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It’s time for another Podcast crossover on Beyond The Box Set, as we’re joined by Helen and Kobi from Flixwatcher to discuss a movie featuring not one, but two notable musicians-turned-movie stars. David O.Russell’s pitch-black gulf war comedy Three Kings stars Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube alongside George Clooney and Spike Jonze as a quartet of US soldiers who run into major trouble while trying to steal gold from Saddam Hussein’s forces in Iraq.
The movie makes some bold demands of its audience – switching from broad comedy to uncomfortable scenes of violence and terror – often being perpetrated by our so-called heroes. Despite studio wariness and a troubled production – O.Russell famously clashed with George Clooney over the director’s on-set behaviour – the film was rapturously received by critics and made over $100 million at the box office on its release in 1999.
Given the high-wire act the film performs in finding comedy in the horrors of war – and our own painful ignorance of the sensitive geopolitics of the Middle East – can we possibly hope to pitch a workable sequel to Three Kings? You’ll have to listen and judge for yourselves, but we think we just about got away with it.
Tune in using the download links at the top of this blog post, or by searching for us on your preferred Podcatcher, to hear our thoughts on casting near-misses, why we all hated Silver Lining Playbook and the time Harry went on an actual family holiday to Iraq…
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to share your own thoughts on this film and our sequel ideas – or leave a comment under this very blog post. You can also find more Beyond The Box Set content on our Patreon page, where you can access a wide variety of exciting bonus incentives for as little as $2 per month.
Next week, we’ll be continuing our look at musicians-turned-thespians with a memorable screen outing from one of the greatest girl groups of all time. But can they act? Stay tuned to find out…