80s Flick Flashback

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....

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 adventure, Bruce Lee, and over-the-top comedy that has surprised and entertained audiences for decades after its initial box office release. The chart-topping soundtrack was...

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 nudity and starring a method actor better known for his work in the theater than in film, on paper it must have seemed like a pretty risky prospect to the studio bosses over at...

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 y...

In 1986, young up and coming writer-director, James Cameron, took the tall task of tackling a sequel to director Ridley Scott's space-thriller, "Alien".  With returning cast member, Sigorney Weaver, he not only moved the story forward, he exceeded all expectations with a bonafide box office hit as well an award-winning and ground-breaking classic we know simply as "Aliens". On this episode, Tim Wi...

In 1987 a small Connecticut-based direct-to-video company made their first feature film for a true theatrical release.  With low expectations from investors due to a female-driven plot in the midst of a testosterone-heavy Summer blockbuster season, this small movie became a word of mouth sleeper hit, made a dancing football player turned actor into a bonafide sex symbol movie star, and birthed the...

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...

Released in on June 12, 1987, up and coming director John McTiernan’s second film introduced action and horror fans to a brand new kind of extra-terrestrial threat. It was a bonafide box office hit when released due to its star-studded macho cast, while solidifying Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rising star power status. Alongside Schwarzenegger, the film cast Carl Weathers, Bill Duke, Jesse Ventura, Son...

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, i...

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 Griswold’s 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...

In 1980, director Stanley Kubrick, released a film that would haunt and terrify audiences for years to come.  His own adaptation of a best-selling Steven King novel has split audiences and critics, some calling it an “overreaching, multi-leveled botch” while others hail it as a “masterpiece of modern horror.”  No matter where you stand, there is no escaping the tension and madness that fills nearl...

Released in June of 1983, “War Games” made young Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy movie stars while it irrevocably changed our views of how computers could work and what dangers “hacking” those computers could do to the national safety of our country.  A razor sharp script, stand out performances, and what was considered cutting edge technology at the time, “War Games” changed the way political t...

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 1...

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...

Released on June 12, 1981, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Harrison Ford introduced a new kind of hero in professor, archaeologist, and fedora-wearing adventurer, Indiana Jones. They also launched one of the greatest and most beloved franchises in movie history.  On this episode, Tim Williams and guest co-host Jeff Tinkle share their memories of this 80’s classic and what they picked up on aft...