Hops and Box Office Flops

One more day till Halloween, Halloween, Halloween! One more day till Halloween ... stream this podcast! Now, sit back, gather round the TV with a Gasoline Dreams from Monday Night Brewing, and don't mess with that chip! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are prepping our devious Samhain shenanigans! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – The night no one comes home! Lingering Questions – Would we have watched another anthology movie? (34:03) The "Eight More Days Till Halloween" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (50:13) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We kickoff a brand new, yet to be determined, series! (1:01:35) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 is a typical cash grab sequel. Fast tracked to theaters, it is a hodgepodge of half-baked ideas — none of which are good. Worse, mostly ditching the found footage aesthetic, Blair Witch 2 is never scary or tense. What made the original feel fresh and interesting is abandoned for derivative cliches. This one belongs in the dustbin of horror history. Now, sit back, dance around the fire with a Halloween Slasher IPA from Voodoo Ranger, and don't bring the witch back with you! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are watching the tapes in reverse to figure out what the hell happened last night! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Evil doesn't die! Lingering Questions – Did this do right by the property? (37:55) The "Where's the Goddamn Book" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (1:04:53) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our Horrible Horror Sequels series with Halloween III: Season of the Witch! (1:21:40) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare is exactly what you'd expect from an aging franchise that's overstayed its welcome. It looks and feels cheap; pales in comparison to prior entries; and boasts a script not befitting the icon it represents. Frankly, Freddy's Dead is a travesty. If it weren't later redeemed by Wes Craven's exceptional New Nightmare, it may have gone down as the single worst final entry in any mainline horror franchise. Now, sit back, stay up late with a Tucked in By Strangers IPA from Paperback Brewing Co., and avoid the Nazi lady at Springwood's budget town fair! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are hoping the Dream Warriors save us from this nightmare! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – They saved the best (worst) for last! Lingering Questions – Were any of Freddy's hijinks even remotely scary? (22:55) The "I Beat My High Score" Trivia Challenge – The Thunderous Wizard challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (35:09) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our Horrible Horror Sequels series with Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2! (45:08) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Super Troopers 3 reassembles the Broken Lizard gang's most enduring characters for one last (mustache) ride. Yes, they're still juvenile. Age has not matured them. And we're glad it didn't. Super Troopers 3, like its predecessors, is gleefully sophomoric, infinitely quotable, and appropriately idiotic in all the best ways. Sadly—despite defying the odds against a long-gestating threequel recapturing the magic—it boasts the worst box office of the franchise. If this is indeed the end, and it most certainly feels that way, we salute you for your service. Go enjoy a well-earned liter of cola and Dimpus burger. Now, sit back, get wide-eyed with a Coffee Porter from Smog City, and prep those EpiPens! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are going to jump Duckneck Creek! Safety be damned! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – The greatest trilogy of all time is about to climax! Lingering Questions – Who's our favorite (super) trooper? (24:15) The "Power of Meow" Trivia Challenge – The Thunderous Wizard challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (35:54) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We kickoff a spooky series that's yet to be determined! (44:50) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

A Hulu original, Quasi is the Broken Lizard gang's attempt to tackle historical fiction. They do so to decidedly mixed results. Loosely based on Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, Quasi's satirical take on 19th Century France lacks the punch of the troupe's other films. It's not devoid of laughs, by any means, but its not overflowing with them either. Now, sit back, toast to the coronation with a Framboise from Lindemans, and crank that rack! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are getting more and more orthopedically challenged by the day! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Every day is hump day! Lingering Questions – Who pulls of the dual roles the best? (31:58) The "Ding Dong" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (51:14) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We conclude our Broken Lizard Flops series with the mustaches' final ride, Super Troopers 3! (1:03:18) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Beerfest is magical! We wish it were winter, so we could freeze it into ice blocks and skate on it! Then we could melt it in the spring time and watch it again! Now, sit back, test your monkey chug with an Oktoberfest from BrewDog, and finish your beer asshole! The Thunderous Wizard and Bling Blake are about to play some high-stakes ping-pong in Ding Dang! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Bring on the beer! They've got the nuts! Lingering Questions – Which country would be the odds-on favorite to win this competition? (34:25) The "Thieving Stableboy" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (58:27) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our Broken Lizard Flops series with the Hulu original Quasi! (1:14:10) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Perhaps the least well known of Broken Lizard's films, The Slammin' Salmon was a bad cut of fish for critics and the box office. Focusing on a ragtag waitstaff, their hopeless manager, and insane restaurant owner, the film mirrors many of the workplace comedies of the era. It's not really breaking any new ground. Despite that, it does have some solid laughs, and the troupe remains a good hang. Couple that with an outstanding supporting performance from Michael Clarke Duncan, as the man whose name is on the restaurant, and you get a halfway decent meal of a movie. Now, sit back, pair the sword fish with a Voodoo Ranger Citrus Slayer IPA, and wash it down with some Blue Curacao! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are training for the Dispute in Beirut with baby camels strapped to our backs! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Bring a bib ... It's going to get messy! Lingering Questions – Funniest character in the movie? (26:33) The "Meat Drapes" Trivia Challenge – Chumpzilla challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (43:57) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our Broken Lizard Flops series with Beerfest! (51:00) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Mortal Kombat II ups the ante in every conceivable way over its 2021 predecessor (covered on this pod). It's bigger, bloodier, far more ambitious, and—this really seals the deal—it actually features the titular tournament. Released at the tail-end of Covid, Mortal Kombat dropped both in theaters and HBO Max on the same day. Earning a strong $84.4 million and konquering the streaming charts made this sequel a no-brainer. Sadly, despite WB's optimism and better reviews, Mortal Kombat II could only muster $129.5 million. Thus, a third film is stuck somewhere in the Netherrealm of development hell. Listen, WB, as the game strongly suggests to the winning player, "Finish" it. Now, sit back, soothe that Deadpool burn with a Juice Monster from Abomination Brewing, and don't get stuck in the Netherrealm! The Thunderous Wizard and Bling Blake are just two assholes whose appeal went out in the 90s! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – Their fight. Our future! Lingering Questions – Best fight of the film? (27:21) The "Kneel Before Kahn" Trivia Challenge – The Thunderous Wizard challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (49:27) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We kickoff our Broken Lizard Flops series! (57:53) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

Ignored when it was released, Grandma's Boy became one of the quintessential stoner comedies of the 2000s. For good reason, it's very funny, doesn't take itself at all seriously, and features some top-tier performances from up and coming actors — including Nick Swardson and Joel David Moore. Listen, this isn't high art. Grandma's Boy is a stupid movie where a pothead teaches a chimpanzee karate, Jonah Hill's character sucks on a boob for 13 hours straight, and an old lady boasts about giving Charlie Chaplin a hand job. If that doesn't sell you, you should consult Mr. Cheezle about your energy. Now, sit back, get ready to game with a Great Pines American IPA from Aldi's, and prep for that robot legs operation! The Thunderous Wizard and Bling Blake are going to Antiques Roadshow! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – A movie that proves you're never too old to come of age! Lingering Questions – Who's the funniest character in the movie? (30:10) The "Demonik" Trivia Challenge – Bling Blake challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (53:39) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We conclude our Insert Coin Flops series with Mortal Kombat II, a movie that deserved so much better! (1:01:55) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!

1994's Street Fighter is a perfect example of the lawless ass 90s. Like other video game movies of the era, it ignores all the things that made its inspiration great. Unlike many of its contemporaries, though, Street Fighter overcomes its terrible script, weak acting, poor casting, and ludicrous plot. That is thanks in large part to the late and certainly great Raul Julia as villainous M. Bison. In his final film role, it’s safe to say he understood the assignment. Now, sit back, harness your psycho power with a Dual Torpedo DIPA from Sierra Nevada, and blow up that invisible boat! The Thunderous Wizard, Chumpzilla, and Bling Blake are going to kick Bison's ass so hard that the next Bison wannabe is going to feel it! This Week’s Segments: Introduction/Plot Breakdown – The ultimate battle! Lingering Questions – There's no denying this movie is bad, but is it so bad that it's actually good? (30:35) The "Good Morning, Shadaloo" Trivia Challenge – The Thunderous Wizard challenges the field to trivia about the movie. (51:11) Recommendations – We offer our picks for the week and next up: We continue our Insert Coin Flops series with Grandma's Boy! (1:03:28) And, as always, hit us up on Threads, X, Facebook, Bluesky, or Instagram to check out all the interesting factoids from this week’s episode!