Tv/Movie Rewind

Today, Matt & Todd journey deeper into Cosmic Horror Month with 1994's John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness . This is a film built on questions, mysteries, and, of course, plenty of madness. Fans of H.P. Lovecraft's work will find a lot to love here, even if they won't find many clear answers. As Matt puts it, this may be Carpenter's most challenging film, but we both a...

Today, Matt & Todd are joined by Mike to discuss the 1997 box office flop turned cult classic, Event Horizon . Despite arriving with a strong cast, and a unique blend of science fiction and horror, Event Horizon failed to find an audience in theaters. The film struggled to recoup its budget and was quickly overshadowed by Paramount's next massive release: James Cameron's Titanic . Stud...

Today Matt & Todd kick off Halloween season by delving into The Gate , a 1987 supernatural horror film directed by Tibor Takács. When The Gate hit HBO, it quickly became an instant rewatch for us, we're surprised it took us so long to get to it. As 1980s horror films go, this one is fairly tame. It is PG-13, after all , but don't let that turn you off. The Gate is a lot of fun. What it...

The TV/Movie Rewind Podcast, with Matt & Todd, returns this week with a returning guest, Gabe Crate , for our return to the Planet of the Apes franchise with: Return to the Planet of the Apes (1975). This is the 6th and final installment of the series that began in 1968 and branched into at least three different timelines from its Charlton Heston beginnings, now arriving at its final, animated...

Today Matt & Todd explore two historically linked war epics: Zulu (1964) and Zulu Dawn (1979) We’re tackling them in reverse order of release because that’s the chronological order of the battles themselves. It’s a rare case where watching the films backwards actually gives you the forward momentum of history. Zulu Dawn (1979): The Disaster at Isandlwana Directed by Douglas Hickox, Zulu Dawn d...

Today Matt and Todd are Joined by Logan to discuss the great Jack Palance . Jack Palance wasn’t just any actor, he was a force of nature who lived more lives than most people could fit into a century. Before he ever stepped in front of a camera, he was:A coal miner, a boxer, a college football star, a United States Army veteran, a sportswriter, a short‑order cook, a waiter, a lifeguard, a model… a...

Today Matt & Todd return to the HBO classics of our early days with 1981’s Victory (also known as Escape to Victory ). Before soccer was a mainstream American pastime, before the FIFA movie, HBO introduced many of us to a strange, earnest, unexpectedly thrilling hybrid: a World War II prison‑camp adventure mashed together with 30 minutes of genuinely great football choreography. The film was r...

Today Matt & Todd swing back into sci‑fi television with the short‑lived but fascinating 1974 TV series: Planet of the Apes. Long before the modern reboots, CBS took a swing at bringing the Apes universe to weekly television. The result is a real fun and earnest adventure series that carries the torch of its larger brethren surprisingly well. The TV version of Planet of the Apes is a perfect t...

This week we take a sharp left turn from our usual cinematic diet of Tombs of the Blind Dead, Maniac Cop, and Tango & Cash to talk about a genuine masterpiece of American filmmaking. Yes, the same podcast that once "recommended" Raiders of the Living Dead with a straight(ish) face is now asking you to sit down for a three‑hour post‑WWII drama about ordinary people trying to rebuild t...

Today Matt and Todd are joined once again by Fire & Water Podcast Network’s “Shagg” Matthews for another cartoon classic: this time the one that started an empire of spooky hijinks, bubble‑gum pop, and unmaskings. We’re talking 1969’s Scooby‑Doo, Where Are You! , the original series that launched the entire Scooby‑Doo franchise and set the tone for everything that followed. The classic gags, t...

Today Matt & Todd crack open the VHS clamshell and revisit the ultimate case of First Blood at home : 1985’s The Park is Mine , starring Tommy Lee Jones; This is Matt & Todd’s new venture into the original Parks & Rec [1]: an HBO‑produced 1985 Vietnam-vet-splotation film that plays like First Blood filtered through The A‑Team instead of Sam Peckinpah . Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern...

Today Matt, Todd, and would‑be companion Mike travel through spacetime and land in the Antarctic for the 6th serial of the 13th season of the classic BBC series Doctor Who . “Seeds of Doom” originally aired from January 31 to March 6, 1976, and if you’re a fan of John Carpenter’s The Thing , Howard Hawks’ The Thing From Another World , or classic sci‑fi horror in general, you’re going to feel righ...

Today Matt & Todd saddle up with (not Wolverine) Logan for a retrospective on one of cinema’s most iconic, sharp‑eyed but little-discussed legends: Lee Van Cleef . Few actors have ever done more with a squint, a silhouette, or the simple act of entering a room. Lee Van Cleef embodied a whole cinematic archetype. From Westerns to war films to Italian genre oddities to 80s action pulp, his caree...

Apologies for the strange 'chop' underlying the audio in parts... Today Matt & Todd dive into the 1996 African‑adventure / animal‑horror thriller The Ghost and the Darkness . Arriving in theaters with a fair amount of mid‑90s buzz, the film has since become a bit forgotten—despite starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas, boasting a tight script by William Goldman, striking visuals, and Oscar‑w...

Today Matt & Todd discuss the 1934 comedy-mystery movie: The Thin Man . A wildly successful film, spawning several sequels over 92 years ago, it still sparkles with as much charm as it did on release. Based on a Novel by Dashiell Hammett (of Sam Spade fame), the incredible cast is anchored by William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles in a fairly middling mystery that is carried by...

It’s Friday the 13th (or close enough), so Matt and Todd return to horror with a classic franchise. Today we invite you into the unholy terror of: Return of the Blind Dead (or if you prefer) Attack of the Blind Dead (or if you prefer) Attack of the Evil Dead ...or honestly, pick a title and it might be right. Ostensibly the second entry in the Blind Dead series, Return/Attack of the Blind/Evil Dea...

Today Matt & Todd take on one of Alan Smithee's finest: 1986’s Let’s Get Harry . Starring: Michael Schoeffling Thomas F. Wilson Glenn Frey Rick Rossovich Ben Johnson Mark Harmon Whit Bissell Award Winner Gary Busey and Robert Duvall The premise is simple: Earnest regular guys hire a mercenary (Duvall) to find proof of a friend brother's kidnapping. A foundation of solid action, a great...

Today Matt & Todd ride into town with the 1981 Western‑adventure The Legend of the Lone Ranger , directed by William A. Fraker. This movie famously flopped at the box office; partly because of its flaws, but just as much because of the deeply questionable studio decisions surrounding its production. Among them: They alienated one of the original Lone Ranger actors. They cast someone who simply...

Today Matt & Todd are invaded by the 1986 sci‑fi‑horror‑comedy Critters , directed by Stephen Herek. Pint‑sized, ravenous, space-hedgehog critters escape space-prison and head to earth for a feast, crash landing on a quiet Kansas farm. Hot on their trail are two morphing alien bounty hunters who are armed, dangerous, and able to change their faces (with varying success). If you’re expecting so...

Today Matt & Todd dive into one of the great under‑sung gems of 1970s cinema: the 1973 ensemble whodunnit mystery‑thriller The Last of Sheila, directed by Herbert Ross. Featuring a stacked cast of Hollywood heavy hitters: Richard Benjamin Dyan Cannon James Coburn Joan Hackett James Mason Ian McShane Raquel Welch Movie producer Clinton Greene invites a group of industry friends aboard his luxur...

Today Matt and Todd venture into Gymkata: “The skill of gymnastics… the KILL of karate!” Starring champion gymnast Kurt Thomas as champion gymnast Jonathan Cabot, the film follows his training to compete in The Game: a cross‑country gauntlet of traps, assassins, and inexplicable pommel horses placed in the wild. The prize for surviving? One wish from the Khan of Parmistan. The U.S. government’s wi...

Today Matt & Todd are joined by Logan again to step into the arena for a film we love: 1988’s Bloodsport. The words are few, but you came here for the Bloodsport, and you get it. A mix of martial arts styles, excellent fight scenes, and a dash of slapstick make this the cinematic equivalent of your older brother’s Karate Kid. For aspiring combat‑sport athletes, it might even be their Rocky. If...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and copasetic impending yearly calendar renewals. Today Matt & Todd are joined by 00‑fanboy Mike to discuss yet another holiday classic (Hello Lifetime, get on this): 1995’s GoldenEye. Directed by: Martin Campbell (also director of Casino Royale (2006)) Starring: Pierce Brosnan as “Agent 007” Bond, James Bond Whit Bissell Award Winner: Sean Bean as Alec Trevely...

Today Matt & Todd bring you a holiday‑spirited review of the 1981 made‑for‑TV horror telefilm Dark Night of the Scarecrow. Directed by Frank De Felitta (also known as a novelist behind Aubrey Rose and The Entity) Teleplay by J.D. Feigelson & Butler Handcock Starring: Charles Durning Robert F. Lyons Lane Smith Tonya Crowe (Whit Bissell Award Winner) Larry Drake Jocelyn Brando Cinematography...

In 1997, James Cameron released 'Titanic', it broke box office records entertaining and inspiring millions to this day, while breathing new life into exploration of the historic wreck that sank on April 15, 1912. Remember that night, because today Matt and Todd are joined by "CollinsportGirl" Katherine, to discuss the 1958 British Made: A Night to Remember . We're thrilled to be joined again by Ka...