The Test of Time

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck hit the A-list and took home Oscars for their 1997 movie, Good Will Hunting.  This week, we talk about what the MIT campus really looks like, the deep love Bostonians have for Dunkin' Donuts, and how you can quickly spot the difference between Funny Robin Williams and Serious Robin Williams. We also give our thoughts on the Super Mario movie that's reportedly in developm...

Steve Martin plays a man on a desperate quest to get home to his family, and John Candy plays the travel companion from hell in the quintessential Thanksgiving movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Join us as we discuss the movie's missing scene that probably would have been hilarious, how the "two pillows" joke could have easily been improved, and whether this flick or The Sixth Sense does the b...

Aliens make first contact in Steven Spielberg's second blockbuster, Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Give a listen as we discuss what this movie may have in common with Guardians of the Galaxy, the iconic scene that has been referenced by both Weird Al and The Simpsons, and what the different "kinds" of close encounters actually are. (Put it this way: Close Encounters of the Seventh Kind would...

It's Spaceballs: the podcast episode!  In 1987, Mel Brooks set his satirical sights on Star Wars (and a lot of other movies) with a farce that features sight gags, puns, and frequent use of the word "schwartz." Live from Nick's Marathon, special guest Dominic Monfre joins us to talk about jokes that are funnier in Spanish, we offer terrible tax advice that you definitely shouldn't take, and we pon...

Cowabunga! It's the big screen debut of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael in the 1990 movie, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Jon Willis of The Wayward Willis podcast joins us to talk about Shredder's poorly thought out plan for world domination, kids who love both the Ninja Turtles and Humphrey Bogart, and this movie's character who's sexist, homophobic, a murderer... and one of the goo...

Director Wes Craven brought fresh blood to the teen slasher genre in his 1996 movie, Scream. In our annual Halloween episode, we discuss modern meta moments, the old-fashioned name for cell phones, and how this film has twists in the opening *and* closing scenes. (Take that, M. Night Shyamalan!) You may know how to survive a horror movie, but do you know if Scream stands the Test of Time?

Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks play mismatched detectives tracking down a cult/crime syndicate in the 1987 flick, Dragnet. This movie has a nefarious plot that hinges on a personal check, a bad guy with a great name, and a scene of Ramsay Bolton-esque torture that's played for laughs. But does this 1980's movie based on a 1950's TV show stand the Test of Time?

Teens 'n parties. Music 'n dancing. Kid 'n Play. They all come together in the 1990 movie, House Party. We are once again joined by Brat Pack America author Kevin Smokler as we talk about old school Kool Aid, the only man who can crack up Ice Cube, and what House Party has in common with Bridesmaids, Dirty Work, and Frankie and Annette beach movies. Plus we share our thoughts on Ready Player One a...

Thirty five years after Blade Runner first hit theaters, its long-awaited sequel has finally arrived. In our conversation about the original film, we question why robot slaves need fake memories of fake families, how the movie correctly predicted drones but mistakenly thought Pan Am would still be a thing, and why there's no simple way to identify a replicant through, like, a blood test or somethi...

Centuries-old immortals battle and behead each other to win the ultimate prize in 1986's Highlander. Join us as we discuss the MacLeod clan's poor military strategy, the women who would have made kickass immortals (#feminism), and the worst Queen karaoke song ever. And, of course, we wonder why the Scottish actor with a Scottish accent in a movie set in Scotland plays a character who's... Spanish/...

A young woman dreams of escaping her wicked stepmother and finding her prince in the animated Disney classic, Cinderella. Listen to find out what the movie's singing mice have in common with Ozzy Osbourne, what glass slippers have in common with a dress made of asbestos, and what James has in common with Prince Charming. We also talk about Star Wars Episode IX's director drama before finding out i...

An innocent daddy's girl grows into a young woman who can really shake 'em down in 1987's Dirty Dancing. This week, Brat Pack America author Kevin Smokler joins us to chat about platonic friends who like to grind on each other, the award that Patrick Swayze definitely should *not* have won, and what "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" really means.  You'll have the time of your life (sorry... we couldn...

Three friends travel for two weeks to find the one thing that life is all about in 1991's City Slickers.   This week, we talk about the midlife crisis movie genre (its a thing!), Bruno Kirby's awesome/awful mustache, and what you should never do when delivering a calf by hand. Plus hear how Alan factors into the best *and* worst days of James' life as we find out if City Slickers stands the Test o...

They're the galaxy defenders who won't let you remember. They are... the Men in Black. As we chat about the 1997 blockbuster, we question how an organization whose agents are named with a single letter can have more than 26 members. We wonder about the poor woman who Agent K left behind. And we question the logic of a bug-loving alien who wants to destroy a planet filled with bugs. By the end of t...

A couple of guys named Maverick and Goose feel the need... the need... for flying really, really fast in 1986's Top Gun. Listen in and learn how to remove an appendix, the rules of nickname creation, and what we really think about the Top Gun Nintendo game. This movie may separate the best of the best from the best of the best of the best, but does Top Gun stand the Test of Time?

Maybe you won't like our episode about Wayne's World. Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of our butts. This is the movie that taught a generation how to rock out to Bohemian Rhapsody. It *may* have inspired Michael Scott's favorite joke. And it's gotta be the only film ever to make fun of Laverne & Shirley, Nuprin, and visiting Delaware. It's the standard by which all other Saturday Night Live movies...

Better Off Dead takes your typical teen angst love story and adds in skiing, slapstick, and suicide.  Special guest Joanna Brief joins us as we discuss the unspoken 80's rule about cutting out cereal box UPC codes, the Charles De Mar method of thwarting a bully, and those special occasions when you just gotta have a montage. The only thing we want more than our TWO DOLLARS is to find out if Better...

Before they were household names, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, and Paul Rudd starred in a micro-budgeted film about the last day of summer camp: 2001's Wet Hot American Summer. Special guest Joanna Brief joins us to talk about our all-time favorite skit from The State, the trouble with too much honesty, and the most realistic thing in a movie that features a talking can of vegetables. In the end,...

Wooden stakes, holy water, and garlic. These three weapons, two Coreys, and one old fart of a grandfather go head to head against the vampires of Santa Carla in 1987's The Lost Boys. In this episode, we debate which is cooler, zombies or vampires. We learn about the former child actor who is a proud fast food franchisee. And we ponder what the hell was the deal with that heavy metal sax player. Al...

A disgruntled cabbie, a zany radio host, and the perfect woman team up to stop the ultimate evil in 1997's The Fifth Element. In a wide-ranging conversation, we touch on the movie's connections to Minority Report, Attack of the Clones, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. Plus we talk about Master of None, the African country Mauritania, and we reveal everything we know about fashion (it doesn't take long)....

Part man. Part machine. All cop. Those six words give you a pretty good idea of what to expect from 1987's futuristic action flick, RoboCop. Push play to hear what RoboCop has in common with Jesus, R2-D2, and Batman. Plus we share our thoughts on Wonder Woman and Cars 3, and explain how Rotten Tomatoes works before deciding if RoboCop stands the Test of Time.

Tobey Maguire stars as your friendly neighborhood web-slinger in Sam Raimi's 2002 blockbuster, Spider-Man. Fifteen years after the movie's release, we discuss the physics of kissing upside-down, what Green Goblin has in common with Wile E. Coyote, and how Peter Parker gets in one little fight and his uncle gives him the whole "great power/great responsibility" speech. When all is said and done, we...

A group of kids from the suburbs try to survive a night in the city in the 1987 movie, Adventures in Babysitting. Spend some time with us as we talk about teenage characters played by adult actors, why everyone in Chicago knows what Playboy's Miss March looks like, and the difficult logistics of a club's "nobody leaves this place without singing the blues" policy. The kids may not get to bed in ti...

MTV's dimwitted duo travel across the United States searching for their lost television in 1996's Beavis and Butt-Head Do America. Listen in to a conversation that touches on the genius of Mike Judge, the universal hatred of hippies, and the missed opportunity of not having the Red Hot Chili Peppers animated into this movie. We also go through the highlights of the 2017 E3 conference before decidi...

We're 50 episodes in and we show no sign of slowing down. It's kind of like we're a never ending podcast, which is why this week, we're talking about the 1984 fantasy flick, The NeverEnding Story. Join us as we reflect back on our truly awful original logo, the mistakes we've made over the course of the show's 50 first episodes, and what we'd like to do in our next 50. (Hint: it involves more Macc...