Given the massive success of “Top Gun,” you can’t blame Paramount for running it back with producers Don Simpson & Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott and actor Tom Cruise. 1990's “Days of Thunder” would inevitably, and perhaps unfairly, be labeled as “Top Gun on Wheels,” but the reality is the film is a superb technical achievement, an entertaining, high octane action vehicle that thrust you into the exciting world of NASCAR. Charlie Legg joins the pit crew to discuss his love of racing, and argue that while rubbin’ is racing, you’re not supposed to hit the pace car. Dedicated to the late Robert Duvall.

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It’s not every day that you fall in love with your Fiance’s brother, but such is the premise of 1987’s “Moonstruck,” the critically acclaimed and universally adored film that made Cher a movie star. She won a richly deserved Best Actress Academy Award for her performance as repressed widower Loretta Castorini. This cinematic gem about family, sugar cubes and Cosmo’s moon also took home hardware for Best Supporting Actress (Olympia Dukakis) and Best Original Screenplay (John Patrick Shanley). Laura Lubrano joins Dennis to celebrate her proud Italian heritage and savor all the wonderful ingredients of this delicious romantic comedy. Ma, I love him awful.

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With “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” considered a costly, poorly received misfire, Paramount tapped veteran producer Harve Bennett and rising filmmaker Nicholas Meyer to refashion the sequel. Meyer’s vision was clear: Hornblower in space. “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” a rousing, superbly crafted entertainment, ultimately saved the franchise and is considered one of the great science fiction films of its time. “Khan” director Nicholas Meyer joins Dennis and his brother Jim to discuss how Dickens and Melville were exactly what “Star Trek” needed. ‘From Hell’s heart, I stab at thee! For hate’s sake, I spit my last breath at thee!’

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1988 was a transformative year for Tom Cruise. In July he headlined the forgettable guilty pleasure that is “Cocktail,” and at year's end he co-starred with Dustin Hoffman in Barry Levinson’s critically-acclaimed “Rain Man.” The highest grossing film of the year, winning the Academy Award for Best Picture (among others), “Rain Man” catapulted Cruise’s career to the next level and the paradigm-shifting movie star never looked back. Riding shotgun in the Buick Roadmaster, David O’Sullivan joins Dennis to argue that underwear is underwear wherever you buy it, whether in Cincinnati or wherever. Dedicated to Jim Camlek.

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Time has been kind to Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.” His adaptation of the best-selling novel was initially dismissed by critics and author Stephen King, however it has since been hailed for its chilling aesthetic, superb visual fabric and harrowing sound design. Always ahead of his time, Kubrick got the last laugh, as "The Shining" is now rightfully considered one of the greatest horror films in cinema. Steve Cozzolino checks in to the Overlook and joins Dennis to discuss why all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

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Celebrated screenwriters with a distinct world view, Joel and Ethan Coen pivoted in 2007 with an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men; and in typical Coen Bros. fashion they turned in one of the great works of the 21st century, the winner of the Best Picture Academy Award. While guest Jason Thompson would never take a satchel of drug money he still joins Dennis to celebrate this masterwork from two of the most significant filmmakers of this generation. Don’t put it in your pocket sir, it’s your lucky quarter. Anywhere not in your pocket, where it'll get mixed in with the others and become just a coin. Which it is.

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In 1973 most 15 year olds barely scratch together enough cash to buy an album, yet Cameron Crowe was already touring with bands like Led Zeppelin, The Allman Brothers and Fleetwood Mac, and writing about it for Rolling Stone. He harnessed those talents into a successful filmmaking career and that early experience was showcased in the critically-acclaimed "Almost Famous." Music lovers Laura Lubrano and Jason Zollan return to the show and join Dennis to stand up for the uncool, because the only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool.

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It's amazing to think that bounty hunter Jack Walsh was a consolation prize for Robert DeNiro after he lost the starring role in “Big” to Tom Hanks. It worked out for both of them - and for us, luckily - as 1988’s “Midnight Run” would become an adored masterpiece of the buddy action genre. Television development executive (and former colleague) Hugh Fitzpatrick joins Dennis to savor every morsel of this superb, odd couple road trip. So sit down, relax, have a sandwich, drink a glass of milk, do some effin’ thing.

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Director John McTiernan hit an incredible trifecta, having helmed the action classics “Die Hard” (1988) and “The Hunt for Red October” (1990)...but it all started with 1987’s “Predator,” a muscular action-horror hybrid, featuring a unique premise: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the world’s best soldiers are hunted down by a far superior alien enemy. The box office hit spawned a hugely successful franchise, with sequels, spinoffs and reboots still being made to this day. To think Jean-Claude Van Damme was almost in it, too. With Ol' Painless in tow, Julius Benedict drops into the jungle to savor this action classic; but he and Dennis better hurry and get to the choppa!

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The massive success of “Pulp Fiction” created an arms race for talky crime films. Producers flocked to the genre master himself, author Elmore Leonard. After decades of failed adaptations, Hollywood once again raided his bookshelves, and first up was 1995’s “Get Shorty,” a film MGM wanted Quentin Tarantino to direct. Too busy adapting another Leonard bestseller (Rum Punch, which would become “Jackie Brown,”) Tarantino passed, but not before convincing John Travolta to star as loan shark turned film producer Chili Palmer. Andrew Fryer joins Dennis to revisit this industry comedy that suggests Hollywood may be tougher to navigate than organized crime. After all, sometimes you do your best work when you've got a gun to your head.

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