Tentpole Trauma
A podcast where we look at movies that came with hype and high hopes, but left with crushing disappointment, either critically, at the box office, or both.
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 92 minutes
- Episodes
- 158
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
Argylle
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Hollywood had been looking to get the Planet of the Apes franchise back into orbit for 20 plus years, but it wasn’t until Tim Burton signed on to direct that the 2001 remake took sh(ape). But despite…
The Abyss
Coming strong after the one-two punch of The Terminator and Aliens, director James Cameron was poised to reach A-level status with his wildly ambitious underwater sci fi action film The Abyss. But de…
The Marvels
After the billion dollar success of Captain Marvel, a sequel to the Brie Larson led superhero hit seemed destined for the stars. But even with the power of Marvel studios and Disney behind it, not to…
Brainstorm
Special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull hoped to bring his mind-bending 2001: A Space Odyssey visuals down to earth with Brainstorm, a 1983 sci fi thriller starring Christopher Walken and Natalie Woo…
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Russell Crowe returning to the historical epic genre at the peak of his post-Gladiator fame would seem a sure bet in 2003, and yet Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World met wit…
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Probably no one would have predicted that in 2023 the duo behind Game Night would deliver the definitive cinematic take on the genre-defining TRS role playing game Dungeons & Dragons, and yet John Fr…
Event Horizon
The late 90s saw horror in a transitional phase, and while the trend was favoring the post-modern tact of Scream, many filmmakers were taking their end-of-the-millennium angst to the stars. Despite b…
The Black Hole
In the wake of the meteoric success of Star Wars (and several decades before owning the franchise) Disney tried their hand at big budget space adventure with The Black Hole. But despite boasting impr…
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
After acquiring Lucasfilm in 2012, Disney was banking big on a 5th installment of the beloved and lucrative Indiana Jones franchise. After years of development and the passing of the torch from origi…
Blue Beetle
The first superhero film to emphasize Latino representation, Angel Manuel Soto's Blue Beetle was so well received by Warner Brothers executives that it was spared a straight-to streaming fate and awa…
Wyatt Earp
Halloween Resurrection
Trick or treat motherf**ker! After the triumphant return of Jamie Lee Curtis and the cathartic killing of Michael Myers in 1998’s H20, there was nowhere to go but down. Unfortunately, Rick Rosenthal’…
The Mist
Though not a hit upon release, Frank Darabont’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Shawshank Redemption was a beloved classic by the mid aughts, so hopes were high that the director’s post Green Mile r…
The Legend of Bagger Vance
Sports movies enjoyed a renaissance in the 90s, so it was all but inevitable that by the year 2000 rising superstar Will Smith would get his shot at starring in one. Unfortunately, The Legend of Bagg…
The Flash
The Suicide Squad
Before landing the job of running the revamped DC cinematic universe, auteur James Gunn jumped ship from Marvel to direct The Suicide Squad, a sequel to the 2016 film of (almost) the same name. Bring…
Speed 2: Cruise Control
The original Speed was a huge hit that cemented Keanu Reeves as an action hero and made a star of Sandra Bullock, so naturally the studio and director Jan de Bont were eager to get the band back to…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Despite the fact that the door seemed to be closed on the Indiana Jones series, creators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, along with star Harrison Ford, decided to don the iconic hat and whip for…
The Wicker Man (2006)
Horror remakes were all the rage by the mid 2000s, so a remake of the seminal folk horror classic The Wicker Man was all but inevitable. Armed with a crazy Nic Cage performance and seasoned indie dir…