RetroPerspective

Mike and John recap 1994 and share their Top Ten lists for the year.

This is it! Mike and John's grand experiment comes to an end as they review the final weeks of 1994, which gave us such the controversial comic gem Dumb and Dumber, the trainwreck disasterpiece Mixed Nuts, British import The Madness of King George, Robert Altman's Pret a Porter, and a bevvy of other films that wanted to be awards contenders...or were trying to get released with as little embarrassment as possible.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that unleashed Queen Margot (OK?), Disclosure (based on a book by Michael Crichton and directed by Barry Levinson, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore) and...Drop Zone (based on a fever dream, probably, starring Wesley Snipes and lots of parachutes)!So which were they able to see? Which were they able to tolerate? Which had a zanier ending? Which prompted a serious social discussion, and which has Gary Busey? When will I stop asking questions???You'll never know...unless you listen to RetroPerspective and/or possess the will to research it all yourself! But we did all this work, so why not listen?

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that brought us Tom & Viv, Trapped in Paradise, and Cobb, which was totally supposed to be Oscar bait but missed it by a country mile.

Mike and John tackle November with gusto, catching up with Thanksgiving week and finding just where their tastes diverge with films as diverse as The Santa Clause, Interview with the Vampire, The Professional, Star Trek Generations, Junior, Three Colors: Red, The Pagemaster, and a whole host of other turkeys as they enter the final leg of their re-examination of 1994.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that gave us Double Dragon, Floundering, Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Oleanna, and the Kevin Costner award-bait vehicle The War.

John and Mike revisit the week in 1994 that gave us the socially-conscious Drop Squad, the historically-focused curiosity The Road to Wellville, the mysteriously difficult to find Silent Fall, the Disney release Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale, and the movie that made Deviln & Emmerich a Hollywood force to reckon with......Stargate starring Kurt Russell, James Spader, and John's fascination with Kurt Russell.

​John and Mike are back and they're catching up on 1994, covering some exciting weeks which include Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, Shawshank Redemption, and whatever the hell else might've come out during that time.We appreciate your patience as we worked to get the show back up and running! If you want to yell at Mike about it on Twitter or Letterboxd, look for him @mumbles3k. To blame John, seek @kesseljunkie.But it's a massive, super-sized return to form, and this was worth the wait! We think. Thanks for listening!

John & Mike revisit a week that had a lot of stinkers, but they both watched the one that Rotten Tomatoes loved best: "What Happened Was..." written and directed by Tom Noonan. They also talk about urban legends having to do with legendary baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. (not) beating up his good friend Kevin Costner, and John's determination to pay more attention to Rotten Tomatoes ratings for the rest of their visit through 1994.

John and Mike rewind to 1994 and visit the week that saw the release of Natural Born Killers, John Candy's last film Wagons East!, the heartfelt period drama Corrina, Corrina, Camp Nowhere, and The Advocate.

Mike and John cover THREE WEEKS of movies, which ultimately ends up with Mike having to endure a Naked Bruce Willis in a year marked by Naked Bruce Willis movies.

Mike and John revisit a week in 1994 that gave us Barcelona, Black Beauty, Foreign Student, It Could Happen to You, and the Jim Carrey hit The Mask.

Mike and John revsisit the week in 1994 that saw the John Grisham craze continue with The Client, Disney resurrect Lassie, the BBC release a Message Movie called Just Like a Woman, and Rob Reiner's North...a movie that Roger Ebert hated so much he titled a book with a quote about how much he hated it.

This week John & Mike revisit the week in 1994 that brought us True Lies, Angels in the Outfield, and a bunch of other movies that are hard as hell to track down 25 years later.Seriously, you'd think that you'd be able to find just about anything streaming nowadays, *especially* weird independent cinema. Providers keep screaming for content! Well, it's right there.And don't even get me started on how you have to see True Lies. Sign up for Cinemax as part of an add-on to Amazon Prime. I mean, sure, we're all gonna cancel after a movie or two have been watched, but at least make the thing rentable. It's the 21st Century for pete's sake!

This week in 1994 saw the release of Go Fish, Sex, Drugs & Democracy, and the eventual winner of the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture, Forrest Gump.Many people love the film Forrest Gump! Except Mike. Mike does not. There were two other movies released this week in 1994, too, but let's be honest - the argument that springs out of their disagreement about Gump may be their most spirited yet!

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that saw the release of I Love Trouble, Little Big League, Baby’s Day Out, Blown Away, and The Shadow. John saw two of these in the theater...can you guess which?

This week in 1994 saw the release of two films. Wyatt Earp, the second biopic in six months about the legendary lawman best known now for the shootout at the OK Corral. Starring Kevin Costner, with a supporting cast including Michael Madsen, Tom Sizemore, Bill Pullman, Tea Leoni, Catherine O'Hara, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rosellini, JoBeth Williams, Jeff Fahey, and a physically-transformed Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday, this epic was directed and co-written by the legendary Lawrence Kasdan. Does it hold up?The other film released went on to become a beloved classic that cemented Disney's revival as an animation powerhouse known for regularly releasing smash success stories embraced by audiences young and old. Except for Mike, who doesn't really care for The Lion King.

Mike and John revisit the week that brought the Mike Nichols/Jack Nicholson collaboration, Wolf, which also featured James Spader and Michelle Pfeiffer.The same week saw the release of the kid-friendly comedy directed by Howard Deutch, Getting Even with Dad, featuring Ted Danson and Macaulay Culkin.Which was the better movie? Or were there no real winners this week?

Mike and John revisit the week that brought us the Keanu Reeves hit "Speed," the execrable "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold," and the foreign language darling, "Three Colors: White." But mostly it's about "Speed," or as Homer Simpson called it, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."

Mike (@mumbles3k) and John (@kesseljunkie) return to the week in 1994 that brought us A Gift from Heaven, Grief, Fear of a Black Hat, The Endless Summer 2, The Cowboy Way, and Renaissance Man.

Mike and John revisit Memorial Day weekend 1994, which saw the release of Desperate Remedies, Beverly Hills Cop III, Little Buddha, & The Flintstones.

Mike and John revisit the weeks of 5/6 and 5/13 in 1994, which saw the release of Being Human, Crooklyn, and the seminal superhero work, The Crow.Of the features released, The Crow, Brandon Lee's final film due to the tragic accident that occurred on-set, seems to have had the most lasting impact and the most favorable memories.Do you have any memories of The Crow? Do you agree with their shared assessment? Let them know!

Mike and John are back, revisiting the the last two weeks of April 1994.April 22, 1994 gave us Bad Girls, Chasers, and The Inkwell. April 27, 1994 gave us You So Crazy, Martin Lawrence's concert movie. April 29, 1994 gave us The Favor, I Am My Own Woman, the Ray Liotta thriller No Escape, the college comedy PCU, The Secret Rapture, and the college drama, With Honors.

Mike and John explore the week in 1994 which saw the release of Naked in New York, Serial Mom, Living Buddha, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Backbeat, Cops and Robbersons, In Custody, Surviving the Game, Two Small Bodies, and Disney's White Fang 2: Myth of the White Wolf.Navigating these films this week was another joyous challenge, and not an easy one for making a pick.As you can see, the releases are all over the board. Without Googling it, can you guess which one features an Academy Award-winner, a star from Blade Runner, a major cast member from Alien 3, and...a heavy metal gangsta rapper?

Mike and John revisit the sole release from this week in 1994, "Threesome." Starring Lara Flynn Boyle, Josh Charles, and Stephen Baldwin, it explores the sexual mores of the era and tries to deconstruct them to tell a human tale of three people attempting to make sense of their blossoming sexuality. Set on a college campus where a woman is accidentally boarded with two men, their relationships take on both antagonistic and sexual edges that they don't quite expect or know how to handle. And one of the hosts of this show is curious if the other can help him discover why he didn't like it one bit.

25 years ago this week, studios were hoping to capitalize on families gathering for the Easter weekend. Movie theaters saw a veritable flood of new releases. Don Bluth continued to challenge the Disney machine with Thumbelina, featuring music by Barry Manilow. Barry Levinson cast Joe Pesci as Jimmy Hollywood. Charlie Sheen and Tom Berenger tried to capture another box office pennant with Major League II. Martin Short and Charles Grodin tried to charm their way to some laughs with Clifford.Rounding out the releases, with something for the adults to enjoy on their own, they could select from the dramas Zero Patience, The House of the Spirits, or A Tale of Winter.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that saw the release of The Blue Kite, D2L The Mighty Ducks, and Above the Rim, a basketball-high school-family-coming-of-age-inner-city-crime-drama featuring Tupac Shakur and Leon.

Mike and John continue walking through 1994 as they encounter the week that released Bitter Moon, Oh, Woe is Me, Monkey Trouble, Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, The Paper, and Suture.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that saw the release of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Guarding Tess, The Hudsucker Proxy, Lightning Jack, and The Ref.

Mike and John revisit this week in 1994, which saw the release of Angie, The Chase, China Moon, Greedy, Latcho Drom (Safe Journey), Sirens, and Where the Rivers Flow North.Which did they see? Which was promised as a forgotten awards contender? Which was a movie that one of the hosts refuses to see ever, ever again?

Mike and John's adventure through 1994 continues! This week their choices were Woyzeck, Deadfall, 8 Seconds, Savage Nights, and Sugar Hill. Which struck a chord, and which one is now legendarily ensconced as the most over-the-top Nicolas Cage performance they've ever seen? Spoliers: You've got to hear them talk about Deadfall.But there are some worth observances about other fare as well, from how much bull is in 8 Seconds to how Wesley Snipes traveled from New Jack City to Sugar Hill.

Mike and John continue their tour through 1994 with a week celebrating the release of William Friedkin's Blue Chips, Steven Seagal's On Deadly Ground, and Gen-X darling Reality Bites.

Mike and John continue their review of 1994 with the week of film releases from the week ending February 11. Audiences had to decide between Twogether, My Girl 2, Blank Check, or The Getaway...or all four? For it is terribly difficult to decide between a starring vehicle for Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger, something directed by John Cassevetes, a sequel to a charming surprise hit about childhood, or grist for the Disney mill.

Mike and John continue their review of 1994 with the week of film releases from the week ending February 4. Among the contenders that week was "My Father, the Hero," which was supposed to launch the American career of Gerard Depardieu with much fanfare...except it released against the unstoppable freight train of Jim Carrey in "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective." The week also included "Silent Tongue," River Phoenix's last released screen appearance, "I'll Do Anything" with Nick Nolte, Italian film "Fiorile," and "Romeo is Bleeding" with Gary Oldman.

Mike and John examine the 1994 film "Blink" and the supporting evidence it provides for the 1990s being held in sway by what they call "The Eszterhas Effect." Along the way, they share some fun stories from their own memories of 1994, the omnipresence of the Irish influence on the broader culture, and trade a few observations about the film's larger authenticity.They also ask the questions, "Is January almost over?" and "Are 1994 films getting better?" Then they present the larger slate of films on the docket for next week!Join them on their continuing, fun journey exploring 25 Years Ago on Film!

Mike and John look at the forgotten 1994 Richard Gere drama, Intersection. Also starring Sharon Stone, Martin Landau, and Lolita Davidovitch, the RetroPerspective team discusses what the film says about the time in which it was made. They also discuss the predominance of this formula for romantic dramas in the 1990s, and what it might have been telling us about the psyche of Hollywood.

1994, Week 2: Mike & John discuss Body Snatchers at 25 years later, determining what worked and what didn't, the emotional ethics of using children as an emotional cheat in a horror picture...and then start discussing video releases of Star Wars that were being released around the same time.They share the only choice open for next week as well: Intersection, starring Richard Gere, Sharon Stone, Lolita Davidovitch, and Martin Landau!Be sure to subscribe to the show here on Spreaker, on iTunes, or anywhere else podcasts are available!

Join Mike Schindler and John Mills as they start a special journey examining the hallmark film year 1994, with a look at "Cabin Boy" and "Dangerous Game."

RetroPerspective tackles Halloween H20 & Resurrection in this "You Can't Kill the Boogeyman" series.

RetroPerspective tackles Halloween V in this "You Can't Kill the Boogeyman" series.

RetroPerspective tackles Halloween III & IV in this "You Can't Kill the Boogeyman" series.

RetroPerspective tackles Halloween II (1981) in this "You Can't Kill the Boogeyman" series.