The Gen X Files

Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss how Xtreme we are, the movies we've been watching, the TV shows we recommend, and how awesome some new games are!

For our third entry into our Gen-Xtreme month, we're Gleaming the Cube! Join Christian Slater, Max Perlich, Tony Hawk, and Tommy Guerrero as they tear up Orange County while trying to solve a murder. It's '80s skating at its absolute best! Written by Michael Tolkin, who would later get nominated for an Oscar for writing The Player, and directed by Graeme Clifford, who edited The Rocky...

Our second Gen-Xtreme movie takes us to 1986, where everything was Rad! At least, if you lived in a fictional town in Oregon that's obviously Calgary. And if the town revered BMX racing so much, they expected a student and a an out-of-towner to dance with their BMX bikes at prom. Starring Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin, Talia Shire, and Ray Walston, with direction from Hal Needham, is the movie Rad...

Welcome to Gen-Xtreme! First up is BMX Bandits, the Australian movie that gave us Nicole Kidman. Kids just wanna BMX, but thieves have to steal and it's up to our intrepid teen heroes to stop them. Directed by Brian Trenchard-Smith, the amazing Ozploitation director and starring David Argue.

Join your ol' stepdads as we discuss All That ZAZ!, including some new spoof movies that we saw, our recommendations for movies, TV, and video games, and maybe a surprise or two. Maybe. We're tired and can't remember what we talked about.

For our final entry into All that ZAZ! month, we answer the question, "How does one follow up the monster smash hit that was Airplane!?" Unfortunately, the answer is, "not that easily." Top Secret! is the feature film debut of Val Kilmer, though, so Top Gun fans can thank ZAZ for unleashing him into the world. A weird mashup of a World War II spy thriller, a '50s Beach movi...

For our second entry into All that ZAZ!, we're going to be covering the grandaddy of all spoof movies: Airplane! Based on Zero Hour, which was recorded by accident by ZAZ, it is one of the highest grossing and critically lauded comedies of all time. The brilliance of casting serious drama actors, like Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, and Leslie Nielsen, not only changed their careers...

Welcome to All That ZAZ! First up is The Kentucky Fried Movie, the movie that Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker made because they couldn't get any studios to bite on Airplane! It's a barrage of sketch comedy that pushes the envelope as far as they can. Starring (with less than one minute of screen time total), Bill Bixby, George Lazenby, and Donald Sutherland. With support from...

Join your ol' stepdads as we discuss the weather, new movies and TV shows, how many video games we aren't playing, and just generally aging gracefully. Or something. Oh, and we talk about politics! We know you've been waiting for this!

To close out our Good Presidents month, we end with the toughest President ever put on screen: Harrison Ford in Air Force One. Co-starring Gary Oldman, Wendy Crewson, Paul Guilfoyle, William H. Macy, Liesel Matthews, and Dean Stockwell, with gritty direction from Wolfgang Peterson. Ford might force you off your plane, but you won't want to leave this thrill ride.

For our next President in our Good Presidents month, we hit up the quintessential American President: The American President. Generic name? Sure. Love story or political drama? Both. With amazing performances from Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, David Paymer, Samantha Mathis, and Michael J. Fox; witty writing from Aaron Sorkin; and deft direction from Rob Reiner, the American Presid...

Welcome to Good Presidents month! We're starting with the man that wasn't technically the President, just someone that looked just like him: Dave! Starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver, along with a bevy of amazing actors, and directed with a deft hand by Ivan Reitman, this is the feel-good comedy that will give you the gut punch of hope that we all desperately need right now.

Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss more adult animation, what we've been watching in movies and TV, and finally getting some good video games back.

We're finishing out our teen toons month with the adult animated sword and sorcery epic, Fire and Ice. With animation from Ralph Bakshi and Frank Frazetta and a script from two Conan comic book writers, and support work from Thomas Kincade, James Gurney, and Peter Chung, you'd think this movie would be better. It looks really pretty! But, that's about it.

This time, we cover an obscure 1982 animated French feature from René Laloux and Moebius. It's The Time Masters, the super weird and quite amazing sci-fi adventure. The animation is fascinating, the story is simple, and it is insanely French.

Today, we cover what is definitely an adult animated film that inspired a ton of creators: Heavy Metal. From the magazine that was first published in the US in 1977, Ivan Reitman saw the value of adult animation and produced a pretty good anthology film. Featuring the voice talents of John Candy, Eugene Levy, and a ton of others! It's a classic! Now pass me the Plutonium Nyborg.

For our first foray into Teen Toons, we're covering what Ralph Bakshi considered to be a 'family film', the super weird Wizards. Combining cartoonish animation, rotoscoping, and a guest appearance from the worst dictator in history, Wizards is a movie you will never forget.

Happy Boxing Day! Join your ol' Stepdads as we discuss this month's Very Scary Christmas movies and what was our favorite movies and TV shows from the entire year.

Today, we cover the very '80s Christmas horror movie, Silent Night, Deadly Night! The advertising campaign caused such a stir that the movie was pulled after just a couple of weeks in the theaters. Starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, and Gilmer McCormick with a script from Michael Hickey and direction by Charles Sellier. It's a fun Christmas thrill ride!

What happens when a child with a traumatic holiday event grows up and becomes obsessed with Santa Claus? Christmas Evil, the best Christmas movie you've never seen, according to John Waters. A psychological study of a man losing his mind, Christmas Evil (also known as You Better Watch Out), is sure to become your Christmas must-watch.

Welcome to a Very Scary Christmas! Today, we're going to cover the granddaddy of slasher horror films: Black Christmas. Directed by Bob Clark, starring Margot Kidder, Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon. Who is Billy and why is he terrorizing the sorority sisters at Pi Kappa Sigma? Christmas can be the scariest time of the year.

This week we celebrate 250 episodes! Listen to the sordid tale as to how the Back to the Future month almost didn't happen! Listen to our super special guest! Listen as people tell us how awesome we are! Listen to us blather on about movies and TV shows and video games! Listen to us get older by the second!

We finish out our Back to the Futures month with Back to the Future Part III, a welcome return to form for the franchise. Primarily a Western, the 1885 setting allows the film to calm down from the frenetic Part II. With the same cast and crew, with the addition of the amazing Mary Steenburgen, Back to the Future Part III sticks the landing.

Today, we explore the sequel to the perfect movie, Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II! It picks up right were the 1985 original film left off, but with a few slight changes to the cast. The creative team of Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale stay the same, along with the cast of Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, and Thomas F. Wilson, but with the addition of Elisabeth Shue and...

Back to the Future is a classic. A must-see for anyone that grew up in the Gen X era. The story of how Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale managed to the get movie made is incredible. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Back to the Future: the movie that shouldn't have been made!