#37 - "Big Trouble in Little China" (1986) with Gerry D. from the "Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast
John Carpenter described this 80’s flick, which he co-wrote and directed, as an "action adventure comedy kung fu ghost story monster movie." And I can’t really add much more of an intro than that. So come aboard “The Pork Chop Express” as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Gerry D discuss “Big Trouble in Little China” from 1986 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast! Here are some additional behind the scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode: For the film&#x…
#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 about around Summer campfires or bonfires at Halloween. So turn off your Zenith television, put away your left over fried chicken, and head to Kingston Falls as Tim Williams and guest co-host, Jerry D. (from "Totally Rad Christmas" Podcast), discuss “Gremlins” f…
#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 Snapchatting pre-adults as it was to those coming of age in the Pac Man Mania era. This enduring popularity is thanks to its simple story – teenage boy fakes a sickness to embark on a day of antics and adventure around Chicago. The energetic cast and quotable dialogue nails the i…
#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. “There may be no movie that better epitomizes the bond of female friendship,” HuffPost declared in 2014. “Mothers share the film with their daughters, teen girls turn to it as a sleepover staple, and men of all ages find themselves taken with the tale of six brassy Southern …
#26 - "The Breakfast Club" (1985) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
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-director John Hughes' characters weren't just derivative personalities found in the everyday, run-of-the-mill teen comedy of the day, the characters were actually rooted in genuine human problems. Working with a $1 million budget, the reflective charac…
#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 parents, and even their grandparents as it has been “handed down”, in a sense, from generation to generation. It has also been known as one of the most quoted films of all time. You may think that’s “inconceivable”, but… get used to disappointment.
So prepare for a b…
#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 Parton . He stated “There have been other debuts this unmistakable; you could name Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, and even John Travolta . And what you'd be talking about in each case would not necessarily be a great dramatic performance in an important movie, but more…
#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 been transformed into a tourist-attracting museum. Many families watch it every year around the holiday season, while cable-TV staple, TBS, plays it continuously for 24 hours at least once a year. Between the captivating storytelling, quirky characters, and overall filmin…
#19 - "Die Hard" (1988) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
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 navigating geography, and putting an empathetic hero through the ringer in the face of extraordinary odds. McTiernan and his collaborators made this all look easy, but as the rash of Hollywood imitators quickly proved, it was anything but. So come on out the coast, we’ll have a …
#18 - "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) with Laramy Wells from the "Moving Panels" Podcast
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 bad guys like 48 Hours or Lethal Weapon ; no winks at Cold War anxiety a la Spies Like Us ; and no time machine like Bill and Ted used in their excellent adventure. What it does share with a number of his best works is that mix of Norman Rockwell and Frank Capra in Reag…
#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 remake became a bonafide cult classic that has been entertaining audiences for decades with its timeless soundtrack and stellar cast. So let's head downtown to Skid Row and Mr. Mushnik's Flower Shop because its Suppertime for Audrey II as Laramy and Bethany …
#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 one of the greatest movie adventures of them all! The secret caves. The lost map. The hidden treasure. The Fratelli’s. What an exciting time to be alive as a kid, back when you knew it was time to get home when the streetlights came on and just riding bikes with your fr…
#9 - “Major League” (1989) with Charlie Cotter
When you think of great movies about major league baseball, there aren’t too many to choose from. “Bull Durham” was about the minor leagues. “Field of Dreams” was about ghosts of former players meeting on a cornfield in Iowa to play again. “The Sandlot” and “Bad News Bears” were about kids and their love for the national pastime. And “A League of Their Own” and “The Natural” captured baseball, but baseball of the past. In 1989, only one film was able to capture major league baseball in moder…
#7 - “Summer School” (1987) with Laramy Wells
The 1980's in Hollywood was filled with more high school movies about slackers and smart-alecks than anyone actually needed, especially when it came to featuring students who looked like they were older than the teachers. Summer School was always perhaps the most underrated of the decade’s tributes to academic slackers because what it lacked in the typical star power of, say, a John Hughes film, it more than made up for in creating arguably one of the most creative collection of “teenag…
#6 - “National Lampoon’s Vacation” (1983) with Chris McMichen
In July of 1983, director Harold Ramis took us on a cross-country comedic adventure with one of the most well-known, and often most beloved families in pop culture today - The Griswolds. The Griswolds’ first cinematic adventure takes us from Chicago to California as the good-hearted, but dimwitted patriarch, Clark W. Griswold, attempts to drive his family to “Wally World” for a good, old-fashioned family Vacation.
#3 - “Stand By Me” (1986) with Laramy Wells
A tender and poignant story of four friends who spend the last weekend of the Summer of 1959 looking for the body of a missing local boy, “Stand By Me” won the hearts of critics and audiences in the Fall of 1986. Starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and newcomer Jerry O’Connell, the movie still stands as one of the most influential and also most beloved coming-of-age films of the 1980’s. On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host, Laramy Wells, share their memories of th…
#2 - “Coming to America” (1988) with Ron West
In 1988, Eddie Murphy re-teamed with "Trading Places" director, John Landis, to make his tour-de-force, multi-character playing masterpiece known as "Coming To America". It officially made Eddie a bonafide movie star and gave us one of the most memorable and most quoted comedy movies of the decade.
On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host Ron West share their memories of this 80's classic and what they picked up on after re-watching it more recently.
Sh…