Episode 234 - DIE HARD / DIE HARD 2

Yippie-ki-yay, mother-cluckers! Thanksgiving season is here and so is our annual double feature episode. This year, we welcome Geoff Clarke to the party (pal) to celebrate Die Hard and Die Hard 2 - and to remove all doubt that they are, in fact, Christmas movies. Join us as we Die Hard for the Holidays!

Die Hard (1988)
Directed by John McTiernan
Written by Jeb Stuart and Stephen E. de Souza
Based on Nothing Lasts Forever by Roderick Thorp
Starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Paul Gleason, Alexander Godunov, William Atherton, and Reginald VelJohnson

Die Hard 2 (1990)

Directed by Renny Harlin

Written by Stephen E. de Souza and Doug Richardson

Based on 58 Minutes by Walter Wager

Starring Bruce Willis, Bonnie Bedelia, William Sadler, John Amos, Dennis Franz, Fred Thompson, William Atherton, Art Evans, and Franco Nero

Episode 215 - DICK TRACY

The podcast gets pulp-y as we launch the Summer of Serials - a celebration of Hollywood's infatuation with the heroic icons of pre-WWII comic strips, radio dramas, and matinee serials. First up is Dick Tracy, as Warren Beatty dons the canary yellow overcoat and fedora to battle goons and gangsters blessed with easily distinguishable physical features.

We call up Alex Rodriguez on our trusty two-way wrist radio to celebrate the film's embrace of the comic aesthetic and marvel at Detective Tracy's staying power in pop culture for nearly a century.

Dick Tracy (1990)
Directed by Warren Beatty
Written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr.
Based on the characters created by Chester Gould
Starring Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Glenne Headly, Charlie Korsmo, William Forsythe, Ed O’Ross, Dustin Hoffman, Mandy Patinkin, Dick Van Dyke, and Madonna

Episode 147 - MEN IN BLACK

As a genre hybrid, Men in Black is a masterclass: a buddy cop comedy cloaked in the trappings of a science fiction thriller. They go together like a dark suit and a pair of Ray-Bans, or a grumpy veteran agent and his upstart wiseass partner. From its hilarious deadpan humor to its impressive makeup effects, MIB is beguilingly simple in concept, but remarkably clever in execution.

We had a blast Neuranalyzing this highly influential summer blockbuster. Come and join the conspiracy; no need to don your shades. We are nostalgia defenders, and we will let you remember.

Men in Black (1997)
Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld
Produced by Laurie McDonald and Walter F. Parkes
Written by Ed Solomon
Based on the comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham
Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Tony Shaloub, Tim Blaney, and Rip Torn

Episode 93 - KINDERGARTEN COP

After almost three decades, Kindergarten Cop still represents an aspirational standard for the thespian trapped in a cycle of typecasting: Arnold Schwarzenegger, at the crest of his rough-and-ready muscleman trajectory, poking fun at his brawny persona and spinning it into comedy gold. Real-life educators Daren Sprawls and Ariel Quist Sprawls help us rate the movie's classroom verisimilitude and celebrate its tremendous quotability, evident in its contributions to a classic prank call soundboard.

How do six-year-olds stack up against a former Mr. Universe? Why are so many family classics filmed in Astoria, Oregon? Who is your daddy, and what does he do? Find the answers to these questions and much more in this special back-to-school episode!

Kindergarten Cop (1990)
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Produced by Ivan Reitman and Brian Grazer
Written by Murray Salem and Herschel Weingrod & Timothy Harris
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Pamela Reed, Penelope Ann Miller, Richard Tyson, Carroll Baker, Christian Cousins, Joseph Cousins, and Linda Hunt