Shat the Movies: 80's & 90's Best Film Review

"Hellraiser" spawned an 11-film franchise that neither Dick Ebert nor Gene Lyons had ever seen because they were too afraid of Pinhead. This week, commissioner Jason B. changed all that. Join the Shat Crew as we discuss dysfunctional '80s couples, sexual deviance and Clive Barker's thrifty but amateurish abilities as a director.  While Gene asks whether Julia was supposed to be sexy, Detective Ebe...

If you enjoy spy movies with no spying, romantic comedies with no laughs and Sean Young movies with no sex appeal, you'll love 1987's "No Way Out." This Kevin Costner thriller spends 45 minutes developing a love affair that goes nowhere, features a computer that can do anything, implicates '80s home decor as the real killer and might just be the prequel to "The Hunt for Red October." In this episo...

When the daughter of a Vietnam veteran asks you to review "Apocalypse Now," you answer the call. Both Gene and Dick agree this movie is epic, but the topic of Marlon Brando's weight sparks an all-out war. This 1979 adaptation of "Heart of Darkness" is both miracle and masterpiece, expertly depicting drug use (Big D verified) and the convoluted crossroads of the Vietnam War (Gene is a bit of an exp...

Shat The Movies is proud to present the film that scared Dick Ebert straight and drove Gene Lyons to realize he wouldn't last a week in prison: 1983's "Bad Boys." Sean Penn's breakthrough feature film introduced '80s filmgoers to a young Ally Sheedy, a gigantic Clancy Brown and the most dangerous correctional facility in America. It also presented a surprisingly well-developed teen romance, and it...

We know what you're thinking: "How did it take you 348 episodes to get to Police Academy?" The truth is we just needed one brave citizen to step up against that crime and commission this 1984 comedy giant. Shat The Movie legend Adam R. answered the call. With the six film sequels and the animated series that followed this movie," it's easy to assume the original "Police Academy" stands strong on i...

Are you into phreaking for phone sex? Do Rollerblades turn you on? Does the name Captain Midnight mean anything to you? Have you been to Chuck Woolery's Wienerbarn of Science? If so, "Hackers" is the movie for you. This 1995 box-office bust gave us prime Angelina Jolie, Johnny Lee Miller and Matthew Lillard (plus a sub-prime Fisher Stevens) wearing the best cutting-edge fashion the studio could mu...

In this sci-fi/fantasy sequel, Connor MacLeod (Christopher Lambert) has become an elderly man after losing his immortality. Living in a bleak future where the world is protected from solar radiation by a massive shield, MacLeod regains his youth when he kills two assassins from his home planet. This results in an ongoing battle with the villainous and powerful Gen. Katana (Michael Ironside), but M...

In our first back-to-back reviews of a film and its sequel, Shat The Movies presents "Allan Quatermain and The Lost City of Gold," the 1986 flop that answers the question: "what if leftover French fries were a movie?" In the second half of listener MoonlitTear's double commission, Gene Lyons boldly declares the movie series that kicked off with "King Solomon's Mines" isn't quite as good as the "Go...

"Indiana Jones and The Dial of Destiny" just hit theaters, the fifth installment in the legendary Harrison Ford series. But a lesser-known archeological adventure didn't enjoy the same success. This week, it's Richard Chamberlain in "King Solomon's Mines." Is it a "Temple of Doom" knock-off? A parody? An homage? We're not sure, but "King Solomon's Mines" is a script with origins more than a centur...

We all remember the big explosions and daring stunts in "Speed," but some of the biggest risks had nothing to do with the on-screen mayhem. Hiring Ted "Theodore" Logan as an action star? Casting Jeff Daniels as a grizzled police vet? Letting Dennis Hopper anywhere near explosives? Mega-commissioner Jackson M. thought it just wasn't right for us to review "Speed 2" without covering the original, an...

"Airplane!" ranks sixth on Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies and has more laughs per minute than any other film, but none of that matters. The real question is: Did Gene Lyons like it? In this episode commissioned by listener Kiki, the Shat Crew covers a long-overdue '80s comedy classic that mixes heavy parody, genius non-verbal jokes and delightfully offensive material. Dick Ebert explains that every t...

Remember when we covered "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" and wondered why Christopher Lambert had be replaced as Raiden? This week, we got our answer: Shat The Movies' favorite Frenchman was busy filming "Beowulf." On paper, this 1999 sci-fi adaptation of the Old English epic poem sounds like a disaster. In fact, movie commissioner Emmet in Orange had never even seen "Beowulf" when he requested a re...

Charlie Sheen scored some hits in the 1980s: "Red Dawn," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Young Guns," "Platoon" and "Major League." But only one movie featured him as a resurrected racer with a killer Dodge M4S Turbo Interceptor. It's "The Wraith!" Independent films in the '80s were wild, and "The Wraith" is no exception. Antifreeze-chugging punks, made-up slang and something called a "digital radio...

"Tango & Cash" was the final major motion picture released in the 1980s. Like a fish born with legs, this 1989 action-comedy showed signs of evolution into a new age but sucked ass at swimming. Big D didn't know "Tango & Cash" was supposed to be comedy. Gene wondered why the movie failed so hard at depicting journalism and court proceedings. And both hosts were shocked at the entire prison plotlin...

If you've ever wondered what went wrong with Fairuza Balk's childhood, listener David D. has the answer. That's why he commissioned the dark-ass 1985 Disney flop "Return to Oz." Don't be fooled by the made-for-TV movie poster, this sequel to 1939's "The Wizard of Oz" is loaded with terrific effects including an animatronic talking chicken and a princess who can swap out her heads. The sets are ama...

In a surprisingly educational episode, the Shaw Crew learns that sharks are playful, '70s parenting was utterly irresponsible and Richard Dreyfuss was the original hipster. It's the summer blockbuster that started it all: "Jaws!" When listener Tracy C. commissioned this Steven Spielberg masterpiece, we knew we'd be talking about Big D peeing his pants, how good the movie looks in UHD, how what you...

Do you like pirate movies? How about insurance fraud thrillers? Action films with giant sea monsters? Well, one 1998 movie decided to combine them all and cast Famke Janssen as an international master thief. It's time for "Deep Rising!" In this episode, Big D imagines a world where artificial intelligence writes movie screenplays and has the common sense to keep the monster secret until the charac...

What do you get the mermaid fanatic who has everything? Might we suggest Dick Ebert discussing the sex lives of cryptids and Gene drooling over Daryl Hannah? It's 1984's "Splash!" In this episode celebrating listener Stephanie Q's birthday, the Shat Crew praises one of the few '80s slow-motion scenes that works, applauds surprisingly well-developed characters, and worries about how long Tom Hanks...

In a rare trip to the 1970s, Big D and Gene examine the Jim Henson film that started it all: "The Muppet Movie."  Sharing a respect for the wild characters and expert puppeteering in this 1979 road comedy, the Shat Crew digs into the surprisingly adult themes, delightfully quiet jokes and clever self-awareness. On the other hand, "The Muppet Movie" drags at times before culminating in a gorgeous e...

We can thank Kevin Costner's "Dances With Wolves" for reinvigorating Westerns for the '90s, leading to other Shat movies like "Tombstone" and "Unforgiven." For '80s kids, it also served as a gateway to exploring American Indian culture and history. Despite questionable mustaches and a conspicuous score, "Dances With Wolves" was visually stunning, emotionally effective and, in Ash's case, occasiona...

"Great song ... great masks ... the plan sucks." That's how Dick Ebert summed up the infamous bait-and-switch horror classic "Halloween III: Season of The Witch," a movie that taught us what happens when you take the slasher out of a slasher series. Rob in Colchester commissioned this 1982 film, recorded a jingle for it and shared his mind-blowing theories on why a super-hot, grieving daughter wou...

"Stripes" surfaced some pretty great Army stories from Big D— including the joy's of kitchen duty, henpecked drill sergeants, incompetent officers and what it means to be a Five-Jump Chump—while giving us a glimpse of '80s comedy giants in their prime. Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, Judge Reinhold, John Larroquette, Sean Young and even Bill Paxton (blink and you'll miss him) brought their...

In our family-friendly, post-Pixar world, it's easy to forget kids of the '90s enjoyed some adult animation—some VERY adult animation. If you're into ultraviolence, overcomplicated plots, fingerbanging, poison kisses and superb boobs, "Ninja Scroll" is the movie for you. Listener Eric C. encouraged "Shat The Movies" to embrace all those things in the Crew's first viewing of this 1993 Japanese anim...

What do Spin Doctors, Dave Matthews Band, Billy Corgan and Styx have in common? They all get trashed in this episode of Shat The Movies (Cock Sparrer was spared.) It's the 1996 comedy "That Thing You Do!" Tom Hanks wrote, directed and starred in this squeaky-clean look at the 1960s, so you know it can't be terrible. But was it great? Depends on what you're looking for. "That Thing You Do!" has a c...

"The Name of The Rose" is a movie that features the exact same robe worn by Obi-Wan Kenobi in "Star Wars." It's also the 1986 unholy whodunnit that reinvigorated Sean Connery's career. Blessed with an incredible set and impeccable sound, plus an all-star cast including Christian Slater, F. Murray Abraham and a very naked Valentina Vargas, this international mystery seemed to have it all—unless you...