The guys (Kareem, Ken, and Pat) take an unconventional review at Hollywood and modern cinema. Tangents include the state of Margot Robbie’s career, Stephen Amell being an a**hole, the start of ‘Dream Crusher’s corner’, and more.

Show Notes

Will ‘Barbie’ end Margot Robbie’s streak of flops?

Johnny Oleksinski

Published May 4, 2023, 4:05 p.m. ET

Cue the Flop Parade. Her 2018 “Terminal,” a thriller starring Simon Pegg and Mike Myers, grossed an impossibly low $843,970. The true-life film “Bombshell” that she co-starred in with Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron in 2019 got mixed reviews and grossed only $62 million of a $32 million budget before marketing costs. And her 2018 go at playing Queen Elizabeth I, “Mary Queen of Scots,” made no waves either.

She also slumped in her more recent DC Comics as Harley Quinn.

“Birds of Prey,” which was released in February 2019, lost $50 to 100 million according to Variety. The female-led movie with a largely female cast might’ve been a turn-off for superhero-loving audiences (though that didn’t hurt DC’s “Wonder Woman”). Also, the film was just really odd.

“The Suicide Squad” fared even worse, taking in a measly $168.5 million after its Aug. 2021 release. Although brick-and-mortar theaters were having difficulty re-opening then, Disney’s “Free Guy” did double that business the very same month. Same goes for Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in September.

"Birds of Prey," the DC Comics movie in which Robbie was the lead, was a box office bomb. — “Birds of Prey,” the DC Comics movie in which Robbie was the lead, was a box office bomb.

But it was 2022 that was a real shocker. Robbie starred in two “disasters,” as one Hollywood source told The Post, that were primed to be major Oscars players and — due to star wattage — expected to do respectable business.

The first was “Amsterdam,” director David O. Russell’s unwieldy history piece about a little-known attempted coup against the US government. The October drama starred Christian Bale, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro, John David Washington and a slew of other heavy hitters. But it was atrocious, grossed a paltry $32 million — losing an estimated $100 million for 20th Century Studios — and went totally un-nominated during award season.

A few months later came an even-surer thing — “Babylon.” Robbie’s co-star was Brad Pitt, one of the few remaining A-list actors who can still, occasionally, lure audiences to theaters on his fame alone. The director was Damien Chazelle, whose “La La Land” was a critical favorite ln 2016. And it was a lush, but seedy, backlot showbiz story (like Robbie’s one oasis of success, 2019’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”). It crashed and burned, losing an estimated $150 million.

The actress had two prestige "disasters" in 2022: "Amsterdam" and "Babylon," seen above. — The actress had two prestige “disasters” in 2022: “Amsterdam” and “Babylon,” seen above.

Can “Barbie” prevent Robbie from earning that dreaded old industry moniker “box office poison”?

Super Woke or Super Broke – Tangential Giants Podcast

The Giants are back, and this week, Kareem, Ken, and Pat have dragged their long‑suffering friend Tim into the studio for an episode that immediately veers off the rails and never once apologizes for it.First up: Greg Cipes. Yes, that Greg Cipes. The crew dives into the swirling storm of his latest controversy, unpacking the spectacle, the fandom reactions, and the eternal question: why do celebrity statements always feel like they were drafted during a juice cleanse.Then the conversation takes a hard left turn into the Ouroboros of Terminator robots, a philosophical deep dive into what happens when killer machines start time‑looping themselves into existential burnout. Is Skynet okay. Should someone check on it. Does a T‑800 dream of electric therapy bills.And because no episode is complete without roasting a beloved icon, the Giants revisit Superman’s rookie mistakes, the early days when the world’s greatest hero was still figuring out how not to yeet cars into orbit or accidentally demolish small businesses while stopping purse snatchers.If you enjoy pop‑culture chaos, sci‑fi spirals, and four grown adults trying to out‑tangent each other, this episode is your new comfort noise.#tangentialgiants #podcastchaos #GregCipes #popculturedebate #TerminatorLore #SciFiNerds #TimeLoopTalk #SkynetSpirals #SupermanFails #RookieSupes #NerdCulture #geektalkph #comedypodcast #popculturepodcast #KareemKenPatTim