Hey, Do You Remember...?

We knew we had to pick something big for our 75th episode and what could be more monumental than the original Star Wars ? These days it's tough to separate the saga's mythology from the real world controversy surrounding the Special Editions, the prequels, and the revisionist history Lucas constantly seems to be rewriting, but we do our best to acknowledge all of that while simultaneously celebrat...

One of the most surprising things about McG's big screen reboot of Charlie's Angels is that it took as long as it did to materialize. The trend of reheating old TV shows by giving them a glossy new paintjob was already starting to feel a little played out when this was released in the fall of 2000, but excitement for the film was bolstered by the star power of its eclectic cast and a wildly succes...

This week Chris, Donna, and Carlos bid a fond farewell to Alan Rickman. They each recall how they first became aware of him as an actor, discuss some of their favorite movies that he appeared in, and then do a deep dive on the oft-requested 1999 comedy Galaxy Quest . One of the most impressive things about the film is that whether you're a dyed-in-the-wool Star Trek fan or you've never seen a sing...

Chris remembered exactly one shot from this movie, Donna had never seen it, and Carlos was only familiar with the 2003 remake Love Don't Cost A Thing . Nevertheless, after receiving several requests for it and then reading the bonkers plot description on Netflix, we slapped an "Outrageous!" sticker on the wall, moved the TV into the fireplace, cut all of our t-shirts into midriffs, and traveled ba...

The HDYR gang kicks off 2016 with a look back at John Carpenter's cult favorite Big Trouble in Little China . Carlos and Donna had never seen this one, so Chris was excited to hear how they'd react to the strange and wonderful world they were unknowingly stepping into. Although the film is largely beloved, one aspect that seems to remain pretty divisive is the decision to make the Jack Burton char...

Hello-ho-ho and welcome to the HDYR Holiday Special! We decided to break from the formula and devote this episode to answering some listener questions, sharing some of our favorite Christmas memories, and getting all mushy about how wonderful it is being friends with one another. Topics include: the one Christmas present you guys just had to have as kids and whether or not it lived up to the hype,...

In the first of two holiday-themed episodes, Kristen & Mike from The Sunnydale Stacks join us for a look back at Joe Dante's 1984 horror/comedy classic Gremlins . For those of us that grew up with this film and its sequel, certain aspects have become somewhat interchangeable over the years - but where as Gremlins 2 has a more farcical sense of humor, the original's is pitch black. It had been a lo...

This is definitely one of the most dramatic examples so far of there being a huge disparity between the movie we all remembered and the film it actually is. There's no question that Crocodile Dundee remains a very beloved property and that its title character is one of the most iconic from this era. Everyone knows the name and everyone can quote a few of the more famous lines. So all three of us w...

As soon as our beloved Chicago Cubs found themselves squaring off against the New York Mets, Rookie of the Year was suddenly on everyone's mind again after 20+ years. Unfortunately for us, real life didn't play out exactly the same way as it did in the movie - but then there are a lot of elements to the film you just sorta have to go with. Topics include: how inept all of us were at sports as kids...

Carlos and Donna had never seen Poltergeist , but Chris suspected that it would be a perfect pick for this year's Halloween episode. The film's success paved the way for two sequels, a TV series, and a remake - but its real legacy seems to be a curse that supposedly haunted the cast & crew and some controversy surrounding who actually directed it. We get into all of that and more so turn off the l...

It's so surprising and awesome that The Monster Squad has been one of most requested titles from our listeners. Although the film received a lukewarm response when it was released in the summer of 1987, it quietly amassed a dedicated following in the ensuing years and is now regarded as a bonafide cult hit. Carlos wasn't able to join us for this episode, so Mike from The Sunnydale Stacks sat in to...

By the summer of 1996, the era of high-concept movies where special effects took center stage was in full swing. It was a crowded slate, but the hype surrounding Twister was bolstered by the involvement of Jurassic Park alumni Steven Spielberg and Michael Crichton. All three of us were completely blown away (rimshot!) by the film as kids, but there's a whole lot about it that doesn't make much sen...

Spawn 's time in the limelight was pretty brief in the grand scheme of things, but for a moment there this character was EVERYWHERE - comic books, cartoons, video games, action figures, trading cards... you name it and there was probably a piece of merchandise with his face on it.  A live-action feature film adaptation was inevitable, but instead of being the culmination of Spawn 's propulsive pop...

When Dangerous Minds was released in 1995, we were all too young to realize it was not breaking any new ground. So while it was just the latest entry in a long line of films that utilized the "save our students" story template, it still felt super duper important when we watched as kids. Now that we're all grown up, it's pretty easy to recognize that this is no Lean on Me or Stand & Deliver . At i...

Over the course of the two years we've been recording this podcast, there have been a handful of episodes we've never released for one reason or another. If you've heard our Listener Questions episode then you already know the back story on what went wrong with most of them. We've never actually talked about the movies themselves though. So that's what this special is all about! Chris, Donna, and...

Sleep all day. Party all night. Never grow old. Never die. It's fun to be a vampire. And boy oh boy is there a lot to unpack with this beloved 1987 horror/comedy: the hugely influential additions it made to modern vampire lore, its incredible soundtrack, the first on-screen pairing of The Two Coreys, that greased up sax player, an inexplicable Rob Lowe poster... the list goes on. Since Chris & Don...

This might not be one of the biggest movies we've covered for the show, but almost everyone who saw Overboard when they were younger still seems to have a lot of love for it now. And with good reason - Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are hilarious and charming in the lead roles. In fact, they're so good that it almost makes me you forget how shockingly insane the premise and some of the set pieces ar...

Kristen from The Sunnydale Stacks sits in with the HDYR gang this week to discuss one of her childhood favorites - Camp Nowhere . Chris, Donna, and Carlos were a little hazy on the details, but all of them remember enjoying it to varying degrees as kids. As adults? Well... they found that there wasn't a single moment that made a lick of sense, but some of it was so utterly bonkers that it was stil...

In honor of our two-year anniversary, we decided to take a look back at one of the best Part II's of all-time: Terminator 2: Judgment Day . This wasn't just our first experience with the Terminator   franchise as kids - it was also one of the first R-rated movies we were allowed to watch. There are still a lot of fans who would argue that this follow-up is actually superior to the original in many...

Hold onto yer butts... it's an episode 65 million years in the making! Just in time for the release of Jurassic World , we decided to take a look back at where it all began. The original Jurassic Park made a huge impact on all of us as kids and unlike a lot of other big films from this era, it still packs a punch. Now that it's widely regarded as a modern masterpiece, we take a stab at figuring ou...

They don't make 'em like they used to... and that's certainly evident in the case of The NeverEnding Story . It's nearly impossible to imagine a movie with imagery like this being marketed to kids today.  Maybe that's one reason it resonated so strongly with our generation -  its most memorable moments were probably the most traumatic. All three of us loved this as kids, it gets requested all the...

So... wow. This one's a lot different than some of us remembered it. Donna's still unapologetic about her love for Ladybugs , but a few too many misguided moments prevent Chris and Carlos from giving it a pass. There is one thing all three of us can agree on though - this is two very different movies stitched together. One is a feelgood family sports comedy in the same vein as The Mighty Ducks ......

Consider this the podcast equivalent of Giant Size X-Men #1 ! It's an episode filled with big announcements, enormous thank yous, and an epic discussion about this incredibly influential film and the franchise it kicked off! We were all a little shocked when we realized that this original X-Men movie is already fifteen years old! What's really interesting about it now is that it's sort of a middle...

The fact that Mortal Kombat isn't a very good movie is probably not tremendously surprising. What IS a little crazy is that it's still one of the better live-action adaptations of a video game. Chris was always impressed by the level of respect the filmmakers clearly had for the source material, Carlos had a few issues with some of the changes they made, and Donna had never seen it and thought thi...

Carlos loved Heavyweights as a kid, Donna had never heard of it, and Chris realized that his memories of it were actually a combination of several other "kids run amok" movies from this era. Ben Stiller's hilariously over-the-top performance seems to be the main thing everyone remembers about it and we all decided that aspect was not oversold. Tony Perkis isn't just a precursor to Dodgeball's Whit...