December 23, 2022
#72 - "Santa Claus: The Movie" (1985) with Laramy Wells from "Moving Panels" Podcast
It seems strange at first that the producers of the Superman movies would move on to an epic about Santa Claus. But in a way it makes sense. Both Superman and Santa are legendary superheroes, able to cure our pains through ma...
December 09, 2022
#71 - "Scrooged" (1988) with Gerry D. ("Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast) & Nicholas Pepin ("Pop Culture Roulette" Podcast)
Since the publication of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol nearly 200 years ago, the story of Ebenezer Scrooge has become familiar fodder for adaptations of all sorts—from ballets to operas to a mime performance by Marcel M...
November 25, 2022
#70 - "Annie" (1982) with Hanna Williams
Little Orphan Annie has been a part of American pop culture for nearly a century now—first as a comic strip which made its debut in the summer of 1924, then as a popular radio show in the 1930s, which spun off into a couple o...
November 11, 2022
#69 - "The Untouchables" (1987) with Nicholas Pepin from "Pop Culture Roulette" Podcast
1930. Prohibition has transformed Chicago into a City at War. Rival gangs compete for control of the city’s billion dollar empire of illegal alcohol, enforcing their will with the hand grenade and the tommy gun. It is the tim...
October 28, 2022
#68 - "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988) with Charlie Cotter
As of October 2022, there have been 11 films that continue or reimagine the story of the character known as “The Shape” that was first laid out in John Carpenter’s Halloween released in 1978. At this point in its history, the...
October 14, 2022
#67 - "An American Werewolf in London" (1981) with Gerry D. from "Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast
In terms of werewolf horror, 1981 is still the year to beat. Theatrically, the year saw the release of Wolfen , The Howling , and this 80’s flick which set the bar high for lycanthropic transformation sequences. The last to a...
September 30, 2022
#66 - "Wildcats" (1986) with Ron West
Molly McGrath is the adult daughter of a famed football coach who is desperate to be the head coach of her own team. When her wish is finally granted, Molly leaves her job coaching girls' track at an affluent high school to t...
September 16, 2022
#65 - "Above the Law" (1988) with Comedian Danny Johnson from the "Behind the Bar" Podcast
In the late 80’s the American action movie was reaching its zenith. The genre had produced several bona fide superstars and was bringing big money to the box office. Action movies were the perfect vehicle for unknown talent t...
September 02, 2022
#64 - "First Blood" (1982) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
Based loosely on David Morrell's 1972 novel of the same name, this 80’s flick was the first of a decades long franchise. Unlike the following sequels which were war adventure films set in foreign countries, this was a post-Vi...
August 19, 2022
#63 - "Rain Man" (1988) with JB Huffman from "Manly Movies" Podcast
No one was overly surprised when this 80’s flick dominated the 1989 Academy Award ceremony. It featured one of America's biggest movie stars showing a little gravitas as a self-absorbed hustler who learns the importance of fa...
August 05, 2022
#62 - "Big" (1988) with Chris McMichen
Undeniably, the best of the mini-cycle of body-swap comedies from late eighties, this is the flick that revealed that Tom Hanks was capable of much more than just one-dimensional idiotic comedic roles. His transformation into...
July 22, 2022
#61 - "The Lost Boys" (1987) with Tyra Williams
What's more traumatizing for a teenage boy than having to pack up his life and move to a new town with his brother and newly divorced mom? Nothing, other than the local gang initiation. Which, in Santa Carla, may just involve...
July 08, 2022
#60 - "One Crazy Summer" (1986) with Nicholas Pepin from the "Pop Culture Roulette" Podcast
This 80’s flick is sometimes described as “Better Off Dead Goes To The Beach” because it reunites young leading man John Cusack with writer-director Savage Steve Holland for a tale of teenage angst and the quest to find love....