The Best 80s & 90s Movie Podcast
On this week’s episode of Shat the Movies, Gene and Big D dive into Steven Spielberg’s epic 1987 coming-of-age war drama, Empire of the Sun. Commissioned by loyal listener Jeff S., this film takes us on a journey through World War II-era Shanghai. Join us as we explore Spielberg’s masterful...
When ordinary man Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) witnesses mysterious lights in the sky, his life is turned upside down as he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth behind these strange phenomena. Drawn to an isolated mountain along with other people experiencing the same visions, Roy joins a scientist (François Truffaut) and a mother (Melinda Dillon) in a breathtaking journey that leads them face-to-face with extraterrestrial visitors. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is an awe-inspiring tale of discovery and human connection with the unknown, where the extraordinary meets the everyday.
With his mother dead and his father, Hal Osborne (Dabney Coleman), busy working, 11-year-old Davey (Henry Thomas) spends his time immersed in video games, often dreaming up espionage stories featuring imaginary spy Jack Flack (also Coleman). When Davey sees the murder of an FBI agent, the dying man hands him an Atari video game cartridge with military secrets. No one believes his story, and Davey is forced to go on the run, escaping from attempts on his life with Flack’s guidance.
Problems with his rocket compel space-traveling vigilante Shep Ramsey (Hulk Hogan) to spend some time on Earth. Plunking himself down in the middle of suburbia, he rents a room from Charlie (Christopher Lloyd) and Jenny Wilcox (Shelley Duvall). Shep attempts to acclimate himself — he skateboards, he accosts a mail carrier — but he’s destined to be a fish out of water. But when his outer space enemies arrive and pick a fight with his new friends, Shep is ready to prove his mettle.
A comedic send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.
Harry Crumb (John Candy) descends from a long line of sleuths, but the well-intentioned private detective tends to turn the simplest case into a disaster. That’s why Harry’s maniacal boss, Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones), selects him to investigate the kidnapping of a rich heiress; Draisen himself is behind the crime and he’s hoping that Harry will perform as dismally as he usually does. But, with more than a few tricks up his sleeve, Harry may end up cracking the conspiracy despite himself.
Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is a failure in life but a celebrity in his own mind, hosting an imaginary talk show in his mother’s basement. When he meets actual talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), he’s convinced it will provide his big break, but Langford isn’t interested in the would-be comedian. Undaunted, Pupkin effectively stalks Langford — and when that doesn’t work, he kidnaps him, offering his release in exchange for a guest spot on Langford’s show.
This film adaptation of a Roald Dahl work tells the story of Matilda Wormwood (Mara Wilson), a gifted girl forced to put up with a crude, distant father (Danny DeVito) and mother (Rhea Perlman). Worse, Agatha Trunchbull (Pam Ferris), the evil principal at Matilda’s school, is a terrifyingly strict bully. However, when Matilda realizes she has the power of telekinesis, she begins to defend her friends from Trunchbull’s wrath and fight back against her unkind parents.
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