Grumpy Nostalgia: Second Look Cinema

Send us a textIf you ever wanted to see a Ghostbuster jump out of a plane with a cigar-smoking talking gorilla, this is the movie for you!This ridiculously dumb movie celebrates its 30th birthday this week and we felt compelled to pay homage. We were only a little over a year into our podcast journey when we decided to tackle this one and we were completely unprepared. And we have have the PTSD to prove it.Add a dash of Bruce Campbell, Joe Don Baker, Jimmy Buffet (really!), and enough crappy accents thrown around and you almost don't mind the entire convoluted premise of the movie.  Almost.Originally aired on July 2022, this one has always been one of our favorite, and most referenced movies since.  Don't call it a re-run, its been here for years, rockin' its peers, puttin' suckas in fear, 

Send us a textWe're celebrating Father's Day by keeping up with the Jones boys. We got gondolas, Nazis, River Phoenix, sewer rats, and a wig-free Connery just for starters. A perfect ending for the Indiana Jones trilogy.  Luckily, Hollywood decided not to ruin the legacy by releasing additional cash-grab movies after this one.  Oh, wait.Stick around till the end for this one.  We pay homage to our dads by taking a look at their favorite movies.  For a couple of grumpy jerks, we can be surprisingly genuine and sentimental when we want to be.

Send us a textWe're talking tv again, but this time were going primal.  Prime time tv from 1975 to 1985 was weird and wonderful and we were its willful prisoners.  With only 3 networks and I-Pads not even a figment of Steve Jobs imagination , we were forced to make the best of what we got.  And we got a lot. Chimpanzee truckers, grits kissin waitresses and Fonzie on water skis.  And that was just Tuesday night.

Send us a textAre we are too old to enjoy this movie? No.Did we enjoy it anyway? Also no. Regardless, we truffle shuffled thru this one and had a blast.  Easily one of the most fun episodes we've ever done.  Did we mention Corey Feldman wears a Members Only jacket in this?

Send us a textJean shorts volleyball. Only take away.Actually we have a few more observations about this 80's blockbuster that cemented Tom Cruise at the top of the box office for the last 40 years.Were not entirely sure if anything even happens in this movie, but there's a bunch of music and man nipples so it's not a total loss.#topgun #maverick #goose #iceman #valkilmer #tomcruise #tonyscott #80s #80smovies #blammo #nostalgia #nostalgiamovie #comedypodcasts #retro #mst3k #dangerzone

Send us a textWow. Just, wow.A big, fake-looking snake vomits up monkeys and Jon Voight, all while out-acting the entire cast.We have opinions.

Send us a textWe built it.  Whether you come or not is still anyone's guess.  But you should because this is a good one.  We got the old Costner that everyone used to like in this sappy, but glorious baseball fable that makes most grown men shed a tear or two.  Add Darth Vader and Henry Hill and you got yourself a winner.Stick around til the end where the boys, overwhelmed by gallons of sap, decide to explore other examples of egregious sentimentality in Hollywood. The list is long and embarrassing and we don't even bother mentioning The Notebook

Send us a textWe have come to chew bubble gum and do a lousy podcast.  And we're all out of bubblegum.  We're going back to the 80s again this week to review the movie that launched a thousand memes.  Lotsa violence, synthesizers, and ghoulish alien yuppies on display here, but only if you're sporting those dope sunglasses.Free tip: If Roddy Piper asks you to put them on, just do it.  Its the easiest way to avoid a beat down.  Trust us.

Send us a textFinally the special series no one was asking for!  The boys take a break from the movie theater this week to introduce their new nostalgia podcast series, ReMembers Only (get it, like the jacket?).For the premier episode, we're looking back at the glorious era of late nite tv shows. Not the boring talk shows of today.  We talking Benny Hill, the Midnight Special, the Gong Show, and all the other disturbing television that warped young kids minds while in their pajamas and sleeping bags every weekend.

Send us a textThere can be only one. As it turns out, "one" is probably too many based on our most recent viewing of this 80s sci-fi/fantasy epic!  Christopher Lambert stars as the immortal sword-wielding Scotsmen with a thick French accent hacking and slashing his way thru 80s New York.  Tagging along is our favorite be-wigged actor Sean Connery in purple pantaloons and peacock feathers. Add a dash of Queen's soundtrack, and you've got yourself a cult masterpiece.  Trust us.

Send us a textWe got dragons L-I-V-I-N all over the place, y'all.  Harken back to 2002 for this wondrous movie starring Mac, Christian Batman, and Gerard Leonidas years before they became the subtle, nuanced character actors they are today.We'll sweeten the deal by mentioning that were joined this week by  show favorite, @mollsmusings who actually suggested we cover this one.  We will be dealing with her later.

Send us a textfeat. James Spaderthat's it.  Please listen to this one.  We suffered to bring it to you

Send us a textIt's double O hell no this week as the boys make their first pass at Bond movies.  We're not entirely sure what happened here, but like always, there's a supervillian bent on world domination, two Bond girls, and a crap ton of gadgets designed to kill people in original ways.  Not to mention waves and waves of easily accessible ladies along the way.Endlessly fun throughout, but the sheer amount of camp and cheese left us very shaken (not stirred). 

Send us a textHappy New Year, y'all.  We're starting 25 with lots of chomp by reviewing one of the big 'uns, the OG Jurassic Park. Over 30 years old and not even a scratch on it.  Stick around til the end where the gang lovingly discuss things in Hollywood they wish would go extinct. Fun!#jurassicpark #dino #1993 #blockbusters #trex #goldblum #podcast #nostalgia #mst3k 

Send us a textWe're wrapping up 2024 with a very special movie picked by our new guest contributor @kevin_the_movie_guy.  Better yet, Kevin's sitting in for this one too!We decided Santa could just go to hell for the time being because we wanna talk about 1996's From Dusk Til Dawn. It's a subtle little understated character study of a criminal and his sex predator brother fighting evil vampire strippers in a Mexican roadhouse.  Pass the eggnog!Stick around til the end when we do a multigenerational review of the top movies from 2024, 1994, and 1984.  

Send us a textYou're gonna like these apples for sure.  This week the boys are going back to 1997 to revisit this amazing take on the "troubled genius" theme that Hollywood loves so wicked much.  Watching hurts a little more this time knowing Williams isnt with us anymore, but luckily the Southie accents more than make up for it.Spoiler!  The boys liked this one a lot and were really at a loss for words which, we suppose, is not very good for a podcast. Listen anyways, ya Barneys.

Send us a textWe're looking back at a  Christmas movie that even our snarky GenX personalities cannot diminish.  Quotable, hilarious, and tolerantly sappy, Will Ferrel's portrayal as the 6'3" elf alone to his own devices in the Big Apple is a favorite among the Grumpy Nostalgia offices.  Plus Jimmy Caan. Plus Peter Dinklage. Plus the insufferably cute Zoey Deschanel. Grab your syrup and join us.  

Send us a textGobble Gobble, y'all. We're so caught up in the holiday excitement preamble, we are using our precious studio time to wrap gifts and browse thru the Sears Christmas catalog making our lists for Big Red.In the meanwhile, please revisit this lost episode that no one really bothered listening to the first time.  We really never got over that.  Please give this one a listen and be our Holiday miracle. Then we could walk like the other podcasters!

Send us a textThis week, we're diving into the 1990 Dick Tracy movie. Remember this one?  Of course you dont.Imagine Tim Burton's Gotham got hit with a color filter that only understands primary colors and then added... a whole lot of questionable choices.Warren Beatty is no Michael Keaton (sorry, buddy), but he does give it his best shot. And Pacino? Well, let's just say he was definitely a more over-the-top villain than Jack Nicholson's Joker—if you replaced menace with ham. Hit the link in bio to listen now (and let's just say, we had a lot of feelings). #DickTracy #Batman1989 #90sMovies #PodcastReview #ComedyPodcast #MovieReview #WarrenBeatty #Madonna #PopCultureThrowback #Nostalgia #SuperheroMovies #FunnyPodcasts #mst3k 

Send us a textWe dare you admit you didn't watch this on HBO at every pizza-fueled sleepover in the 80s. It's a fun mix of horror, comedy, and well-meant gratuitous gore and nudity, just like the eighties.  Your gang had a blast checking this one out again.To end both the 4th season and their month long horror spectacular, the boys finally reveal their favorite horror films after spending the last two episodes making fun of everybody else's.  Spoiler Alert: Your hosts are sissies.

Send us a textOur final trip down memory lane is last year's retrospective of Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street.Creative, original, and generally icky, just like your hosts.Stick around to the end where the gang talks about their favorite (and least liked) Halloween candy.

Send us a textBack in the 70s, most things were designed to ruin children. Jarts, doctors smoking in the exam room, steel playgrounds, and television movies about kids getting killed. So naturally, we decided to review the most egregious of these, Salem's Lot. Mostly tame by today's standards, this Stephen King vampire classic broke our little brains and we're pretty bitter about it.Stick around to the end when we measure ourselves up against Elle Magazine's top 25 Halloween movies.  The horror.

Send us a textHorror, dread, and misery. And that's just Keanu's accent. Gary Oldman is serving generous amounts of holiday ham in this campy, unintentionally hilarious 90's horror classic.Not to be outdone Anthony Hopkins goes full batcrap crazy here too.  But it's all okay because our Sweet Winona looks over us all.The best part for your grumpy hosts however is the presence of our favorite Alaskan homesteader-baker-warrior-ice queen-super cool @mollsmusings sitting in for this one.

Send us a textWe're bringing our Dominos pizza and a two liter Coke downstairs to the rumpus room for another late night viewing of the greatest cult horror comedy ever made.  Violent, gross, disturbing, yet never not hilarious.Even better, everyone's favorite veterinarian, Dr K. joins the gang to offer some ridiculously astute and off the wall observations that our hosts have never truly  recovered from.  

Send us a textCool teen vampires? No way!  We're going back to the glorious 80s this week when a movie like this one would be celebrated by the masses. Is it as good in the rear view mirror? Well sadly, one of your hosts gets violently and copiously sick reliving this one if that's any indication.  See if you can guess which one!After some mopping up and apologizing, the gang test their movie chops by calculating how many of Empire Magazine's 50 greatest horror movies they've actually seen.  The results are as embarrassing as ever.

Send us a textTo honor last year's Halloween BooNanza, we've decided to re-release those spooky episodes every Saturday this October to introduce them to our new friends while still managing to annoy our regular fans.This one features our favorite vinyl archivist, @aron_gagliardo as we violate our tender sensibilities reviewing this 1974 Tobe Hooper classic. Bitch hogs unite! 

Send us a textThis week the boys review this adorable story of American entrepreneurship, love, and pelicans. Al Pacino's iconic, if not over-the-top, performance has developed its own archetype of cinema that's often imitated, rarely duplicated.  Show favorite, Michelle Pfeiffer owns the screen only with a few eye rolls and the lethal combo of Brian DePalma and Oliver Stone do the rest.  Did we mention the chainsaws?Stick around for the end where the boys discuss other movies and performances that defined the eras they represented.

Send us a textIs it finally happening?  Did a Yoko-type infiltrate and cause the inevitable break up we all saw coming since Twister released in 2022?In a word: nahWe simply wanted to let you know about some upcoming show news and a slight schedule change for this fall. No, we're not skimping out on any episodes.  You're still gonna get all the episodes you paid for.  Hey.  Wait a minute.....

Send us a textBereft of new ideas, Hollywood has again taken another of our classic movies to reintroduce it to a new audience and we're starting to take it personally.  These are our movies, damn it.  Make up your own ones!Okay, tantrum over.This time were going back to the glorious original, Betelgeuese from 1988. Keaton is cool and Winona is cute. And that was all we needed.Stick around to our morbid take on movies about the afterlife. We, ourselves are, strange and unusual.

Send us a textWhat if Evel Kneivel and and Ed Wood had a baby? Broken Arrow, that's what.  Travolta is a proper cured Virginia ham in this John Woo action adventure and we cant get enough of it.  Long admired behind the scenes, the boys let there feelings out with extreme prejudice.  Inspired by cute, little Samantha Mathis, we also talk about our favorite ingenues of the 80s and 90s.This is one's a Grumpy Nostalgia new favorite.  Aint it cool?

Send us a Text Message.Why go to a theater to see an 8th sequel of Alien, when you can simply revisit the franchise from the comfort of your own ear buds?  Inspired by the new release of Alien: Romulus, the boys remastered their early take on the Alien series with new content, new audio, and new embarrassing discourse!  Only about a dozen of you heard this the first time so we don't wanna hear any guff about repurposing old episodes.  More work went into remastering this episode than the recording of the original and we're childishly bitter about it. So that's good.Game over, man!

Send us a Text Message.Just when we thought we were out.  The boys get a chip on their shoulder this week, defending this often maligned finale.  By today's standards this movie could easily sweep the Oscars, but back then, a bunch of film school drop-outs had a serious case of sour grapes and the rest was history. We suppose they practiced  trolling Sophia Coppola to later refine their skills for the likes of Jake Lloyd and Ahmed Best.Regardless, the Godfather quotes fly furiously, and we finally read some mail only to realize that our fanbase is moderately disturbed (in a good way).

Send us a Text Message.We finally hit 88 miles an hour this week, with a look back at this 80s classic. It's as good as you remember, but, true to form, the boys manage to find just enough cringe to make you feel slightly embarrassed. (hey, it's what they do). Jammin music, awesome cast, and one of Hollywood's most perfect scripts, there's really no reason to not listen to this one, kids.Plus the boys talk about their other favorite time travel movies just for fun and wonder why they're craving Pepsi for some reason.Heavy!

Send us a Text Message.Get a head start on the upcoming (and questionable) AppleTV reboot by porting back to this 1981 fever dream of a movie.  There's too much weird to count here, but the boys slog through this confusing, but often hilarious Python-based scifi adventure.For your pleasure, the boys wrap up this episode with another look back at the pop culture exposures we saw as kids that scarred us for life.

Send us a Text Message.Despite all our rage we are still going back to Nic Cage.  This one seems a little more tolerable in that its more an extended music video rather than a movie.  But hey!  It's too hot to do anything else right now so why not?Fast cars, loose dialogue, a blond, dread-locked Angie and more stereotyped characters than you can count.  What more do yo need?  Plus, this time the boys talk about their favorite car movies and the results need some time in the shop. Let's ride!

We're taking a look at Spielberg's masterpiece this week.  Not usually the first movie you associate with Steve, but arguably his best.  Plus, the boys spend some time remembering how great the 70s were for being mischievous little boys. Stick around to the end to make fun of our list of favorite "little green men" movies.

Madhouse, indeed.  The boys go back to the future this week to review the glorious original Planet of the Apes.  Fresh after a recent viewing of the latest Apes movie (in an actual theater) our hosts were inspired to go back to the Forbidden Zone to re-watch this iconic sci-fi classic and, more importantly, take a few more shots at the Tim Burton abomination while they were at it.  Inspired by spite, the boys also look at other remake-proof movies and the futile attempts Hollywood has attempted  over the years.As a human, you must listen!

Angie's eyebrow is the real star here.  A mish-mosh video game movie set to Matrix music and a lot of titillation. (Pun definitely intended).  Tomb Raider is a neat example of how Hollywood came kicking and screaming into the female action lead era.  Is it good? No.  Has it redeemed itself over time? Also no. To conclude the "Trail of Tears" mini-series, the boys take an internet poll to see if they've seen as many classic films as the average film-avoiding millennial.  The results may shock and horrify you.

Who knew the bass player from Dogstar was also an actor? This time the boys go back to the Y2K era to relook at this innovative sci-fi epic.  Bullets are flying and the techno is thumping, but that's not enough for one of our grumpy hosts, who seems to have some legitimate, yet petty issues with this one.  What a jerk!Stick around for the conclusion of "Loser Talk" where the boys review the top half of the "50 Worst Movies of the 90s List" to see how many of them they've seen. Or maybe take the blue pill instead.

Return to sender.  Think of a movie you dont really like, add 38 minutes, and you have the Postman.  The boys start their "The Trail of Tears" mini-series this week with a look back at yet another post-apocolyptic  world saved by baby Jesus Kevin Costner. He writes, directs, stars, and even sings the ending credits song!  Way to hog the movie, K!Stick around for the end where our cohosts review a list of the worst movies of the nineties to see how many of them they've sat through.  Play along at home if you enjoy pain.

One episode couldn't do this one justice, so the boys present a special two-parter in order to squeeze in all the pew pew pews, the red sateen, the tiny tinyHawk Men shorts, and more cheese than we deserve.  Plus, we share our takes on some famous ambiguous endings in film.

He'll save every one of us!!  The boys finally cover our favorite 80s HBO mainstay, Flash Gordon.   Flash and the gang face off against the glorious villain Ming the Merciless (who could easily take Thanos's lunch money). There's ridiculous special effects, very short Hawk-Men shorts, and a Queen soundtrack that will crush your face.  We promise this will be the best 52 min, 28 sec of your day.

We're throwing in an extra "episode" this week to fill the hole created by our new release schedule.  Shiny new episodes start in a few days, but in the meantime, we humbly ask all y'all to revisit this very special episode in the show's history.  A personal favorite of both your hosts, this review of the glorious Superman 2 really represented a turning point in the development of the podcast.  Grumpy Nostalgia started to come together after this one and it was the first episode we actually felt confident enough to ask people to listen to.  We were probably wrong.

Arnold takes out the intergalactic trash in this jungle epic.  Half action movie, half monster movie, Predator laid the groundwork for the modern summer blockbuster (remember them?) There's biceps at every turn and kickass performances from Jesse the Body, Carl Weathers, and just about everyone else.To make things even more fun, super-cool @mollsmusings joins the squad this week to play AFI Fight Club!  How many of the Top 25 Heart Pounding Movies has the crew actually seen?  The results are both shocking and appalling.  

Pain don't hurt, but this movie does (in all the best ways).  Patrick Swayze's hair stars as the shirtless, chain-smoking philosophy major who beats up a lot of rowdy beer drinkers.  And if that wasn't enough, there's Sam Eliot's moustache, Kelly Lynch, Ben Gazarra, and wrestler Terry Funk all in a plot that would make Shakespeare jealous.Plus this week were also discussing our favorite fight scenes, the Domino's Noid, and Donny Osmond doing push ups.  Why are you still reading this?  Listen now!

We're back in the theater this week to take another look at Tron, the much maligned but visionary tale from 1982 Disney.  The first film to employ computer generated graphics, this innovative movie paved the way for Jar Jar, Green Lantern, and the Scorpion King.  Wait, what?The boys also talk about their other favorite horrible CGI moments and 80s wuss rock so there's plenty here for everybody.

In this week's grumpy nugget episode, the boys present the first in a series of episodes dedicated to the phenomenon of nostalgia and it's impact on modern pop culture.  But don't let that pretentious concept fool you, what they're really doing is goofing on all the recent trends ripping off stuff done years ago and claiming it for themselves.  And what better place to start than with their own podcast.

In ancient times, Hollywood made grown up crime thrillers and released them in theaters.  I know, right? This week the boys go back revisit an already old Harrison Ford in one of his best, yet least talked about performances as the wrongly accused doctor  being pursued by Tommy Lee Jones.  An action  blockbuster that never needed its plot summarized on a collector's cup.  Plus we talk about other "wrongfully accused" movies and actually sound insightful for once.  Well, sorta.

The boys get soft this week and review a romantic comedy for Valentines and the awkwardness in palpable.  Turns out this genre is not as cringe as they were lead to believe.  It helps that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan knock this amazing screenplay out of the park.Fall in love all over again as the boys talk about romance, loss, and Big League Chew for some reason.

Good?  No.  Bad?  Sure, but who cares?  The boys open season 4 with one of their most-feared attempts, the fourth installment of Batman.  Clooney, Uma, and Arnold serve more cheese than any movie goer should ever have to endure.  Most critics think they're super clever ragging on this one.  Congratulations you're a genius.  We choose to embrace and behold.  We come not to bury, but to jump in the bat hole too.

The boys squeeze into their high school prom tuxedos to hand out awards for the most notorious achievements from  last season 's movie picks.  There's pomp, circumstance, and more wigs than anyone should ever ask for.  Do not dismiss this as a pretentious, self-serving clip show.  We implore you.  This season 3 retrospective honors all our new friends that contributed this year as well as coming attractions for Season 4, set to debut Feb 4!