Tv/Movie Rewind

Today Matt & Todd swing back into sci‑fi television with the short‑lived but fascinating 1974 TV series: Planet of the Apes. Long before the modern reboots, CBS took a swing at bringing the Apes universe to weekly television. The result is a real fun and earnest adventure series that carries the torch of its larger brethren surprisingly well. The TV version of Planet of the Apes is a perfect t...

This week we take a sharp left turn from our usual cinematic diet of Tombs of the Blind Dead, Maniac Cop, and Tango & Cash to talk about a genuine masterpiece of American filmmaking. Yes, the same podcast that once "recommended" Raiders of the Living Dead with a straight(ish) face is now asking you to sit down for a three‑hour post‑WWII drama about ordinary people trying to rebuild t...

Today Matt and Todd are joined once again by Fire & Water Podcast Network’s “Shagg” Matthews for another cartoon classic: this time the one that started an empire of spooky hijinks, bubble‑gum pop, and unmaskings. We’re talking 1969’s Scooby‑Doo, Where Are You! , the original series that launched the entire Scooby‑Doo franchise and set the tone for everything that followed. The classic gags, t...

Today Matt & Todd crack open the VHS clamshell and revisit the ultimate case of First Blood at home : 1985’s The Park is Mine , starring Tommy Lee Jones; This is Matt & Todd’s new venture into the original Parks & Rec [1]: an HBO‑produced 1985 Vietnam-vet-splotation film that plays like First Blood filtered through The A‑Team instead of Sam Peckinpah . Directed by Steven Hilliard Stern...

Today Matt, Todd, and would‑be companion Mike travel through spacetime and land in the Antarctic for the 6th serial of the 13th season of the classic BBC series Doctor Who . “Seeds of Doom” originally aired from January 31 to March 6, 1976, and if you’re a fan of John Carpenter’s The Thing , Howard Hawks’ The Thing From Another World , or classic sci‑fi horror in general, you’re going to feel righ...

Today Matt & Todd saddle up with (not Wolverine) Logan for a retrospective on one of cinema’s most iconic, sharp‑eyed but little-discussed legends: Lee Van Cleef . Few actors have ever done more with a squint, a silhouette, or the simple act of entering a room. Lee Van Cleef embodied a whole cinematic archetype. From Westerns to war films to Italian genre oddities to 80s action pulp, his caree...

Apologies for the strange 'chop' underlying the audio in parts... Today Matt & Todd dive into the 1996 African‑adventure / animal‑horror thriller The Ghost and the Darkness . Arriving in theaters with a fair amount of mid‑90s buzz, the film has since become a bit forgotten—despite starring Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas, boasting a tight script by William Goldman, striking visuals, and Oscar‑w...

Today Matt & Todd discuss the 1934 comedy-mystery movie: The Thin Man . A wildly successful film, spawning several sequels over 92 years ago, it still sparkles with as much charm as it did on release. Based on a Novel by Dashiell Hammett (of Sam Spade fame), the incredible cast is anchored by William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles in a fairly middling mystery that is carried by...

It’s Friday the 13th (or close enough), so Matt and Todd return to horror with a classic franchise. Today we invite you into the unholy terror of: Return of the Blind Dead (or if you prefer) Attack of the Blind Dead (or if you prefer) Attack of the Evil Dead ...or honestly, pick a title and it might be right. Ostensibly the second entry in the Blind Dead series, Return/Attack of the Blind/Evil Dea...

Today Matt & Todd take on one of Alan Smithee's finest: 1986’s Let’s Get Harry . Starring: Michael Schoeffling Thomas F. Wilson Glenn Frey Rick Rossovich Ben Johnson Mark Harmon Whit Bissell Award Winner Gary Busey and Robert Duvall The premise is simple: Earnest regular guys hire a mercenary (Duvall) to find proof of a friend brother's kidnapping. A foundation of solid action, a great...

Today Matt & Todd ride into town with the 1981 Western‑adventure The Legend of the Lone Ranger , directed by William A. Fraker. This movie famously flopped at the box office; partly because of its flaws, but just as much because of the deeply questionable studio decisions surrounding its production. Among them: They alienated one of the original Lone Ranger actors. They cast someone who simply...

Today Matt & Todd are invaded by the 1986 sci‑fi‑horror‑comedy Critters , directed by Stephen Herek. Pint‑sized, ravenous, space-hedgehog critters escape space-prison and head to earth for a feast, crash landing on a quiet Kansas farm. Hot on their trail are two morphing alien bounty hunters who are armed, dangerous, and able to change their faces (with varying success). If you’re expecting so...

Today Matt & Todd dive into one of the great under‑sung gems of 1970s cinema: the 1973 ensemble whodunnit mystery‑thriller The Last of Sheila, directed by Herbert Ross. Featuring a stacked cast of Hollywood heavy hitters: Richard Benjamin Dyan Cannon James Coburn Joan Hackett James Mason Ian McShane Raquel Welch Movie producer Clinton Greene invites a group of industry friends aboard his luxur...

Today Matt and Todd venture into Gymkata: “The skill of gymnastics… the KILL of karate!” Starring champion gymnast Kurt Thomas as champion gymnast Jonathan Cabot, the film follows his training to compete in The Game: a cross‑country gauntlet of traps, assassins, and inexplicable pommel horses placed in the wild. The prize for surviving? One wish from the Khan of Parmistan. The U.S. government’s wi...

Today Matt & Todd are joined by Logan again to step into the arena for a film we love: 1988’s Bloodsport. The words are few, but you came here for the Bloodsport, and you get it. A mix of martial arts styles, excellent fight scenes, and a dash of slapstick make this the cinematic equivalent of your older brother’s Karate Kid. For aspiring combat‑sport athletes, it might even be their Rocky. If...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and copasetic impending yearly calendar renewals. Today Matt & Todd are joined by 00‑fanboy Mike to discuss yet another holiday classic (Hello Lifetime, get on this): 1995’s GoldenEye. Directed by: Martin Campbell (also director of Casino Royale (2006)) Starring: Pierce Brosnan as “Agent 007” Bond, James Bond Whit Bissell Award Winner: Sean Bean as Alec Trevely...

Today Matt & Todd bring you a holiday‑spirited review of the 1981 made‑for‑TV horror telefilm Dark Night of the Scarecrow. Directed by Frank De Felitta (also known as a novelist behind Aubrey Rose and The Entity) Teleplay by J.D. Feigelson & Butler Handcock Starring: Charles Durning Robert F. Lyons Lane Smith Tonya Crowe (Whit Bissell Award Winner) Larry Drake Jocelyn Brando Cinematography...

In 1997, James Cameron released 'Titanic', it broke box office records entertaining and inspiring millions to this day, while breathing new life into exploration of the historic wreck that sank on April 15, 1912. Remember that night, because today Matt and Todd are joined by "CollinsportGirl" Katherine, to discuss the 1958 British Made: A Night to Remember . We're thrilled to be joined again by Ka...

In 1994, television gave us a criminally short-lived gem: The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. . Created by Carlton Cuse and Jeffrey Boam, the series ran for just one spectacular season—27 episodes of sci-fi‑tinged Western adventure that blended pulp thrills with tongue‑in‑cheek humor. The cast was stacked: Bruce Campbell as Brisco County Jr. Julius Carry as Lord Bowler Christian Clemenson as Socra...

Born July 5, 1928 in Depoy, Ky. Warren Mercer Oates came to our screens in 1953 and began a career as one of the finest actors you might never have heard of. From his debut through 1982, Oates delivered unforgettable performances in films such as: The Wild Bunch , In the Heat of the Night , Return of the Seven , and Two-Lane Blacktop . He became a frequent collaborator with two of the most influen...

Today, Matt & Todd are joined by Mike to discuss the 1948 comedy-horror classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein .Directed by Charles Barton. Starring: Bud Abbott as Chick Lou Costello as Wilbur Bela Lugosi as Dracula Jane Randolph as Joan Lenore Aubert as Sandra Whit Bissell Award winners: Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s Monster Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man Frank Ferguson as Mr. McDoug...

Today Matt and Todd explore (Stephen King's) The Mist, released in 2007, directed by Frank Darabont: Starring: Thomas Jane, Whit Bissell Winners Marcia Gay Harden and Andre Braugher, Jeffrey DeMunn, Laurie Holden, Toby Jones Thomas Jane, his son, and a group of grocery store staff & patrons are enveloped by a thick mist with unseen menaces lurking within. Based on the Stephen King short st...

In 1999, we were treated to a full re-imagining of the 1959 horror classic House on Haunted Hill. Directed by William Malone and loosely adapted from Robb White’s original story by screenwriter Dick Beebe, this is one of those rare remakes/reboots/re-imaginings where homage and inspiration meet and produce something welcome at just the right time. This update is completely different in just about...

Today Matt and Todd welcome frequent collaborator Mike to discuss another childhood horror classic. In 1979 we were treated to a Universal remake of their 1931 classic: Dracula , directed by the great John Badham and starring: Frank Langella as Dracula Lawrence Olivier as Abraham Van Helsing Kate Nelligan as Lucy Seward, Donald Pleasance as Jack Seward Whit Bissell Award Winners Janine Druvitski a...

Today Matt & Todd observe the wasteland of 1968 alongside Vincent Price in: 1968's The Last Man on Earth . The Last Man on Earth stars: Vincent Price as Dr. Robert Morgan Franca Bettoia as Ruth Collins Emma Danieli as Virginia Morgan Giacomo Rossi-Stuart as Ben Cortman Whit Bissell Award Winner: Umberto Raho as Dr. Mercer Christi Courtland as Kathy Morgan The director credits go to Sidney...