Now We Know

"Better than the others, you'll be hooked on the brothers. UNH!" But in all seriousness folks, Super Mario is back in theaters this month, with Nintendo's big-budget return to the silver screen already hauling in cash in wheelbarrows. But it took a long, long time for the iconic video game company to ever attempt another theatrical release, in no small part thanks to SUPER MARIO BROS. (1993), the...

Chris was but four years old when he first saw—for the only time—the critically praised yet commercially unsuccessful Sesame Street theatrical movie, Follow That Bird. It's loomed large in his imagination for decades for subjecting our beloved Big Bird to undue, needless, harrowing cruelty. Is Chris' inner child right? Or does this one go down a little smoother when you've reached the Age of Reaso...

At long last, to revisit one of the seminal experiences of an 80's childhood–watching decades-old shows because Nickelodeon had too much time to fill–CEO and managing partner of Now We Know Industries Jordan Banks stops by the pod. He, Kevin, and Chris watched a trio of classic Nick at Nite shows: Dragnet, Taxi, and Bewitched. So, late on a school night, why not cozy up in bed with a new episode t...

After 25 long years, James Cameron's romantic epic Titanic is back in theaters for a limited time, a delight for White Star Line-heads everywhere. So, Chris decided to reach back into the annals of his sixth-grade PC and pull out Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, an "interactive movie" video game which actually preceded the Cameron film by one year. Can you win a race against time to change the futu...

To Kevin's abject horror, Chris wrests control of the wheel and sets course for Funny Farm. The 1988 comedy—characterized as a "small miracle" by Roger Ebert, and directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Slap Shot)—is now, according to a citation-free claim on Wikipedia, considered one of Chevy Chase's best films. Is that true? And, if so, would that definitional...

Tiger tiger by the tail! Hold on, tiger tiger! (this show stinks)

Happy New Year, everyone! And to kick off Season Six, Kevin and Chris bring forth a consummate New Year's movie: 1995's Four Rooms, starring Tim Roth, Madonna, Ione Skye, Quentin Tarantino, Antonio Banderas, Bruce Willis (in an uncredited role), and many more. Rest assured, you won't find a better way to ring in 2023 than with your saintly friends and Now We Know.

Patreon.com/nowweknow  Merry Christmas! Your present this year, from your humble hosts straight into your podcast feed: we've unlocked the final Patreon premium episode of the year, free of charge. Kevin and Chris are joined by Evan Tognotti to watch and discuss A CHRISTMAS STORY CHRISTMAS (2022), the legacy sequel to 1983's 24-hour TV marathon classic A CHRISTMAS STORY.  If you like what you hear...

Christmas time is here again... again! Kevin and Chris dive even deeper into classic Xmas nostalgia with the 1978 PBS special, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. Join Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and more—including a certain iconic star of small and big screen alike, who'd apparently rather sit out in the wintry New York cold than spend the holidays with his, ah, demanding girlfriend...

Christmastime, christmastime, christmastime is here! And with it comes Kevin and Chris finally tackling one of the foundational works of the American Christmas canon, that which famously aired in 24 hour broadcast TV blocks on the big day it—A Christmas Story, the 1983 Bob Clark film based on the work of legendary radio humorist Jean Shepherd. This movie is very much not niche, and there's a great...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Kevin and Chris are back in the seasonal spirit with A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the third Peanuts holiday special, released in 1973. Is it yet another stone cold classic like A Charlie Brown Christmas, or It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Not exactly, but it still boasts that Vince Guaraldi magic, and would bring home Emmy gold the following year. So, join us...

Episode 120 is finally here, and it's just another bread and butter Now We Know classic. This time around, your humble hosts Chris and Rachel look back at equal parts cynical and controversial 1994 kids flick Blank Check, featuring such luminaries as Miguel Ferrer, Karen Duffy, Michael Lerner, Tone Loc, and James Rebhorn. Come for the nostaglia, stay for Rachel's infamous buttermilk story!

Happy Halloween, everyone! On this dim, sanguinary Night of Fright, in the year of our gored 2022, Chris does the unthinkable and voluntarily hosts a vampire movie episode. But this isn't just any vampire movie—in fact, according to Wikipedia, it's "currently the latest film" directed by 96-year-old comedy icon Mel Brooks! That's right, it's Leslie Nielsen vehicle Dracula: Dead and Loving It, co-s...

The Halloween season is upon us, and so Kevin has once again foisted his trademark vampire nonsense on poor, unsuspecting, saintly Chris. This time it's the early 90's Dracula TV show, in which some radical kids and their uncle (could he be... Van Helsing?) take on an 80's businessman Drac, and Kindred: The Embraced, a sexy, thick-with-passion blend of vampires and the mob set in the milieu of 90'...

The boys are back with the fifth installment of their populist darling series, Commercials of the 80s and 90s. From rappin' Flintstones, to the sttely commands of the Bop-It!, to the unholy union of Michael Jordan and McDonald's, Kevin and Chris pour over 18 more memorable commercials from the annals of their youths. (Programming note: If you're confused — "Volume 5!? Where's Volume 4?" you ask, h...

There can be only two! Two hosts, that is! Also, two Highlander movies as of the year 1991. Departing boldly from the plot and canon of the original film, yet nonetheless featuring returning co-stars Christopher Lambert and Sean Connery, Highlander 2 sends our beloved sword-wielding boys from Earth, to the Planet Zeist, and back again! Remember your home... another galaxy!

As fast as a streaking comet—its majestic tail slowly fading into a dark, night sky—baseball season is already very nearly over. As such, Chris decided to trot out the last remaining baseball movie of his youth for Kevin to behold: 1994's Little Big League, starring Luke Edwards, a.k.a the wizard from The Wizard. Also featuring Timothy Busfield, Jason Robards, Dennis Farina, Chris "deux deux deuxs...

In remembrance of its recently deceased director, Wolfgang Petersen, Kevin and Chris revisit a towering classic of 80's childrens' cinema: The NeverEnding Story. The boys are joined by professor, podcaster, and bon vivant Dr. Ian Werkheiser to talk Bux, Atreyu, Artax, Bux's dad (and whether he should have been played by John Cleese), and a cast of thousands!

Callooh, callay, it's Felix The Cat day! Deep from the recesses of Chris' memory comes this late 80's theatrical revival of the beloved children's cartoon classic. Our favorite magic bag-wielding cat had been on hiatus for a while prior to this release—29 years, to be exact—so you can rest assured they put every ounce of their blood, sweat, and talent into this thing. Feat. Princess Oriana, The Du...

Get ready, webslingers! It's time for a 1977 Spider-Man film—which also served as a feature-length pilot for the shortlived CBS live-action series—which Kevin has graciously brought before the Now We Know magisterium. How does it hold up? We couldn't possibly spoil the surprise.

Somehow, Gene Kelly returned. That's right, America's preeminent song and dance man finally got his big screen swansong in Xanadu, the 1980 Olivia Newton-John-as-a-muse musical that was a hell of a lot more successful as an album than a movie. Kevin and Chris are joined by first-time guest Hilary for a songful saunter to Kubla Khan's stately pleasure dome.

In the early 90's, with the golden era of The Simpsons in full swing, Fox's rival networks were desperate to devise counterprogramming to bridge a seemingly insurmountable ratings and cultural impact gap. They failed miserably with a pair of evening cartoons made for basically nobody, Fish Police and Capitol Critters. Plus: a side of Scorch, starring the titular dragon puppet Scorch, also featurin...

Kevin and Chris go long on 1989's The Wizard, starring the likes of Fred Savage, Christian Slater, Luke Edwards, Beau Bridges, and the inimitable Jenny Lewis. Join for a magical road trip through the deserts, casinos, and Universal backlot tours of America, culminating in a video game showdown to shake the heavens—complete with the reveal of the new hotness, Super Mario Bros. 3.

Join Kevin and Chris on a trip into the annals of Canadian animation with Rock and Rule, a 1983 sci-fi dystopian flick featuring the vocal talents of Debbie Harry, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, and Don Francks as deranged super rocker/demonic summoner Mok. This was Canada's first-ever English language animated feature, produced by Nelvana—you know, they of the stately polar bear—and it hauled in a whopping....