listen to an hour of takes about Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival and the films wherein. We talk about the GOOD (Whistle, Elephants in the Fog, La Bola Negra, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, All of a Sudden, La Gradiva, Blue Heron, Everytime, Flesh and Fuel, Big Girls Don't Cry), the BAD (Hope, The Chronology of Water) and the MIXED (Fjord, Coward) of the Fest, before moving on to talk about Wes Craven's hopelessly muddled werewolf flick that at least provided some good "Jesse Eisenberg at a computer" clips for future Social Network fan edits.

Cass here, flying solo, checking in. Gonna go back to playing Dolly's greatest hits now.

Bag Hags, I got really sick the morning after we recorded this (causation? correlation?) so you're getting a half-assed caption today. "A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. She rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent’s true happiness as well." (Sourced from Letterboxd). Over in the Pop Corner, we talk cinema etiquette, Disney flops, She's A Killer and what our fave pop girlies are up to.

"Suck a toe, get your piggies licked" - Matt Loveranes, 2026 Hey, are you one of those people who only listens to Mixed Bag for Pop Corner and skips the feature presentation? Then you're going to love this one where we talk about The Odyssey in Pop Corner for about as long as we talk about The Fountain. Sometimes the Baguettes have to record a podcast on Saturday night and things get pretty hazy, okay? The Fountain is Darren Aronofsky's Extremely Deep film all about this guy who's searching for the secret to everlasting life (or more like everlasting WIFE, since his impetus is saving his dying wife). We see the same basic story play out over three different yet intertwined timelines. It's definitely the kind of movie a seventeen year old thinks is very cool and profound, which is why Jamie brought it as her personal pick for the episode. Pop Corner chat includes (but is not limited to:) The Odyssey, Madonna's new album and her place as a cultural figure ("Me and Madonna? We're the same," says Matt) and a tribute to New Zealand's own dear departed Sam Neill.

That's IT! I've had it with these motherf*ckin' SNAKES on this motherf*ckin' PODCAST! Our ongoing surprise series JetBag: Emergency Landing continues with another instalment, and this one is a real first class episode if I do say so myself. Featuring yet another Evil Flight Attendant theory, reflections on the band Cobra Starship, and a pitch for a brand new Obra Dinn-alike video game (TM TM TM). Over in the Pop Corner we talked about so many things I've divided them into categories: New Release Movies The Invite, Toy Story 5, Couture Old Movies Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), Orpheus (1950), The Doom Generation (1995), Crooked House (2017), O Brother Where Art Thou (2000), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), A Woman Under the Influence (1974) TV The Traitors NZ Season 3, Widow's Bay Video Games Alice: Madness Returns (2011), The Seance of Blake Manor (2025), Ratline (2026), Utter a Name (2025) Music CMAT's Euro-Country (2025) RIP Bonnie Tyler, your rasp will live on forever.

Happy Pride (June pride is the only element of American cultural imperialism recognised by the Mixed Bag crew). We're celebrating by watching... a movie that was widely protested by the gay community when it was released? That film is Cruising, a William Friedkin joint where Al Pacino goes undercover in the Meatpacking District to catch a gay serial killer. Or is he the gay serial killer himself? The essay Cass finds at the end of the episode is also worth a read, and can be found here. Over in the Pop Corner, we talk The Boys in the Band (1970), Disclosure Day, the mobile game Cats & Soup: Magic Recipe [please help I am addicted], The Christophers, ""sport"" including ""the Hurricanes"", Kissing Jessica Stein (2001), the short documentary "He Won't Stop Building a Map to an Imaginary Place" by People Make Games, and reaction videos of people listening to Olivia Rodrigo's you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love.