Podcasts about razzies

"Long before American Idol and Americas Got Talent, there was Star Search. It was pretty schmaltzy but looking back, some of the biggest singers, actors and comedians got their big break on Star Search. We have grabbed as many examples as we could."

"Here is a game to play. Name as many two minute songs as you can following these rules. Only one song per group and you cannot name just punk songs. We then go one step farther and change the game to as many one minute songs as you can."

"A band named The Velvet Sundown had a hit a short while ago. The concern was that the band and the music were all fake. They were both fully AI generated. It is easier than you think. We have the story and some examples of when I did the same thing for an audience just to prove how easy it is to do."

"The Rock School show is now a part of the Library of Congress through their American Archive of Public Broadcasting. I know. I can barely believe it myself. Here is the story of the Library of Congress and how this all came to be. Check the calendar. It is not April and I am not fooling."

"This is a fun parlor game. Name a band, a song by that band and then an album from that band that are all named exactly the same. Here is an example. Bad Company by Bad Company on the album Bad Company. There are many that are close but a true Trilogy is all three exactly the same."

Studios hate him. A blind film critic dropped one review on Rotten Tomatoes and suddenly producers are begging him to reconsider… and he might, if they add audio description in film. That's power. That's disruption. That's John Stark. He launched the Blind Film Critic Society with Alex & Lee (because if the Razzies can start in a living room, why can't blind critics start a movement?) He's now a legit Rotten Tomatoes blind critic. And when he posts? Studios listen. Or panic. Sometimes both. He's exposing how credits for audio description accessibility are erased. Writers invisible. Narrators uncredited. Audiences cheated. He's calling BS. And here's the kicker: he's proving exactly how audio description helps blind audiences experience films fully, while showing the industry why ignoring it costs them money, loyalty, and credibility. This episode slaps. It's not just film reviews with audio description; it's a playbook for shaking an entire industry awake.

1985 was the year Sylvester Stallone went from Hollywood heavyweight to undisputed box office king. With Rocky IV on one side and Rambo: First Blood Part II on the other, he wasn't just riding the wave of 80s action; he was the wave. And while First Blood had been a surprisingly thoughtful thriller about trauma, alienation, and a veteran's struggle to reintegrate into society, its sequel shed all subtlety like a spent shell casing. What we got instead was a high-octane, Reagan-era fever dream of exploding arrows, shirtless jungle warfare, and a hero who could take down entire armies with little more than a knife, a bow, and a steely stare. Strap into your parachutr and prepare for our Rambo: First Blood Part II ReviewOn this week's Born to Watch, the boys dive into Stallone's red-bandanaed return to Vietnam. Whitey sets the scene: this isn't just a movie, it's the beginning of the "one-man war" subgenre that would dominate until Die Hard flipped the script in 1988. Damo admits he's barely watched it compared to the rest of the team, just four times, making him the weakest link in the Rambo chain, while Dan fondly recalls a childhood of VHS replays and backyard re-enactments, complete with shirtless flexing and imaginary M-60s.The episode kicks off with laughs about the film's working title, "Second Blood," which the team insists is far better than what we ended up with. From there, the conversation barrels through the film's unforgettable trailer, essentially a three-minute version of the movie that gives away every major set piece. But then again, in 1985, you weren't dissecting trailers on YouTube; you were catching glimpses of them before Back to the Future or in the lobby of Hoyts.As always, Colonel Trautman gets his share of love. Richard Crenna's grizzled commander was the heart of First Blood, but here the boys agree he's been badly sidelined, emasculated by slimy bureaucrats and robbed of his best lines. Whitey argues that Stallone intentionally clipped Trautman's wings to keep the spotlight on himself, before realising by Rambo III that the series needed more Crenna.Villains are in no short supply: Charles Napier's Murdoch oozes bureaucratic slime, Steven Berkoff delivers Cold War menace as a sneering Russian general (forehead mole and all), and Martin Kove, fresh off The Karate Kid, simmers in the background as a mercenary who doesn't get nearly enough to do. And then there's Julia Nickson as Co, whose accent is so gloriously bad it's become immortal. Her "What mean expendable?" line sends the boys into hysterics, though they're quick to admit she's stunning on screen and essential to Rambo's fleeting attempt at love.The set pieces get the full treatment too: Rambo parachuting into the jungle, the bamboo cage of leeches, the patrol boat ambush, and the climactic showdown with a hulking Russian gunship that feels like the final boss in a video game. Logic rarely applies, Rambo seems oddly immune to electrocution and, at one point, appears in what the boys can only describe as a "ceremonial Vietnamese G-string", but that's half the fun. Unlike Cobra, which the podcast tore apart in a recent episode, First Blood Part II manages to be outrageous without ever becoming dull.The team also dives into the film's legacy. Box office juggernaut? Absolutely, $300 million worldwide on a $44 million budget. Awards darling? Not quite. While it picked up an Oscar nomination for sound editing, it swept the Razzies, winning for Worst Picture, Worst Actor, and even Worst Original Song. That song, Peace in Our Life, penned by Frank Stallone, gets roasted at length—described as "mesmerisingly bad" and “patriotic cheese that makes Bon Jovi sound poetic.”But for all its flaws, there's an undeniable joy in watching Rambo: First Blood Part II. Whitey compares it to the Avengers: Endgame of 1985, pure crowd-pleasing cinema where audiences would've cheered out loud when Rambo vaporised a guard with an explosive arrow. The film may be ridiculous, but it's never boring.As always, there are detours into Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (unanimously despised), A View to a Kill (fondly remembered for Roger Moore inventing snowboarding to the Beach Boys), and Corey Haim's werewolf flick Silver Bullet. There's also a spirited listener voicemail from loyal fan Chupperz, who demands a proper definition of "cameo" for Film School for FW, and a reminder that even when the team is tearing something apart, it's always done with affection.By the time they hit The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, the verdict is clear: Stallone's hair deserves its own credit, Trautman deserves better, and Rambo: First Blood Part II is the kind of dumb, overblown, endlessly rewatchable 80s action that Born to Watch was made for.So if you love muscle-bound mayhem, Cold War villains, or just want to hear a bunch of Aussie legends laugh, argue, and celebrate a truly explosive piece of cinema history, this is the episode for you.JOIN THE CONVERSATIONIs Rambo: First Blood Part II a misunderstood classic or just overblown propaganda? Would you rather ride shotgun in the gunship or sneak through the jungle with the bow and arrow? Does this sequel outshine First Blood, or did Stallone lose something when subtlety gave way to spectacle? Drop us a voicemail at https://www.borntowatch.com.au and be part of the show!Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your pods.#Rambo #FirstBloodPartII #SylvesterStallone #80sAction #CultClassic #MoviePodcast #BornToWatch #FilmReview #ActionMovies #RetroCinema

"Naming a band can be quite difficult. The list of bands we will discuss today went back into history to grab a name or an event to come up with a moniker. You know a good many of them. "

"The K Pop band EXO claimed that one of their concerts in South Korea sold out in less than two seconds. It sounds impossible because you are not being told the entire story. It is a badge of honor for bands to sell out quickly. Other than EXO, who did legitimately sell out the fastest. We will tell you our pick."

"Often an actor will start a band once her or she is famous. However many actors start as musicians. Some saw great success. We have some surprising names this week."

"Rock and Roll really came into its own in the 1950s and once it did someone was always proclaiming it bad for the youth in one way or another. These were generally called Moral Panics. Here is the history and some examples of a few of the most popular Moral Panics."

This was a Monday crossword, which means that a) it should not be particularly difficult for experienced solvers, and b) entertaining. We are pleased to report that it met both criteria, and we submit today's podcast as Exhibit A.Remember, the NYTimes crossword is a great way to keep expanding your lexicon and keeping those neurons in peak fighting form. To subscribe, just cruise over to nytimes.com/subscription/games, signing up is as easy as

"Here is the second show where we play songs you might not know were covers. Often the cover version of a song becomes a bigger hit. And even if you did know the hit was a cover you may not know the original. We will play you a few."

"This is the first of a two show set. Often people are shocked to hear that a hit song is a cover. We have put together a long list of hit songs that are covers and we will play the original to you can hear where the hit you know came from."