Retro Grade Podcast

“YOU CROSSED THE LINE“ On this episode, we return to Pandora before the long awaited sequel of the highest grossing film “everybody forgot about.” We are talking about James Cameron’s Avatar, from 2009! We talk about how we weren’t super impressed first time we saw this movie, and how that may have changed 13 years later. We talk about the new technology used to create the the luscious, flora and...

“I HAVE CROSSED OCEANS OF TIME TO FIND YOU” On this week’s episode, we talk about the classic 1992 film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola starring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, and Keanu Reeves. Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, we revisit the film to see if what many people consider to be one of the definitive interpretations of Dracula stills holds...

“IT’LL FIGHT IF IT HAS TO, BUT IT’S VULNERABLE OUT IN THE OPEN.“ On this Halloween episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we cover one of the best movies from one of the best horror filmmakers of all time, 1982’s The Thing, directed by John Carpenter. Although the film is referred to as a remake of the 1951 RKO Pictures production, The Thing from Another World, the film is actually more of a reinterpreta...

“INTO THE LIGHT, I COMMAND THEE!“ Continuing our spooky movie themed month, we decided to cover a movie about the world’s grumpiest exorcist, Constantine! Although the Vertigo Comics character comes from the Hellblazer series, is blonde and British, certain liberties were taken in the American film adaptation starring Keanu Reeves as the titular character. Though the changes upset some fans (espec...

WE’LL TEAR YOUR SOUL APART!” On this week’s episode, we continue our month of spooky movies by revisiting Hellraiser, 1987 horror classic directed by Clive Barker starring Ashley Laurence, Clare Higgins, Andrew Robinson, and Doug Bradley as the famous Cenobite, Pinhead. We talk about how this film differs very much from how  it was conveyed to us when we were younger. Instead of it being a fi...

“YOU KNOW, I’VE ALWAYS WANTED A CHILD. AND NOW I THINK I’LL HAVE ONE ON TOAST!” On this week’s episode, we are officially leaving behind summer and getting ready for Halloween. We start this season with revisiting a childhood classic, Hocus Pocus, directed by Kenny Ortega starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz, Thora Birch, Vinessa Shaw, and Doug Jones. Being released...

“LOOKS LIKE MEAT’S BACK ON THE MENU!“ On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast we talk about the second Peter Jackson live-action adaptation of The Lord of the Rings series, We are joined once again by our resident LOTR expert Becky to help us talk about why this film series changed the fantasy genre forever. We talk about how this film splits the fellowship and takes our various heroes on their own...

“GET TO THE CHOPPER!“ On this week’s episode, we revisit the 1987 action/horror classic, Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by John McTiernan. This was an interesting film to revisit since both Austin and Jorge don’t really have a deep connection to the film, having only seen it a few times each. But it seems that they are both in the minority, with everyone else saying that thi...

“IS IT POSSIBLE, THAT THERE ARE NO COINCIDENCES.“ As the “family vs aliens" genre receives another entry in Jordan Peele’s Nope, we at Retro Grade Podcast decided to talk about a similarly themed movie that recently celebrated it’s 20th anniversary. We are talking about, M Night Shyamalan’s Signs, starring Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin. We talk about how this movie l...

“WE’RE NEVER GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS, OKAY?” On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about 2007’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, from Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu starring Anamaria Marinca and Laura Vasiliu. Over the past few weeks, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, giving states the ability to make abortions illegal to millions of people. We wanted to watch a film...

“IT’S NOT EASY HAVING A GOOD TIME.. EVEN SMILING MAKES MY FACE ACHE.“ This month, we at Retro Grade Podcast decided to cover one of the most beloved cult classics and recognizable LGBTQ+ themed movies of all time, The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Directed by Jim Sharman, written by Richard O’Brien, starring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell and Richard O’Brien...

“FEAR IS THEIR GREATEST DEFENSE!“ On this episode of the podcast we take a look behind the scenes of Star Wars: A New Hope. We go back to before it was even called Star Wars. Before George Lucas was even interested in making films in the first place. On this journey through the creative process of not only one of the most profitable movies, but entertainment and merchandise franchises of all time,...

“HOKEY RELIGIONS AND ANCIENT WEAPONS…"“ On this week’s episode, we finally get to talk the about the one that started it all: Star Wars (1977). Or rather: Star Wars: A New Hope. In 2022, the film is celebrating its 45th anniversary and we thought now would be the best time to revisit the film and see how it holds up. We begin by talking about our earliest memories with the film, from how we first...

“OUT, AM I?“ On this week’s episode, we continue talking about Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man film, released in 2002. In the first episode we focused on the story and on the style, how Sam Raimi went about filming the web swinger in his first Hollywood outing. Now, we go back to the very beginning of Spider-Man, back to when he was created in 1962. We go over his creation, and how he was result of a...

“YOU MESS WITH ONE OF US, YOU MESS WITH ALL OF US!“ Just in time for the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest super hero (origin) movies from one of the greatest directors to ever tackle the genre, we at Retro Grade Podcast have decided to cover Spider-Man from 2002, directed by Sam Raimi, starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, and Kirsten Dunst. Although there have been several Peter Parker’s s...

“IT’S HARD BEING MEXICAN-AMERICAN.“ On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back to a movie that meant more to each of us than we realized. We take on 1997’s Selena, directed by Gregory Nava, starring Jennifer Lopez and Edward James Olmos. While both being 90’s babies and both having Hispanic heritage, Selena’s music was in our ears and hearts during our formative years. To this day, hearing...

“THIS IS NOT ABOUT BLACK AND WHITE. THIS IS ABOUT MONEY. THIS IS ABOUT GREEN. YOU GOT THAT?“ On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back to the 90’s to cover a different basketball movie: White Men Can’t Jump, directed by Ron Shelton, starring Woody Harrelson, Wesley Snipes, and Rosie Perez. What was it about the 90’s and basketball? Is it just us, or did basketball feel so much bigger back...

On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we go back 19 years ago to talk about Sofia Coppola’s Lost In Translation. This will be the first time that either of us have seen the film. Not knowing what to expect, we talk about Coppola’s first feature, The Virgin Suicides,  and try to see what that film did well and whether Coppola can follow it up. We spend a large amount of time talking a...

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we find even more to talk about The Godfather. Behind every great movie, is a great story of how it was made, and the impact it had when it was released. Have you ever wondered why The Godfather was such a big deal? Well, on this episode we might have some answers for you! We talk about where Mario Puzo got the inspiration to tell this story by talking to so...

“IT’S NOT PERSONAL. IT’S STRICTLY BUSINESS.“ On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about what’s considered to be one of the greatest films of all time: the 1972 classic, The Godfather . Because the film is so massive in runtime and story, we are going to be breaking up the episode into two parts, similar to the original Godfather trilogy, Godfather: Part I and Godfather Part II. D...

On this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we talk about a movie over 100 years old. We talk about the oldest surviving film from a Black director. The movie is Oscar Micheaux’s Within Out Gates from 1920. This is the first silent film we’ve done on the podcast, and also a film neither of the hosts had even heard about until visiting the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles. We wanted to...

FEEL THE RHYTHM! FEEL THE RHYME! GET ON UP, IT’S BOBSLED TIME! On this week’s episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we wanted to commemorate both the Winter Olympics happening in Beijing, and Black History Month. And there’s only one film that we can think of that fits the bill: Cool Runnings , the 1993 Disney Classic. It’s loosely based on the Jamaican Bobsled team that went on to compete in the 1988 O...

“PULLING A TRIGGER IS LIKE ORDERING TAKE OUT.“ Hello listeners! We are BACK from our winter recess with an adrenaline pumping action movie in 2011’s, The Raid: Redemption directed by Gareth Evans. We talked a lot about action movies in our last episode, so we figured we’d kick the new year off with a classic. A martial arts action movie so good, Netflix is currently in the process of making a rema...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We normally like to talk about older movies, but on this episode of Retro Grade Podcast, we look back at movies that came out in 2021, and give our SPOILER FREE thoughts about what we liked and did not like during the past year. We talk about the big blockbusters like Spider-Man: No Way Home, The Suicide Squad, Fast 9, and The Matrix Resurrections.* Some smaller films you might hav...

“DEAR GEORGE, REMEMBER NO MAN IS A FAILURE WHO HAS FRIENDS.“ On this episode, we revisit a Christmas Classic, It’s a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra, and starring James Stewart. Released in the winter of 1946, this holiday classic has been adored by critics and audiences for decades, almost becoming an essential viewing during the holidays. Strangely, however, when the film was released, i...