Brad Anderson Brad Anderson

Episode 320 - The Wizard

Welcome back to Not A Bomb, the podcast where we resurrect cinema’s most infamous box office disasters and ask the burning question: is it a bomb? This week, Troy and Brad grab their Power Gloves, hop in a stolen truck, and hit the road with 1989's Nintendo-powered adventure, The Wizard.

On the surface, The Wizard is a movie about a troubled young boy with an incredible talent for video games who runs away from home with his brother and heads across the country toward the biggest video game competition in America. But underneath the cartridges, Game Boys, Nintendo Power magazines, and what might be the most famous Power Glove in cinematic history, there is actually a pretty solid road movie trying desperately to escape.

Troy and Brad dig into the strange mix of family drama, cross-country adventure, and shameless corporate advertising that makes The Wizardsuch a fascinating artifact of late 1980s cinema. Somewhere in this movie is a genuinely interesting Beau Bridges and Christian Slater road movie about a father and son trying to reconnect while chasing their runaway family across the country. Unfortunately, that movie keeps getting interrupted by Nintendo reminding everyone that Super Mario Bros. 3 exists.

Of course, no discussion of The Wizardwould be complete without talking about its legendary product placement. This is a movie that does not gently incorporate Nintendo into its story. Nintendo basically grabs the steering wheel, drives the movie into the nearest electronics store, and tells everyone to look at the Power Glove. But somehow, despite being one of the most obvious feature-length advertisements ever made, The Wizard has developed a nostalgic charm that is hard to deny.

Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!

Check out the trailer for The 80s: A Motion Picture Special

Cinova - The future of Movie and TV

We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Cast: Brad, Troy

Powered by Not A Bomb Podcast Episode 320 - The Wizard

Welcome back to Not A Bomb, the podcast where we resurrect cinema’s most infamous box office disasters and ask the burning question: is it a bomb? This week, Troy and Brad grab their Power Gloves, hop in a stolen truck, and hit the road with 1989's Nintendo-powered adventure, The Wizard.

On the surface, The Wizard is a movie about a troubled young boy with an incredible talent for video games who runs away from home with his brother and heads across the country toward the biggest video game competition in America. But underneath the cartridges, Game Boys, Nintendo Power magazines, and what might be the most famous Power Glove in cinematic history, there is actually a pretty solid road movie trying desperately to escape.

Troy and Brad dig into the strange mix of family drama, cross-country adventure, and shameless corporate advertising that makes The Wizard such a fascinating artifact of late 1980s cinema. Somewhere in this movie is a genuinely interesting Beau Bridges and Christian Slater road movie about a father and son trying to reconnect while chasing their runaway family across the country. Unfortunately, that movie keeps getting interrupted by Nintendo reminding everyone that Super Mario Bros. 3 exists.

Of course, no discussion of The Wizardwould be complete without talking about its legendary product placement. This is a movie that does not gently incorporate Nintendo into its story. Nintendo basically grabs the steering wheel, drives the movie into the nearest electronics store, and tells everyone to look at the Power Glove. But somehow, despite being one of the most obvious feature-length advertisements ever made, The Wizard has developed a nostalgic charm that is hard to deny.

Want to help support the show? Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check our merchandise. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!

Check out the trailer for The 80s: A Motion Picture Special

Cinova - The future of Movie and TV

We're committed to hearing your feedback and suggestions. If there's a cinematic flop you'd like us to delve into, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what drive us. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Cast: Brad, Troy

Read More
NAB Main Brad Anderson NAB Main Brad Anderson

Episode 216 - Windtalkers

Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we dive into some of cinema's biggest box office failures and explore whether they deserve a second chance!

Release those doves; it's finally time to talk about iconic action film director John Woo on this latest episode of Not A Not. The Summer Blockbuster Extravaganza ends, but not without a bang. This week, Troy and Brad discuss the underappreciated, underseen war film from 2002 - Windtalkers. Does Woo have what it takes to take his legendary action-directing abilities and scope up to make a compelling character-driven war film? Or does he decide to make everything out of gasoline, so it blows really nicely? Listen and find out!

Windtalkers is directed by John Woo and stars Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian van Holt, Roger Willie, Fances O’Connor, and Christian Clater

Not A Bomb just launched new designs in our Merch store! Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check them out. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!

We value your feedback and suggestions. If you have a cinematic flop, you'd like us to discuss, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what keep us going. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Cast: Brad, Troy

Powered by Not A Bomb Podcast Episode 216 - Windtalkers

Welcome back to Not A Bomb! This is the podcast where we dive into some of cinema's biggest box office failures and explore whether they deserve a second chance!

Release those doves; it's finally time to talk about iconic action film director John Woo on this latest episode of Not A Not. The Summer Blockbuster Extravaganza ends, but not without a bang. This week, Troy and Brad discuss the underappreciated, underseen war film from 2002 - Windtalkers. Does Woo have what it takes to take his legendary action-directing abilities and scope up to make a compelling character-driven war film? Or does he decide to make everything out of gasoline, so it blows really nicely? Listen and find out!

Windtalkers is directed by John Woo and stars Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich, Mark Ruffalo, Brian van Holt, Roger Willie, Fances O’Connor, and Christian Clater

Not A Bomb just launched new designs in our Merch store! Head over to the Not A Bomb Tee Public store and check them out. Special thanks to Ted Blair for the amazing designs!

We value your feedback and suggestions. If you have a cinematic flop, you'd like us to discuss, please reach out to us at NotABombPod@gmail.com or through our contact page. Your reviews and feedback are what keep us going. If you enjoy our content, consider leaving a review on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

Cast: Brad, Troy

Read More