July 23, 2021
#35 - "Top Gun" (1986) with Ron West
When hit movie producer, Jerry Bruckheimer was casually flipping through California magazine in 1983, he was suddenly struck by an image. It was a picture of fighter pilot’s helmet with a plane reflected in the visor. Staring...
July 09, 2021
#34 - "Superman II" (1981) Crossover Episode with Laramy Wells ("Moving Panels" Podcast)
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before…a highly anticipated superhero sequel flick has a profound falling out due to creative differences between the movie studio producers and the original film’s director, resulting in that...
June 25, 2021
#33 - "Gremlins" (1984) with Gerry D. of "Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast
Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous. What more is there to say about this 1984 sleeper hit that somehow morphed the well-worn snowy small town Christmas tales with little monsters your older siblings whispered a...
June 11, 2021
#32 - The Ultimate 80's Summer Movies
If you were a child of the 1980’s then there are just some things you’ll never forget about those lazy days of Summer. Short shorts. Tube socks. Neon colored friendship bracelets. Oakley sunglasses that you either had or wish...
May 28, 2021
#31 - "Field of Dreams" (1989) with Laramy Wells
If you have seen this heart-warming 80’s baseball fantasy flick, you likely have a strong opinion on it. While some are moved by its fantastical and heartfelt story of personal redemption, others dismiss it as over sentimenta...
May 14, 2021
#30 - "Sleepaway Camp" (1983) with Charlie Cotter
For about 95% of its runtime, this 80’s slasher flick operates as an oddly bloodless, weirdly sexless, and overall kind of annoying ripoff of "Friday the 13th". Writer and director Robert Hiltzik mines little tension from his...
April 30, 2021
#29 - "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986) with Jeff Atkins
Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once a while you could miss this quintessential 80’s Flick. It has been called one of the classic movies about the teenage experience, as relevant to today’s Snapchatt...
April 16, 2021
#28 - "The Evil Dead" (1981) with Laramy Wells
From Peter Jackson to Edgar Wright, this 80’s flick has influenced many of today’s biggest Hollywood directors. As it should. Famous for its practical effects and then-unprecedented amount of gore, this low-budget 1981 horror...
April 02, 2021
#27 - "Steel Magnolias" (1989) with Bethany Wells
Since its release over three decades ago, this 80’s flick has been hailed as a celebration of women . In his original review of the film, Roger Ebert raved about the dialogue and camaraderie of the dynamic ensemble cast. “The...
March 19, 2021
#26 - "The Breakfast Club" (1985) with Laramy Wells
Praised as a quintessential piece of '80s cinema and highly regarded among the greatest high school movies of all time, the legacy of this 80’s flick had endured due to the film's eclectic cast of teenage archetypes. Writer-d...
March 05, 2021
#25 - “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) with Chris McMichen
It’s hard to imagine that in 1980 when audiences first crowded into theaters to watch the sequel to George Lucas’ unexpected blockbuster movie Star Wars, they would the first to ever see such iconic characters as Jedi Master ...
February 19, 2021
#24 - "The Princess Bride" (1987) with Ron West
It has been called the “Wizard of Oz” of our generation. Meaning that although it was not a blockbuster film at the time of its release, over the years it has become a rare family film that has been enjoyed by children, their...
February 05, 2021
#23 - "9 to 5" (1980) with Laramy & Bethany Wells
Renown film critic, Roger Ebert called this well-beloved 80’s flick a good-hearted, simple-minded comedy that will win a place in film history. He suspected that it was primarily because it contained the movie debut of Dolly ...
January 22, 2021
#22 - "The Karate Kid Part II" (1986) with Ron West
In the eighties , the high-concept movie was in vogue. Thanks largely to 70’s blockbusters Jaws and Star Wars , the eighties saw the repackaging of formula for audiences wanting to rekindle the thrills. If the roller coaster ...
January 08, 2021
#21 - "The Karate Kid" (1984) with Ron West
The 1980s was a golden era for blockbuster hits, and countless films released during this decade have gone on to become cult-classic films. One '80s movie that has certainly stood the test of time and continues to wax on in c...
December 23, 2020
#20 - “A Christmas Story” (1983) with Ron West
There’s no denying that this film has become a holiday tradition for many families around the world. Since the film’s release, it’s become regarded as a Christmas classic, and the original house shown in the movie has even be...
December 11, 2020
#19 - "Die Hard" (1988) with Laramy Wells
John McTiernan‘s 1988 action tour de force is often called one of the greatest action films ever made. It’s a masterclass on every level: building entertaining characters, crafting escalating action, establishing and navigati...
November 25, 2020
#18 - "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) with Laramy Wells
A road trip movie, a buddy comedy and teen-angst director du jour, John Hughes’ first attempt at a holiday movie. It’s a classic double-act farce that might not fit that well in the decade it came out in. There are no guns or...
November 13, 2020
#17 "Friday the 13th" (1980) with Ron West
Legendary filmmaker Georges Méliès is often credited with making the first ever horror movie, which was called was The Haunted Castle. Horror movies have no doubt evolved since the early days with many filmmakers now relying...
October 30, 2020
#16 - “Halloween II” (1981) with Ron West
Most long-running horror franchises have that one installment which was legitimately supposed to, but ultimately, did not end the franchise. Some have several of them. In Hollywood, producers (and sometimes audiences) will qu...
October 16, 2020
#15 - “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986) with Laramy & Bethany Wells
In 1986, if you mixed Science Fiction, dark comedy, horror, doo-wop inspired musical numbers, and a director who was more famous for voicing Yoda and Miss Piggy, you probably wouldn't expect too much. But this remake of a re...
October 02, 2020
#14 - “The Last Dragon” (1985) with Ron West
As the brainchild of an up-and-coming screenwriter, an established movie director, and the mastermind behind Motown Records, Barry Gordy, a low-budget niche film mixed martial arts, heavily synthesized pop songs, supernatural...
September 18, 2020
#13 - “RoboCop” (1987) with Ron West
In 1987, a new kind of gritty, ultra-violent sci-fi action movie was born, but it came with nods to comic book heroes, and classic spaghetti westerns. Helmed by a little known Dutch director with a penchant for violence and n...
September 04, 2020
#12 - "The Goonies" (1985) with Ron West
1985 was a big year for movies! It was a year dominated by flying DeLoreans, Breakfast Clubs, Beverly Hills Cops, as well as massive pop artists like Madonna, Michael Jackson, Cindy Lauper, and Prince. It was also the year of...