Born To Watch - A Movie Podcast

Lake Placid 1999 Review takes Born to Watch into murky water, where the crocodile is enormous, the plans are questionable, and the arguments are anything but peaceful. Welcome to the Movie Review Podcast, where we do not take the movies or ourselves too seriously. This week, Whitey, Gow and Dan tackle a creature feature that mixes bloody attacks with sarcastic dialogue, familiar faces and an efficient runtime.

At just 82 minutes, Lake Placid offers something the boys would happily see more often: a movie that gets on with it. Whether those minutes are well spent is another matter entirely. Whitey remembers seeing it at the cinema and has returned to its oversized reptile plenty of times. Gow arrives with fresh eyes. Dan arrives wondering why anyone thought this was a good idea. Naturally, that makes for an uncomfortable trip to the lake.

The setup is simple. A gruesome death in a remote Maine lake brings together a game warden, a sheriff, a visiting palaeontologist and a wealthy crocodile enthusiast. Something beneath the surface has a serious appetite, and this unlikely collection of investigators needs to work out what they are dealing with. The boys immediately have questions, starting with why a museum expert gets the call when someone with crocodile experience might have been useful.

Then there is the cast. Bill Pullman, Bridget Fonda, Oliver Platt, Brendan Gleeson and Betty White give this B-grade adventure a strong line-up. Gow runs through the careers behind those familiar faces, while Whitey considers whether the performances lift the material. Dan might be fighting the premise, but even he finds things to enjoy when the right characters start trading insults. There is room for disagreement beyond simply liking or hating the movie.

Oliver Platt and Brendan Gleeson provide one of the episode's biggest talking points. Their exchanges, petty clashes and ridiculous karate moment give the boys plenty to work with. Betty White adds another layer through a performance packed with unexpected bite and rude dialogue. When the conversation turns to memorable lines, there is no shortage of candidates. A giant crocodile might sell the poster, but the humans competing to deliver the sharpest insult keep this discussion moving.

Bridget Fonda's Kelly Scott inspires a different argument. Whitey and Gow struggle with the character's constant complaints, while Dan finds her exaggerated delivery more entertaining. Bill Pullman's performance also comes under scrutiny, with the boys questioning the romantic chemistry and whether their supposed leading man looks excited to be there. It is another reminder that the same scene can land very differently depending on who is watching it.

Of course, nobody escapes the practical questions. Why investigate a suspected man-eating creature in tiny canoes? How long can that helicopter possibly hover? And would closing the lake solve a fair chunk of the problem? 
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly pulls apart the film's comedy, tension, effects, and questionable decisions, while its discussion of Jaws connections explores what happens when familiar monster-movie ingredients get a cheekier treatment.

Film School for F-Wits gives Dan a chance to explore the practical crocodile effects and the challenge of framing an enormous creature alongside actors exchanging dialogue. Stan Winston's animatronic work becomes a welcome talking point, particularly as the boys separate the physical effects they enjoy from digital moments that have aged less gracefully. Add cast trivia, the Kurt Russell connections and Quick Fire, and there is plenty beyond the question of whether the crocodile looks convincing.

Then comes Dan's Kick Ass Credit Song, a performance that finds a very different predator to sing about and gives absent Damo some attention he probably did not request. It is exactly the sort of detour that turns a monster-movie review into a Born to Watch episode. Expect strong opinions, personal sledging, and laughter that respects staying on topic very little.

Is Lake Placid an easy creature-feature escape, or does it deserve better? 
Listen to the episode, then tell us whose take you agree with. 
Subscribe to Born to Watch, share this episode with your favourite monster-movie mate and leave a review. Before your next lakeside holiday, you might want to reconsider canoeing.

#BornToWatch #LakePlacid #LakePlacid1999 #LakePlacidReview #MovieReviewPodcast #CreatureFeature #BettyWhite #OliverPlatt #BrendanGleeson #90sMovies

Wild Things 1998 Review takes Born to Watch into the steamy, suspicious world of Blue Bay, Florida. Whitey, Gow and Damo revisit the film that sold a generation on its trailer, its cast and a certain swimming pool scene. Nearly three decades later, does the thriller itself hold up once everyone has stopped pausing the VHS?

Matt Dillon plays Sam Lombardo, a high school guidance counsellor accused of assault by wealthy student Kelly Van Ryan, played by Denise Richards. Neve Campbell’s Suzie Toller adds another allegation, Kevin Bacon’s detective Ray Duquette investigates, and Bill Murray arrives as the lawyer who seems to be having considerably more fun than anyone else. That is the setup. What follows is a pile-up of schemes, betrayals and reveals that sends the boys back through the plot to work out who knew what, and when.

For Whitey and Damo, this is a trip back to seeing Wild Things at the cinema in 1998. The trailer did its job, but their memories of the film are rather more selective. Gow has watched it more often and remembers enjoying the twists. On this rewatch, the three compare the movie they thought they knew with the one actually playing in front of them. Just how much of its provocative reputation comes from a handful of scenes?

The discussion turns to the performances. Is Dillon playing Sam as brooding and mysterious, or is something missing? Does Campbell's character give away more than the film intends? And why does Murray, with relatively little screen time, feel like the only cast member who understands the sort of movie he is in? Richards, Bacon and Theresa Russell all get their moment under the Born to Watch microscope too.

Then there are the clues, the convenient decisions and the increasingly crowded list of double-crosses. The boys pick apart the film's red herrings and ask whether another twist makes a thriller clever or simply harder to care about. A book Suzie is reading, a line from Duquette and a set of muddy footprints all get a second look. If you have only seen Wild Things once, some of those details might send you back for another watch, even if Whitey is in no hurry to join you.

The film's late-'90s atmosphere gets its due, too. There is the soundtrack, the Florida setting, the swimwear and the kind of marketing that could turn a brief scene into the reason everyone bought a ticket. Whitey, Gow and Damo look at how that reputation compares with the film’s actual mix of crime, comedy and erotic thriller. They also tackle a shower reveal that inspires more discussion than its place in the story could possibly justify.

Along the way, Gow brings the taglines and cast facts, Whitey takes Film School for F-Wits through a selection of thrillers built around desire and deception, and the Kick Ass Credit Song finds a very specific subject. The Snorbs Report makes its inevitable appearance. So does the Rank Bank, where the boys make their individual calls without agreeing on whether the film is worth revisiting.

This is Born to Watch, the movie review podcast where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously. Put on Wild Things, stay alert through the credits, and join Whitey, Gow and Damo for a review packed with nostalgia, disbelief and more questions about the plot than anyone expected to ask.

What did you make of the rewatch? Tell us whether the twists still work for you, which performance you enjoyed most and whether Bill Murray steals the whole thing.

#BornToWatch #WildThings #WildThings1998 #MovieReview #FilmPodcast #90sMovies #EroticThriller #NeveCampbell #DeniseRichards #BillMurray

Point Break 1991 Review is here, and Born to Watch is heading into the surf with Johnny Utah, Bodhi and the Ex-Presidents. Whitey, Dan, Gow and Damo revisit Kathryn Bigelow’s action film to find out whether its mix of bank robberies, beach culture and skydiving still delivers. This is the movie review podcast where we don’t take the movies or ourselves too seriously, and a film this gloriously committed to its own intensity gives us plenty to work with.

For Whitey, Point Break was a video shop favourite and an easy Sunday afternoon watch. Dan and Gow have returned to it plenty of times over the years. Damo, despite being the crew’s actual surfer, has barely revisited it since seeing it at the cinema. That makes for an interesting question: does knowing your way around a wave make this film more exciting, or make its surfing scenes impossible to ignore?

Keanu Reeves plays Johnny Utah, a former college quarterback turned FBI agent who goes undercover among Los Angeles surfers. Patrick Swayze is Bodhi, the magnetic thrill-seeker at the centre of a crew that seems to live for the next wave. Gary Busey joins the ride as Utah’s partner, Angelo Pappas. The boys get into the cast, the chemistry and the peculiar power Bodhi has to make everyone around him listen when he starts talking about freedom.

They also take a close look at Kathryn Bigelow’s direction. The action has a physical energy that helped make Point Break a favourite for a generation of viewers. But how much of the film holds together once the adrenaline wears off? The crew picks through the undercover investigation, the shifting pace of the story, and an ending that gives them plenty to discuss.

Then Damo and Dan bring some surfing knowledge to the table. Watch closely, and a rider can appear to change stance, while separate waves seem to become one continuous ride. The night surfing draws particular attention. Whitey remembers being swept up in the film when he was younger, but Damo sees details that took him straight out of it. It turns into a lively argument about whether a film needs to get the sport right when the rest of the experience is this entertaining.

Naturally, the conversation takes a few detours. There are memories of seeing the film at the cinema, stories from Whitey’s video shop days, plenty of Patrick Swayze appreciation and a debate over Keanu’s performance. The boys find time for Gary Busey, Australian accents and the question of which cast member really deserves to be called the star of the show. Damo also brings a Point Break inspired credit song that takes the episode somewhere even Johnny Utah might not have expected.

The crew agrees on some moments and splits sharply on others. Nostalgia plays a part, especially for those who grew up with the film close at hand, but nobody lets a favourite movie escape a proper examination. From the beach fights to the airborne thrills, they revisit what makes Point Break so memorable and where it asks the audience to go along for the ride.

There's also Film School for F-Wits and, of course, the Rank Bank. The boys have plenty to say about where this one belongs, but you’ll have to listen to hear how the debate plays out. Bring your best Bodhi impression, keep an eye on those waves and join Born to Watch for a return to one of the most talked-about action films of the 1990s.

Listen now and tell us: does Point Break still make you want to chase the next wave, or has Damo spotted something you can never unsee?

#PointBreak #PointBreak1991 #PointBreakReview #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #PatrickSwayze #KeanuReeves #KathrynBigelow #90sMovies #ActionMovies

The Martian (2015) review lands on Born to Watch this week as Whitey, Gow and Will blast off to Mars for Ridley Scott's hugely entertaining tale of survival, science, potatoes and one very unlucky astronaut. The Movie Review Podcast, where we do not take the movies or ourselves too seriously, is tackling one of the most rewatchable science-fiction films of the last decade, starring Matt Damon as Mark Watney, a man forced to do what none of us could possibly manage: stay alive on Mars using his brains, determination and an alarming amount of human fertiliser.

Directed by Ridley Scott and adapted from Andy Weir's novel, The Martian starts with a simple but brutal premise. During a mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney is struck during a violent storm, presumed dead and left behind as the rest of his crew evacuates the planet. One problem: Watney isn't dead.

Now stranded millions of kilometres from Earth, he has limited food, no immediate way to communicate with NASA and years to wait before another mission could possibly reach him.

Easy.

The boys dive into why The Martian works so well despite essentially being Cast Away on Mars. Matt Damon has to carry huge sections of the film alone, yet Watney never becomes boring. He is smart, vulnerable, funny and constantly solving problems, usually just before another problem arrives and threatens to kill him.

That's one of the things Whitey loves most about the movie. Watney doesn't magically get everything right. Things go wrong. Calculations fail. Equipment breaks. Plans collapse. Every solution seems to create another problem, giving the film an authenticity that keeps the tension alive.

Will has recently read Andy Weir's novel, so we also get into the differences between page and screen. The book dives much deeper into the science behind Watney's survival and adds context for how qualified he is to handle the mechanical and botanical challenges thrown his way.

Then there is that cast.

Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Benedict Wong and Donald Glover help turn what could have been a one-man survival story into something much bigger.

The boys have different picks when it comes to the standout performances, with Damon naturally getting plenty of love, while Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor also come in for some serious praise. Donald Glover might arrive late, but he certainly makes an impression.

The episode also asks whether The Martian might represent the last truly great Ridley Scott movie. That opens the door to a run-through of Scott's extraordinary career, from Alien and Blade Runner through Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and American Gangster, before looking at some of his more recent efforts.

Then there is the music.

For a bloke trapped on another planet, Watney has access to plenty of tunes; unfortunately for him, Commander Lewis appears to have left him with a collection heavily weighted towards disco. It becomes one of the movie's best running jokes and naturally gives Born to Watch plenty to work with.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly gets into everything from Damon's performance and Watney's relentless problem-solving to the genuinely stressful HAB sequence, NASA's decision-making and a couple of moments where the science-fiction starts leaning a little more heavily on the fiction.

The film also sparks plenty of discussion for its surprisingly positive outlook. Rather than turning Watney's rescue into a simple American hero story, The Martian becomes a global effort. Scientists, astronauts, and space agencies work together toward one objective: bringing one man home.

Of course, this is Born to Watch, so somewhere between the intelligent discussion of orbital mechanics, survival psychology and Ridley Scott's filmmaking, things inevitably deteriorate.

• Potatoes are discussed.
• Human waste is discussed.
• Duct tape gets the respect it deserves.
• And Will's ongoing journey from Worky to potentially fully qualified podcast contributor continues under intense performance-review conditions.

Strap yourself into the Hermes, pack enough potatoes and make sure someone remembered the duct tape.

This is The Martian (2015) Review, Born to Watch style.

#TheMartian #TheMartianReview #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #MattDamon #RidleyScott #ScienceFiction #SciFiMovies #AndyWeir #MoviePodcast

This Is Spinal Tap Review takes Born to Watch somewhere few podcasts dare to go: backstage with Britain's loudest band, where amplifiers go to eleven, drummers have an alarming mortality rate, Stonehenge has serious measurement issues, and a beautiful piano composition can somehow be called “Lick My Love Pump”.

Whitey, Damo and Dan are back to revisit Rob Reiner's 1984 mockumentary masterpiece, This Is Spinal Tap, a movie that barely made a ripple when it first arrived but went on to become one of the most influential comedies ever made. More than four decades later, the question is simple: is Spinal Tap still funny, or has the volume finally been turned down?

For Whitey, the film has grown with every viewing. Watching it as a teenager meant missing half the jokes, but coming back to it years later reveals just how clever the movie really is. Damo is firmly aboard the Tap train, while Dan comes into this one having seen plenty of famous scenes over the years without previously sitting through the whole film from start to finish.

That gives us the perfect mix for a Born to Watch review.

The boys dive into what made This Is Spinal Tap so revolutionary. Rob Reiner, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer created something that looks and sounds so much like a genuine rock documentary that audiences could be forgiven for wondering whether Spinal Tap was actually real.

And that is where the genius lives.

There are no desperate punchlines or actors screaming at the audience to tell them where the joke is. The characters play everything completely straight. The stupidity is delivered with total sincerity, whether Nigel Tufnel is protecting a guitar that cannot even be looked at, Derek Smalls is calmly navigating another band catastrophe, or David St. Hubbins is watching his musical empire slowly fall apart.

Then there are the moments that have become comedy folklore.

• Stonehenge.
• The amps that go to eleven.
• “Lick My Love Pump”.
• Smell the Glove.
• The constantly changing drummers.
• Getting hopelessly lost backstage.
• And some very questionable objects stuffed inside some extremely tight trousers.

The boys pick apart their favourite scenes, with Dan loving the absurd brilliance of "Lick My Love Pump", Damo championing Nigel's priceless guitar collection scene, and Whitey finding himself laughing harder at the film than he ever has before.

But this episode goes well beyond simply quoting the classics.

The crew ask whether This Is Spinal Tap became the blueprint for the mockumentary format that followed. Would shows such as The Office and countless other mockumentary films and television series have existed in quite the same way without Reiner and the Tap boys showing everyone how it could be done?

There is also plenty of love for the supporting cast and cameos. Billy Crystal, Dana Carvey, Fran Drescher, Fred Willard, Bruno Kirby, Paul Shaffer and Anjelica Huston all enter the conversation as the boys realise just how much talent is scattered throughout the film.

Naturally, the episode also explores Spinal Tap's extraordinary musical history. The band's fictional back catalogue might contain some of the greatest album titles never released by a real band, from Intravenous DeMilo and Shark Sandwich to Smell the Glove, Silent but Deadly and the magnificent Bent for the Rent.

Then it is time for all the regular Born to Watch madness.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly digs into what still works, what might require multiple watches to truly appreciate, and whether there is actually much "ugly" to complain about. The boys agree this movie is packed with jokes that are incredibly easy to miss the first time around, making repeat viewings almost essential.

There is also Question Time, Quick Fire, Film School for F-Wits, plenty of musical detours and, naturally, another Kick Arse Credit Song from Dan.

More than 40 years after its release, This Is Spinal Tap remains one of those rare comedies whose influence has become almost bigger than the movie itself. Its jokes have entered everyday language, its characters feel strangely believable, and its commitment to playing absolute stupidity completely straight remains almost impossible to replicate.

So grab your guitar, prepare the miniature Stonehenge, sniff the feedbag and make sure your amplifier has that all-important extra number.

Because Born to Watch is turning this episode up to eleven.

Join the Born to Watch crew 
If you love movies but don't believe they need to be treated like sacred works of art, you've found your people. Follow the podcast, share the episode with a mate, jump onto the socials and tell us which movie deserves the Born to Watch treatment next.

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This week on Born to Watch, we head into Prohibition-era Chicago for The Untouchables 1987 Review, revisiting Brian De Palma's stylish gangster classic starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro and Andy Garcia. It's cops, Capone, Tommy guns, questionable accents, immaculate suits and enough testosterone to make this one of the great 1980s sausage fests. More importantly, this special episode is dedicated to our great mate Chupperz, who requested the film. Chupperz, this one is for you.

Released in 1987, The Untouchables takes us into the battle between federal agent Eliot Ness and Chicago crime boss Al Capone. Kevin Costner plays Ness as the ultimate straight-laced good guy, determined to bring Capone down legally, at least until Chicago starts teaching him that playing by the rules might not be enough.

Enter Sean Connery as Jimmy Malone.
Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the role, and the boys spend plenty of time discussing whether he is also the real star of the movie. Malone brings the experience, attitude, and gravitas Ness needs, along with one of the best approaches to law enforcement ever put on screen. If they pull a knife, you might want to start thinking about bringing something slightly more substantial.

Then there's Andy Garcia as George Stone, young, ridiculously cool, deadly accurate and sporting enough back hair to qualify as an additional cast member. Garcia doesn't need many lines to make an impression. He simply turns up, looks cool and shoots people with an accuracy that would make most action heroes jealous.

And then we get Bobby De Niro.

Robert De Niro goes full method as Al Capone, putting on the weight and delivering a wonderfully smug, intimidating performance. The problem? Whitey wants more of him. A lot more. The discussion turns to whether The Untouchables missed an opportunity by keeping Capone relatively limited, instead of giving De Niro more screen time and letting the film explore both sides of the battle.

There's also plenty of love for Brian De Palma's direction. This movie is packed with memorable filmmaking, from brutal moments of violence to beautifully constructed suspense. The famous Union Station sequence remains the standout, slowly tightening the tension before everything explodes. Even if the boys have a few questions about that pram, the woman carrying it, the strangely busy midnight railway station and why nobody thought to give her a hand.

The episode also digs into Ennio Morricone's brilliant score, one of the elements that immediately gives The Untouchables its identity. The music is bold, instantly recognisable and a massive part of why the movie still feels so cinematic decades later.

Of course, this is Born to Watch, so respectful film analysis only lasts so long.

The boys question continuity problems, Sean Connery's Scottish take on an Irish accent, Frank Nitti's questionable escape plan, Capone's all-in-one grooming experience, Costner's white-knight energy, and whether a piece of paper listing bribed jurors would really be enough to send a courtroom completely sideways.

There's also the usual trip through The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, Snorbs Report, Film School for F-Wits, quotables, trivia and the random tangents that somehow turn a discussion about a Brian De Palma gangster movie into conversations that have absolutely no right being there.

But beneath all the piss-taking is genuine appreciation for a movie that still looks fantastic. The costumes, locations, production design and old-school filmmaking give The Untouchables a scale and atmosphere that remains impressive nearly four decades later.

Is Costner charismatic enough to carry it? 
Is Connery actually the MVP? 
Should De Niro have been given far more screen time? 
Is the Union Station shootout still one of the great action sequences of the 1980s?

And most importantly, where does The Untouchables eventually land in the sacred halls of the Born to Watch Rank Bank?

You’ll have to listen to find out.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Think The Untouchables is an untouchable 1980s classic? 
Let us know your favourite scene, character and quote. 

And if you've got a movie you think deserves the full Born to Watch treatment, send it our way. 
Just remember, as Chupperz discovered, getting your movie selected also means giving the boys permission to absolutely tear it apart.

Born to Watch, the Movie Review Podcast where we don't take the movies, or ourselves, too seriously.

#TheUntouchables #TheUntouchables1987 #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #KevinCostner #SeanConnery #RobertDeNiro #AndyGarcia #BrianDePalma #80sMovies

This week on Born to Watch, we sink our teeth into a Fright Night 1985 Review, revisiting one of the most recognisable vampire movies of the VHS era. For Whitey, this one comes loaded with childhood nostalgia, a movie discovered through an unforgettable video shop cover and watched countless times growing up. For Gow and Damo, however, this is essentially fresh blood. So, after more than 40 years, does Fright Night still deliver the perfect combination of horror, comedy and '80s vampire cool, or should some childhood favourites remain safely buried in the past?

Directed by Tom Holland, Fright Night stars William Ragsdale as Charlie Brewster, a teenager who discovers that his charming new neighbour, Jerry Dandrige, is actually a vampire. Naturally, nobody believes him. Not his mum, not his girlfriend Amy, not the police, and certainly not washed-up television horror host Peter Vincent. Unfortunately for Charlie, Jerry knows that Charlie knows, and things are about to get considerably more complicated.

The boys start with the nostalgia factor, and this might be one of the biggest tests yet of whether childhood memories can survive a modern rewatch. Whitey remembers Fright Night as the ideal gateway horror movie, scary enough for a young teenager but funny and accessible enough to keep bringing him back. Gow and Damo don't have that emotional safety net, so they judge the film in the cold, unforgiving light of 2026.

That difference produces exactly the sort of Born to Watch discussion you'd expect.

Chris Sarandon's Jerry Dandrige gets plenty of attention. Smooth, ridiculously confident and rocking some magnificent '80s wardrobe choices, Jerry might be the strongest thing the movie has going for it. The nightclub sequence gets examined, the seductive vampire powers are discussed, and Whitey can't help noticing some serious Michael Douglas vibes years before Basic Instinct arrived.

Then there's Roddy McDowall as Peter Vincent, the former movie vampire killer who discovers that dealing with the real thing is considerably different from acting in front of a camera. The boys look back at McDowall's incredible career, from Planet of the Apes to his decades of film and television work, while deciding just how much Peter Vincent adds to Fright Night.

But we need to talk about Evil Ed.

Oh dear.

Stephen Geoffreys' performance becomes one of the episode's biggest talking points, and not necessarily for the reasons the filmmakers hoped. Is Evil Ed deliberately annoying? Is he supposed to be funny? Is he operating in a completely different movie from everybody else? And most importantly, just how high can the Born to Watch annoyance scale actually go?

The boys also dive into Amanda Bearse as Amy, William Ragsdale's Charlie, Charlie's questionable decision-making, Jerry's supernatural seduction abilities and the wonderfully bizarre logic that comes with trying to convince the police that the bloke next door is a vampire.

There is plenty to admire visually. The practical effects still provide some of Fright Night's strongest moments, particularly as the film heads towards its creature-heavy finale. Melting faces, transformations, wolves, vampires, mist-covered houses, and gloriously physical '80s effects all remind us why this era of horror still has such a passionate following.

Naturally, being Born to Watch, the conversation doesn't remain focused on vampires for very long.

The boys wander through the movies of 1985, revisit the glory days of video shops, discuss horror films as a childhood rite of passage, remember a time when Australian television had only a handful of channels, somehow find their way into Married... with Children, debate vampire rules and take several conversational detours that absolutely nobody planned.

There's also the usual critical analysis, questionable observations, movie trivia, overs and unders, the trailer breakdown, the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and enough inappropriate vampire discussion to ensure Bram Stoker is spinning violently in his grave.

The biggest question, though, remains simple.

Can nostalgia save Fright Night?

For one member of the Born to Watch crew, this was once a genuine childhood favourite. Decades later, surrounded by two first-time viewers and forced to examine every strange performance, plot decision and ageing effect, those memories are about to face their toughest test yet.

Grab the garlic, check the mirrors, lock the bedroom window and whatever you do, don't invite the new neighbour inside.

It's time for Fright Night on Born to Watch.

Born to Watch, the movie review podcast where we don't take the movies, or ourselves, too seriously.

#FrightNight #FrightNight1985 #FrightNightReview #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #80sMovies #80sHorror #VampireMovies #HorrorMovies #CultMovies

If a movie was ever made for the Born to Watch treatment, this is it. In our Rambo III 1988 Review, Whitey is joined by two certified ’80s action tragics, Bones and DJ Glazby, to revisit Sylvester Stallone at his biggest, most shredded and possibly most ridiculous. The Russians are back, Colonel Trautman needs rescuing, Afghanistan is the battlefield, and John J. Rambo is about to discover that retirement is apparently not an option.

For Whitey, Rambo isn’t simply another action franchise. John J. Rambo has basically been part of his movie-watching life forever, and Rambo III was the first instalment he saw on the big screen. Bones and Glaz have similar credentials, with all three admitting they’ve probably watched these movies more than 100 times. That level of unhealthy familiarity can only mean one thing: two hours of remembering lines, picking apart scenes and asking questions nobody involved in the production ever expected anyone to ask.

Released in 1988, Rambo III takes everything from the previous film and turns the dial past eleven. Bigger budget. Bigger explosions. Bigger weapons. Bigger muscles. Bigger hair. Stallone is in absolutely outrageous condition, sporting a physique that sends the boys down several completely unnecessary conversational rabbit holes.

The story begins with Rambo attempting to live a peaceful life in Thailand before Colonel Trautman arrives asking for help with a mission into Afghanistan. Rambo declines, Trautman heads off without him and promptly gets himself captured. Naturally, Rambo changes his mind and goes after his old mate.

Simple.

What follows is peak late-’80s action excess.

The boys dive into Rambo's magnificent opening stick fight, that red headband, the suspiciously dangerous spectator arrangements and the logistical nightmare of figuring out who exactly everyone is betting on. There are questions about the ridiculous staircase Trautman climbs to find Rambo, Rambo’s magnificent 1988 hair and whether Colonel Trautman might be one of the oldest soldiers ever voluntarily sent behind enemy lines.

Then there’s Stallone himself.

Rambo talks considerably more this time around, although nobody is going to mistake him for Shakespeare, and the boys discuss whether Sly knew exactly what sort of movie he was making or genuinely believed there was something much more profound buried underneath all those explosions.

One thing everyone can agree on is that the practical action still looks fantastic.
Real explosions, squibs, stunt work, enormous military hardware and physical effects give Rambo III a weight that many modern CGI-heavy action movies struggle to recreate. The cave sequence in particular gets plenty of love, with Whitey arguing that Rambo hunting enemies through the darkness is exactly where the character is at his best. Even the sound of Rambo firing an arrow gets nominated as one of cinema’s great instantly recognisable noises.

There's also plenty of behind-the-scenes madness. The film carried an enormous budget for its time, went through a director change early in production and ultimately became one of the biggest action productions of its era. Somehow, the Razzies still came calling, something the boys have very strong opinions about.

Because this is Born to Watch, Rambo III also leads us into the wider Rambo universe. The boys attempt to rank the entire franchise, debate First Blood versus the increasingly outrageous sequels, revisit Rambo II and discuss where Rambo III belongs among Stallone’s greatest action achievements.

And then comes the most important question.

Does Rambo III still work?

It’s too long. It’s incredibly stupid in places. Its politics have aged in fascinating ways. Colonel Trautman may be surprisingly useless. But when Stallone picks up the bow, the explosions start, and that glorious Jerry Goldsmith score kicks into gear, none of that seems to matter quite as much.

This is Born to Watch, The Movie Review Podcast where we don’t take the movies, or ourselves, too seriously.

Strap yourself in, tighten the headband and prepare for peak Stallone.

Rambo III is back.

#RamboIII #Rambo #SylvesterStallone #80sMovies #80sAction #ActionMovies #MovieReview #BornToWatch #MoviePodcast #Stallone

The boys are heading back to the decade of slick crime flicks, sharp dialogue and Hollywood cool for our Get Shorty 1995 Movie Review. This is peak John Travolta, riding the post-Pulp Fiction wave; Gene Hackman is doing comedy without really doing comedy, and Dennis Farina has arrived to swear at practically everyone in Los Angeles.

Welcome back to Born to Watch, the Movie Review Podcast where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously.

This week Whitey and Gow are joined by a returning Dan, who has finally wandered back into the studio after his extended sabbatical. It doesn't take long before old stories, old insults and the questionable exploits of 1990s G start flying around the room.

But eventually, somehow, we get to Get Shorty.

Adapted from the Elmore Leonard novel and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, Get Shorty drops loan shark Chili Palmer into Hollywood and quickly discovers that the movie business might be even more crooked than organised crime. Chili comes to Los Angeles chasing money and ends up chasing something completely different, a shot at the movies.

And nobody could play Chili Palmer quite like John Travolta.

The boys dig into Travolta's incredible mid-'90s resurgence and why Chili might be one of his coolest performances. This isn't the dialled-up Travolta of Face/Off or the villainous version from Broken Arrow. Chili is controlled, confident, charismatic and almost impossible to rattle. As Whitey puts it, he's basically Vincent Vega without the heroin problem.

Then there's Gene Hackman as B-movie producer Harry Zimm. Hackman was apparently reluctant to play comedy, which makes his performance even better. He plays Harry almost completely straight while chaos unfolds around him, and the result is bloody funny.

Rene Russo brings Karen Flores to life, Danny DeVito sends up the Hollywood superstar as Martin Weir, Delroy Lindo is outstanding as Bo Catlett, and a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini turns up as Bear.

But then there's Dennis Farina.

Farina's Ray "Bones" Barboni has no interest in becoming a producer, landing a movie deal or joining Hollywood's endless bullshit machine. He wants his money. That's it. His delivery, aggression, and complete inability to understand why everyone else is suddenly obsessed with making movies produce some of the episode's biggest laughs. By the time the boys get to Star of the Show, Farina is very much in the conversation.

The real star, however, might be the dialogue.

The boys talk about how Get Shorty captures Elmore Leonard's distinctive rhythm, humour and effortless conversations. Whitey remembers absolutely hammering this movie after first seeing it at Hoyts with the boys, watching it repeatedly on VHS because he loved the back-and-forth between the characters.

That leads perfectly into Film School for F-Wits, where Dan dives into Elmore Leonard. Get Shorty was Leonard's favourite adaptation of his work, and the boys explore the run that also gave us Jackie Brown and Out of Sight. Dan also breaks down Leonard's famous approach to writing, including natural dialogue, avoiding unnecessary exposition and one beautifully simple philosophy: if your writing sounds like writing, rewrite it.

There's also plenty buried in Listen to This, including the actors considered for Chili Palmer, Danny DeVito originally being lined up for the role, James Gandolfini's performance attracting the attention of David Chase, Tarantino's connection to the project and Travolta's determination to protect Leonard's dialogue.

Add The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, 1995 movie memories, Quickfire, quotables and the G-Man's wonderfully ridiculous Born to Get Shorty Kick Arse Credit Song, and we've got ourselves another proper Born to Watch outing.

Is Get Shorty still one of the smartest crime comedies of the '90s? 
Does Travolta's Chili Palmer remain one of cinema's coolest operators? 
And can Dennis Farina steal an entire movie simply by being Dennis Farina?

There's only one way to find out.

Join Whitey, Gow and Dan as Born to Watch heads to Hollywood, where everybody wants to be in the movie business, even the gangsters.

#GetShorty #GetShortyMovie #JohnTravolta #GeneHackman #DennisFarina #ElmoreLeonard #90sMovies #MovieReview #MoviePodcast #BornToWatch

The Warriors 1979 Review is finally here, and this week on Born to Watch, Whitey, Gow and Damo are heading deep into enemy territory for a movie they've been circling since the early days of the podcast. Walter Hill's 1979 cult classic has leather vests, painted faces, subway trains, some of the strangest gangs ever assembled and one very simple objective: get back to Coney Island alive. The Movie Review Podcast, where we don't take the movies or ourselves too seriously, is about to find out if The Warriors can still come out to play.

For the boys, this isn't just another movie review.

The Warriors carries some serious childhood baggage.

This was one of those movies you heard about before you actually saw it. The video shop cover caught your eye; older kids talked about it, and somehow the movie's reputation became almost as important as the movie itself. Whitey remembers hammering it during his teenage years, while Damo recalls hiring it on VHS and watching the bloody thing twice back-to-back.

That's the sort of nostalgia we're dealing with here.

The setup remains magnificent.

Cyrus has a dream. Get every gang in New York together, stop fighting each other and realise they collectively outnumber the cops.

CAN YOU DIG IT?

Unfortunately, Luther can't.

Cyrus goes down, The Warriors get blamed, and suddenly a crew from Coney Island is stranded in the Bronx with every gang in New York looking to collect.

What follows is essentially one long journey home through a New York City that feels like it exists in another universe.

Whitey, Gow and Damo get stuck into Walter Hill's world-building and the collection of gangs roaming the streets. The Turnbull ACs look genuinely terrifying. The Lizzies have guns but apparently attended the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy. The Orphans desperately want someone to take them seriously.

And then there are the Baseball Furies.

Baseball uniforms. Painted faces. Baseball bats.

It shouldn't work.

It absolutely works.

The boys also give plenty of love to Barry De Vorzon's brilliant score. From the opening moments, that pulsing soundtrack drags you straight into The Warriors' version of New York, and the music accompanying the Baseball Furies chase remains an absolute belter.

Then there's the cast.

Michael Beck brings the brooding as Swan, while James Remar is perfectly unhinged as Ajax, a bloke who seems about five seconds away from causing a problem in every scene he enters.

But David Patrick Kelly's Luther may own the movie.

Three bottles on his fingers.

"Warriors... come out to play-ay."

An improvised moment that became one of the most recognisable scenes in cult movie history.

Of course, nostalgia only gets you so far on Born to Watch.

The boys ask whether a film with such a notorious reputation is actually violent enough. They question the shooting ability of the Lizzies, the sheer amount of running required while wearing a leather vest with no shirt, and whether the final confrontation delivers the payoff the movie has been building towards.

There's also plenty of Walter Hill appreciation, including his incredible run through movies like Southern Comfort, 48 Hrs., Streets of Fire, Red Heat and Last Man Standing.

Where does The Warriors land?

You'll have to listen.

After more than four years and 226 episodes, the F-Wits have finally made it back to Coney Island.

Grab your vest, paint your face, jump on the subway and come along for the ride.

WARRIORS... COME OUT TO PLAY-AY!

JOIN THE BORN TO WATCH CREW

Love the show? 
Follow Born to Watch, leave us a five-star review and, most importantly, share the episode with another movie-loving F-Wit.

Because podcasts don't grow on their own, people.

Can you dig it?

#TheWarriors #TheWarriors1979 #BornToWatch #MovieReviewPodcast #CultMovies #WalterHill #ClassicMovies #1970sMovies #BaseballFuries #CanYouDigIt