THE BIG 4-0

Happy Memorial Day weekend everybody, and Happy BIG 4-0 to three films that make up a curious holiday weekend/summer-kick-off slate. It was a different time for the official kick-off of the summer movie season 40 years ago. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and, HEY, YOU GUYS!!!; we'll see you next week!

To win a BIG 4-0 you gotta become the BIG 4-0. But do we get to win this time? Find out as we celebrate 40 years of RAMBO II, RAPPIN', and BREWSTER'S MILLIONS. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week to wish a shaken and stirred BIG 4-0 to A VIEW TO A KILL, FLETCH, and BRAZIL. Join us for the celebration with a Bloody Mary, a steak sandwich... and a steak sandwich.

Say a happy BIG 4-0 with Ron and Peter to Chuck Norris' first truly good movie(?), Johnny Depp's first theatrical staring role in another tropical sex farce, and the only movie in history (citation needed) with the balls to ask, "What if gymnastics AND karate??". Please Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week with three more big 1985 releases celebrating their BIG 4-0!

Happy BIG-40 to Burt Reynolds kicking-off his middling bid to become a Bronson/Norris-level 80s action star and pulling double duty as director in the Elmore Leonard adapted potboiler STICK, and Bruce Springsteen's former girlfriend (who knew?!) Joyce Hyser in the gender-swap teen comedy granddaddy JUST ONE OF THE GUYS. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week with another three-fer: CODE OF SCILENCE, PRIVATE RESORT, and GYMKATA!

It's a triplet birthday celebration of some very 1985 films turning THE BIG 4-0 this week, each with some serious behind-the-camera names: Neil Jordan's THE COMANY OF WOLVES, Stephen King's CAT'S EYE, and Richard Donner's LADYHAWKE. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to celebrate THE BIG 4-0's of JUST ONE OF THE GUYS and Burt Reynolds in STICK.

What it do, BIG 4-0 Heads?! This week we're blowing out 40 candles for two big, recognizable 80's titles: the second in the insanely long-running POLICE ACADEMY franchise: POLICE ACADEMY 2: THEIR FIRST ASSIGNMENT. And the second movie to feature Madonna already this year, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSUAN. Please remeber to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week with WOLVES and HAWKES and CATS. Oh my!

This week, Ron geeks-out celebrating THE BIG 4-0 of his childhood hero He-Man's big screen debut - in which The Most Powerful Man In Universe discovers he has a long-lost twin sister. It's He-Man and She-Ra in THE SECRET OF THE SWORD. And for good measure, we're also wishing a happy BIG 4-0 to their CHRISTMAS SPECIAL as well. We also discuss ANORA (again), LONGLEGS, and EXIT WOUNDS. But mostly its a deep dive into one of the greatest cartoons, toy lines, and superheroes (and villain) of all-time. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week with POLICE ACADEMY 2 and DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN.

This week, Jason is back... again... on the pod. Ron and Peter slice and dice the BIG 4-0 birthday cake for FRIDAY THE 13th: A NEW BEGINNING, and sho' nuff we're also throwing a party for Bruce Leroy in THE LAST DRAGON. Please remember to Rate, Like, Subscribe, and kiss our Converse; and we'll be back next week with the most powerful man in the universe... and his sister, as we wish a happy BIG 4-0 to a childhood (and in Ron's case a borderline creepy adulthood) favorite, THE SECRET OF THE SWORD.

This week on THE BIG 4-0, Ron and Peter discover one of the best and one of the worst movies of the year. Find out which is which of these two films - VARIETY and MALIBU EXPRESS - that most of our listeners have likely never heard of (we know we said we were doing MASK but you know what, fuck streaming, as we discuss). We also bid a sad farewell to one of our favorites, Gene Hackman (a story that has only gotten sadder since we recorded this episode just a few days ago), and briefly discuss our thoughts on the 2025 Oscars, which took place this past week. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to wish FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING and THE LAST DRAGON a very happy BIG 4-0!

This week Ron and Peter blow out 40 big ones for John Cusack in THE SURE THING and Chuck Norris in MISSING IN ACTION 2. We are posting this episode a few days late because Peter fell ill and because we forgot February only has 28 days. Please Remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to talk VARIETY and MALIBU EXPRESS. We know most of you probably haven't heard of these films, but trust us when we say you'll want to tune in and help us wish them a happy BIG 4-0!

Another slow week in 1985, so instead of celebrating any BIG 4-0's this week, Ron and Peter take a look back at two supernatural police thrillers from the 1990's with strikingly similar storylines: Lou Diamond Phillips in THE FIRST POWER and Denzel Washington leading an all-star cast in FALLEN. As always, please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back in 1985 next week to wish a Happy BIG 4-0 to John Cusack in THE SURE THING and Chuck Norris in MISSING IN ACTION 2!

This week Ron and Peter celebrate the BIG 4-0's of John Hughes' seminal THE BREAKFAST CLUB - with Peter's daughter Sam returning to the show to help us out), Matthew Modine in VISION QUEST, and Albert Brooks and Julie Hagerty are LOST IN AMERICA. But the big news is WE GOT OPENING MUSIC!!! (The tune, by the way, is called THE BREAKFAST CLUB BREAKOUT - how appropriate!) Now we just have to get our mic issues under control and we'll be a real podcast... in Season 3! Better late than never; much like reviewing these films turning 40 this week. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week with a bonus episode comparing and contrasting two cop-meets-supernatural thrillers: THE FIRST POWER (1990) and FALLEN (1998).

February 8th, 1985 saw the box office births of Harrison Ford in Peter Weir's WITNESS and Kelly Preston in the teen-sex comedy MISCHIEF; and we are here on February 8th, 2025 to celebrate their BIG 4-0s! Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; be back next week to celebrate a triplet birthday party when we blow out the candles for THE BREAKFAST CLUB, VISION QUEST, and LOST IN AMERICA.

Apologies, 4-0 HEADS, but we went waaaay off the rails with this one (though we're told these are your favorite episodes, you sick puppies). A bevy of topics are discussed around our near-Big 3-0 discussion of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez's January of 1996 gonzo collaboration/genre hybrid FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, including the results of the Packers' playoff bid, drugs and alcohol, male objectification, gay porn, and potential music options if we ever get our asses in gear and try to turn this into a legit podcast with intro and outro music (next up: quality mics!). Apologies also to FANDANGO and THE FALCON AND THE SNOWMAN, but after this episode, ain't nobody got time for that. Please remember to Rate, Like, Subscribe and not hold this against us in our real lives (!), and we'll be back in 1985 next week with WITNESS and MISCHIEF!

This week, Ron and Peter wish a happy BIG 4-0 to the first of several post-GREMLINS murderous-little-creatures flicks, GHOULIES; and the sequel to 1982's 1990: THE BRONX WARRIORS (which Ron also briefly reviews), ESCAPE FROM THE BROX (aka BRONX WARRIORS 2 and ESCAPE 2000 - though I'm not sure it's ever confirmed in the film that it takes place ten years after the original). We also review a current holiday-movie-season leftover, Netflix's CARRY-ON, which has been compared to DIE HARD 2. Find out what we think of that... Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and despite what we say at the end of this episode, we called an audible and will instead be back next week with a bonus episode devoted to the almost-30-year-old FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, which was released in theaters in January of 1996.

Happy New Year, BIG 4-0 Heads! This week, Ron and Petter kick off 1985 and Season 3 of THE BIG 4-0 with what might just be our most "loose" episode yet as we are in, let's just say festive spirits, celebrating the BIG 4-0's of the released-almost-one-year-to-the-day sequel to last year's ANGEL, AVENGING ANGEL, and the Coen Brothers' first film BLOOD SIMPLE. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week - perhaps more coherently - to wish GHOULIES and ESCAPE FROM THE BRONX a BIG 4-0!

Merry Christmas, Big 4-0 Babies! Our last episode of the year - as per tradition - Ron and Peter each count down their ten favorite films of 1984. Our holiday gift to all of you is two episodes in as many days... You're welcome! Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back in two weeks or so to kick off Season 3 of THE BIG 4-0 and 1985!! From Ron and Peter, thanks for a great year everybody!

In our penultimate episode of the season, Ron and Peter boogaloo out of 1984 with the sequel to BREAKIN', which was released earlier THIS YEAR(!), and Michael Keaton, Joe Piscopo, and Danny DeVito in the 134th throwback to prohibition era films from 1984, JOHNNY DANGEROUSLY. We also take a look at Sylvester Stallone and an all-star cast playing in a similar milieu in 1991's OSCAR. Before all that though, Ron's TERRIFIER 2 and pizza odyssey, and his shithead dog Lorenzo makes a cameo throughout. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back one more time this year with our annual year-end BEST OF episode next week!

40 years since Jeff Bridges played E.T. and Magnum PI took down killer robots and the lead singer of KISS?? GTFO! Ron and Peter discuss! Also, Ron watched a bunch of movies, including some classic Hitchcock and both WINNIE THE POOH: BLOOD AND HONEY movies. And we continue our discussion about the current Thanksgiving box office juggernauts. Party time!

This week we celebrate The Big 4-0's of David Lynch's DUNE and Francis Ford Coppola's THE COTTON CLUB. We also bid a-deux to Ron and Peter's hometown legend and 1/3 of the ZAZ Team, Jim Abrahams, who we got word passed away a few hours before we recorded this episode. RIP. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week to wish a happy 40th birthday to Jeff Bridges in STARMAN and Tom Selleck in RUNAWAY!

Happy Thanksgiving, BIG 4-0 Heads! Consider this early release your Black Friday special from your very thankful-for-all-of-you-listening BIG 4-0 hosts Ron and Peter as we celebrate the BIG 4-0 of the massively successful (highest grossing movie of 1984 worldwide - in a year with GHOSTBUSTERS, INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, and GREMLINS!) Eddie Murphy breakout BEVERLY HILLS COP, and the would-be coup of teaming two of the biggest stars in the world coming out of the '70s, Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds in CITY HEAT. We also do a deep dive into bearer bonds and introduce a potential new BIG 4-0 co-host... Please remember to Rate, Like, Subscribe, and have a happy holiday; and we'll be back in a week-and-change to tackle DUNE and THE COTTON CLUB!

This week Ron and Peter celebrate the 40th birthdays of two franchise films - of sorts: The SUPERMAN spin-off SUPERGIRL, and an early party for the belated sequel to Stanley Kubrick's seminal 2001: A SPACE ODYSEY, 2010: THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT, which was actually released a couple weeks from now, in December of 1984. And Peter reviews TERRIFIER 3 while Ron tries to wrap his head around the unlikely love for this gore-porn franchise. As always, please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to say a Happy BIG 4-0 to BEVERLY HILLS COP and CITY HEAT!

Welcome back, 4-0 Heads! This week we celebrate the BIG 4-0's of Chuck Norris and his beginnings of a long and beautiful (?) relationship with the Cannon Group with the you-asked-for-it Rambo knock-off MISSING IN ACTION. We also look at the B-movie riff NIGHT OF THE COMET. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week to blow out 4-0 big ones for SUIPERGIRL and 2010: THE YEAR WE MAKE CONTACT!

This week Ron and Peter welcome their long-lost friend Steve to the podcast to wish a Happy BIG 4-0 to two legendary (albeit for different reasons) '80s horror films, both opening on November 9th, 1984: Wes Crven's classic A NIGHTMAREE ON ELM STREET, which introduced the world to iconic slasher Freddy Krueger, and the controversial Christmas-themed slasher SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT. As always, please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe (otherwise, PUNISH!), and we'll be back next week to blow out 40 big ones for Chuck Norris in MISSING IN ACTION and the B-movie send-up NIGHT OF THE COMET.

This week on THE BIG 4-0 Ron and Peter celebrate two of the biggest directors of our generation with James Cameron's seminal THE TERMINATOR and Brian DePalma's not-so-seminal BODY DOUBLE. As always please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week, just in time for Halloween, with two notorious, iconic (albeit for different reasons) 80's horror flicks that just happened to come out on the same weekend in 1984: A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET and SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT, and we'll have our buddy Steve with us to discuss how these films have aged as they celebrate their BIG 4-0!

Same as it ever was, Ron and Peter are wishing a happy BIG 4-0 to two wildly different 1984 films turning 40 this week, the Talking Heads concert film STOP MAKING SENSE, and Wim Wenders' episodic character study PARIS, TEXAS. Warning or Bonus depending on how your mileage varies, but we also spend the first 11 minutes on an epilogue to last week's Steven Seagal episode. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and WE'LL BE BACK next week to wish THE TERMINATOR and BODY DOUBLE a Happy BIG 4-0!

On this special episode of THE BIG 4-0, Ron and Peter look back at the first SEVEN films from one of our childhood action heroes, Steven Seagal. ABOVE THE LAW (1988), HARD TO KILL (1990), MARKED FOR DEATH (1990), OUT FOR JUSTICE (1991), UNDER SIEGE (1992), his directorial debut ON DEADLY GROUND (1994), and his only theatrical sequel and arguably the end of his run as a major box office draw, UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (1995). That's a lot of films and a lot of ground to cover, so apologies if we didn't do each film or his entire career justice. There are a lot of interesting discussion points left on the table, many touched on, but not fully explored - such as a deeper dive into his past and wild background claims (CIA and/or mob ties?), excellent/interesting supporting cast members we mention but don't trace the arc of their careers as we normally would (Sharron Stone, Pam Grier, Kelly LeBrock, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Tommy lee Jones, Gary Busy, Erika Eleniak, Michael Cain, John C. McGinley, Joan Chen, Billy Bob Thornton, Eric Bogosian, Evert McGill, Morris Chestnut, and Kathrine Heigel, among others), how he always uses a .45 pistol the way Riggs and McClane always use a Baretta, his badass Bronco in MARKED FOR DEATH, the fact that he looks great - damn near hunky - at 40, no less, in UNDER SIEGE, Bassil Poledouris' awesome ON DEADLY GROUND score, and Seagal's music career (two actually-not-bad blues albums!), post-theatrical-direct-to-DVD period, TV career (A&E's LAWMAN), his fashion, political beliefs, and his legal troubles, both as an accused sexual predator and a falling-out with his producing partner Julius Nasso, which led to a real-life Seagal/mob altercation - but as a focus on just these seven films, how they've aged, and where we each rank them in his filmography, it's an in-depth, fun, and revelatory episode. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back in 1984 next time to burn down the house celebrating STOP MAKING SENSE and PARIS, TEXAS's BIG 4-0s!

Continuing/concluding wishing a Happy BIG 4-0 to the big releases of September 21st, 1984; we have come to the Oscar-winning PLACES IN THE HEART staring Sally Field, Danny Glover, and John Malkovich; as well as Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin - reuniting with his THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS director, Carl Rheiner - in the body-swap comedy ALL OF ME. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week with a bonus episode looking back at the first (and arguably best) SEVEN (!!!) Steven Seagal films!

This week Ron and Peter celebrate the BIG 4-0's of two wildly different films, both released on September 21, 1984: The multiple-Oscar-winning AMADEUS, and Charles Bronson in THE EVIL THAT MEN DO, a film that strangely wasn't even nominated for any Oscars. We also discuss the recent releases BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE and TRAP. Next week, we're staying on September 21, as two other notable 1984 releases celebrate their BIG 4-0's: Sally Field, Danny Glover, and John Malkovich in the depression-era drama PLACES IN THE HEART, and Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in the body-swap comedy, ALL OF ME. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll see you next week!

This week on THE BIG 4-0, Ron and Peter celebrate the end of the ENTER THE NINJA trilogy with NINJA III: THE DOMINATION and wish a Happy BIG 4-0 to Cannon Films' ultraviolent DEATH WISH riff sequel EXTERMINATOR 2, reviewing its 1980 predecessor THE EXTERMINATOR as well. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to rock Oscar-winner AMADEUS and Charles Bronson as he investigates THE EVIL MEN DO on their BIG 4-0's.

This week Peter's niece Isabelle and her boyfriend Max stop by to help us wish a happy BIG 4-0 to John Sayles' urban drama/sci-fi crossover THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, and David Carradine in the YOJIMBO-meets-CONAN fuckery that is THE WARRIOR AND THE SORCERESS. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe. We'll be back in two weeks to complete the Cannon Films NINJA trilogy with NINJA III: THE DOMINATION, as well as a look back at the complete EXTERMINATOR saga: THE EXTERMINATOR (1980) and EXTERMINATOR 2.

Dennis Quaid is dreamy and Clint gets freaky! Help Ron and Peter celebrate the 40th anniversary of Clint getting a blowjob on screen! Happy BIG 4-0 to DREAMSCAPE and TIGHTROPE! Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and tune in two weeks to blow out 40 candles for BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET and THE WARRIOR AND THE SORCERESS.

This week Ron and Peter celebrate the BIG 4-0's of some colors.. Red and Purple... PURPLE RAIN and because WHY THE FUCK NOT, it's ostensible sequel, GRAFITTI BRIDGE (1990). Also, RED DAWN, American kids!!! Please remember to rate, like, and subscribe; and we'll be back next week to blow 40 Big-Ones out for TIGHTROPE and DREAMSCAPE!!

Welcome to another BIG 4-0 celebration of two seminal 1980s titles: THE NEVERENDING STORY and REVENGE OF THE NERDS; two films opening July 20, 1984 that have aged... interestingly. Join Ron and Peter as they unpack these cinematic cultural artifacts; and - it hasn't happened in a while, but - this is a Ron-Over-Served episode, so apologies to our listeners (and Peter) in advance. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe. We're on vacation next week, but we'll be back the first weekend in August to wish Prince and the PG-13 rating a Happy BIG 4-0 with PURPLE RAIN and RED DAWN (oh, the colors!).

It is July 13, 1984. Birthed this day into cinemas all over the country are two family-friendly titles that have held-up through the years as nostalgic touchstones; the STAR WARS-meets-TRON FX-heavy adventure THE LAST STARFIGHTER, and the third theatrical Muppets feature, THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN. Join Ron and Peter in celebrating - as always - their BIG 4-0's! There is mic volume issue at the beginning, but we work it out after about two minutes, so thanks for bearing with that. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week to see how THE NEVERENDING STORY and REVENGE OF THE NERDS have aged (*kisses teeth*).

It's June 29th, 2024 (a few days late because of the holiday weekend; our apologies); so, it's time to blow out 40 big ones in honor of the two big releases of June 29, 1984: Tom Hanks in BACHELOR PARTY and ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER in CONAN THE DESTROYER. Ron and Peter also briefly discuss several other recent releases, including IF, BAD BOYS RIDE OR DIE, ASPHALT CITY, KNOX GOES AWAY, ON THE LINE, and STEVIE VAN ZANDT: DISCIPLE. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to wish a Happy BIG 4-0 to the MUPPETS as the TAKE MANHATTAN and THE LAST STARFIGHTER, as he... fights... stars? We shall see!

Time to pop, lock, and Drinkenstein our way into THE BIG 4-0 birthday party for 1984's cultural phenomenon BREAKIN' and the infamous Dolly Parton/Sylvester Stallone country music comedy RHINESTONE. Sly turned down both ROMANCING THE STONE and BEVERLY HILLS COP for this one. Was it worth it? The only way you'll ever know is to listen - and Rate, Like, and Subscribe! Next week, it's a BACHELOR PARTY as well as a BIG 4-0 celebration. And some little dude named CONAN is back, apparently destroying things. P.S. Sorry about the loud, scratchy mics on this ep. No idea what happened there. We are accepting resumes from podcast producers...

This week on THE BIG 4-0, Ron and Peter are Skeet Shootin' and doing The Crane wishing a happy 40th birthday to two 1984 classics, THE KARATE KID and The ZAZ Team(AIRPLANE, THE NAKED GUN)'s TOP SECRET! Find out how we think these very 1984 movies have aged, and please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe. We'll be back next week to - finally! - pop and lock and Drinkenstein our way through BREAKIN' and RHINESTONE!

This week we blow out 40 big ones for what might be the biggest one-two punch of 1984: The seminal classics GREMLINS and GHOSTBUSTERS; and Peter's daughter Sam stops by to help us kick-off our GREMLINS review. How do we think these massive hits have aged over 40 years? On our way to finding out we go off on our usual tangents on everything from Ryan Reynolds to the BAD BOYS movies. Please remember to rate (but not after midnight), like (but not in bright light), and subscribe (but not wet). We'll be back next week to wish TOP SECRET! and THE KARATE KID a happy BIG 4-O. Until then, Stay Puffed, 4-0 Heads!

It's June 1st, 1984. Released into theaters on this day are two films with big directors and star-studded casts that would take years to find their appropriate audiences - but find them they did. Join Ron and Peter in wishing a Happy BIG 4-0 to Walter Hill's neo-punk action flick STREETS OF FIRE and Sergio Leone's gangster epic ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and next week we'll be back to review two of the biggest films of 1984, when GREMLINS and GHOSTBUSTERS celebrate their BIG 4-0s!

May 23rd, 1984. What will become the biggest worldwide boxoffice hit of the year is celebrating its BIG 4-0 this week: INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, the second film in the iconic Steven Spielberg/Harrison Ford (still-going) franchise. Ron and Peter also attempt to pick their jaws up off of the floor after revisiting 2008's bloodbath masterpiece, RAMBO, the fourth film in Sylvester Stallone's own iconic franchise. Please remember to Rate, Like, Subscribe, and have a great Memorial Day weekend! We'll be back next week to wish a Happy BIG 4-0 to Sergio Leone's epic, ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, as well as Walter Hill's STREETS OF FIRE. Both films were bombs at the time, but history has been kind to them over the years. Come back next week to see if Ron and Peter agree more with the initial or the revisionist takes.

This week Ron and Peter celebrate THE BIG 4-0's of two comedies opening May 18, 1984: MAKING THE GRADE staring Judd Nelson and FINDERS KEEPERS starring Michael O'Keefe, Beverly D'Angelo, and Louis Gosset Jr.; as well as a belated BIG 4-0 to Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins in THE BOUNTY. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to kick off the summer blockbuster season with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, as well as a special look-back at RAMBO (2008).

This week we blow out 40 big ones for little Drew Barrymore in Stephen King's FIRESTARTER and Robert Redford heading an all-star cast in the seminal baseball pic THE NATURAL. How do these films - released today, May 11, in 1984 - hold-up on their BIG 4-0s? Ron and Peter find out.

Time to wish a BIG 4-O to John Hughes' SIXTEEN CANDLES and the beach-sex romp HARDBODIES; which got us wondering, "why did we skip SPRING BREAK" last year??". So, a belated HBD to Sean S. Cunningham's (FRIDAY THE 13TH) SPRING BREAK as well! Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and next week we'll be back with THE NATRUAL and FIRESTARTER

This week on THE BIG 4-0, there are no new 1984 films of note, so Peter and Ron look back at the first two DIRTY HARRY sequels, after reviewing the third DIRTY HARRY film, SUDDEN IMPACT last December: 1973's MAGNUM FORCE and 1976's THE ENFORCER. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week to celebrate THE BIG 4-0's of John Hughes' SIXTEEN CANDLES, as well as the beach-sex comedy HARDBODIES and its kin, 1983's SPRING BREAK, which we somehow missed last year!

It's a Friday the 13th in the mid-1980s, so chances are there is a FRIDAY THE 13th film opening in theaters (ironically, this is also our 13th episode of the season - hope it's not cursed!). This week Ron and Peter celebrate THE BIG 4-0 of FRIDAY THE 13th PART IV, very accurately subtitled THE FINAL CHAPTER. We also close the loop on the first four FRIDAY'S by review FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, and since we reviewed the first HALLOWEEN film back when we did the first FRIDAY and said we'd do HALLOWEEN 2 whenever we get to FRIDAY 2, today we're also tackling a bonus review of 1981's HALLOWEEN 2. That's a lot of slasher birthday fun! Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe. We'll be back next week with a bonus episode devoted to the first two DIRTY HARRY sequels; MAGNUM FORCE and THE ENFORCER!

Celebrating their BIG 4-0's on March 30th and April 6th, 1984, respectively, are the Michael Douglas/Kathleen Turner/Danny DeVito/Robert Zemeckis breakout hit ROMANCING THE STONE, and yet another teen-sex-spring break-beach comedy, WHERE THE BOYS ARE '84 (so titled because it is a remake of a 1960 film of the same name). Will this be one of the few good and memorable entries in its genre, or another forgettable waste of time?? Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe; and we'll be back next week to take the birthday celebrations back to Camp Chrystal Lake for FRIDAY THE 13TH PART IV: THE FINAL FRIDAY, as well as some bonus reviews of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART II and HALLOWEEN 2.

It's March 23, 1984. POLICE ACADEMY is celebrating its BIG 4-0, so naturally Ron and Peter are taking look back at this surprise '80s cultural phenomenon. We're also were finally able to wish THIS IS SPINAL TAP! a belated BG 4-0 from a couple weeks ago. Please remember to Rate, Like, and subscribe; and we'll be back next week to blow out 40 candles for ROMANCING THE STONE and WHERE THE BOYS ARE ('84).

It's March 16th, 1984. No great movies at the '84 box office celebrating their BIG 4-0's today, so Peter and Ron take a look back at two underrated, early-1990s ensemble dramas from big directors: Lawrance Kasdan's turn-of-the-decade Los Angeles race/class relations exploration GRAND CANYON, starring Danny Glover, Kevin Kline, and Steve Marting among others; and Ron Howard's chaotic day-in-the-life-of-newspaper expose, THE PAPER, starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, Robert Duvall, Marisa Tomei, and Randy Quaid. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe (despite Ron's rant at the end that we don't actually want subscribers), and we'll be back next week to celebrate THE BIG 4-0's POLICE ACADEMY and (finally!) THIS IS SPINAL TAP!

It's March 9th, 1984. Birthed on this day are Ron Howard's SPLASH, the Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah breakthrough fish out of water comedy, and a just-pre-TERMINATOR Linda Hamilton in the Stephen King adaptation CHILDREN OF THE CORN. Join us as we celebrate their BIG 4-0's!! Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week with a bonus episode looking at two films from big directors with all-star casts, Ron Howard's THE PAPER (1994) and Lawrence Kasdan's GRAND CANYON (1991).

THREE new releases celebrate their BIG 4-0's this week, as March 2nd, 1984, saw the release of AGAINST ALL ODDS, REPO MAN, and the comedy classic THIS IS SPINAL TAP. But SPINAL TAP is not available on any streamer at the moment and, surprisingly, neither Ron nor Peter own it on any physical media. At press time, the DVD has been purchased and delivered and we will remedy the situation on a future episode. But, since we are looking at the Emilo Estevez, sci-fi cult hit REPO MAN this week, we thought in SPINAL TAP's place we'd look at another Estevez sci-fi thriller - one with much less of a cult following - 1992's FREEJACK, co-staring Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins, and Mick Fucking Jagger! Find out if we think this one deserves a similar status as REPO MAN (and if we think REPO MAN deserves its status...). We also look at the Jeff Bridges/Rachel Ward/James Woods thriller AGAINST ALL ODDS. Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back next week with are birthday hats on for SPLASH and CHILDREN OF THE CORN!