Our STAR WARS saga concludes, at least for now, with RETURN OF THE JEDI, the 1983 classic that remains a little divisive amongst older fans. Kenny Madison of the Trek Wars podcast joins us to talk all things Jabba, Ewok, and uncomfortable gold bikini. Then, we're looking at three games, including the Atari 2600 jam DEATH STAR BATTLE, the 1984 isometric arcade game, and the conclusion of the SUPER STAR WARS trilogy!

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Arachnophobia

We've arrived the darkest chapter of our STAR WARS trilogy, and almost inarguably the best: 1980's THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! Originally criticized for being too serious and too heavy, time has been kind to EMPIRE, which is now seen as one of the canonical great American sci-fi films. We're discussing the movie with our good friend Katarin Nunez, then we're climbing onto our tauntauns for three EMPIRE games for Atari, NES, and SNES! 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Star Wars - Episode VI: Return of the Jedi 

How do we even begin to talk about STAR WARS? The massive, life-altering, cinema-changing, genre-defying epic masterpiece has gone beyond a mere fandom: it's an entire economy, an obsession, even a religion. We're going to attempt to capture all of our complex feelings about the series over the next three weeks, and we're starting with the original 1977 classic, STAR WARS! The great Tate Chitwood joins us as we nerd out over the George Lucas film and several of it's game adaptations, including SUPER STAR WARS!

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

Follow the yellow brick road with us as we explore a true classic, 1939's WIZARD OF OZ! This timeless family gem has endured for close to a century now thanks to it's memorable songs, vibrant colors, and surprisingly dark undertone, and the smash success of WICKED has cast it back into the zeitgeist. We're joined by our buddy, the whip-smart Marissa Stubbe, to revisit the film, and check out it's deeply bizarre, oddly compelling 1993 SNES adaptation. 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope

Happy holidays everyone! We're celebrating the occasion by unwrapping that perennial Christmas favorite, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER! This Rankin/Bass animated special from 1964 is the longest continually-airing TV special in history, so we made an exception from our film-heavy format to let Rudolph, Hermey, Yukon Cornelius and the gang make an appearance. After the film, we're playing the video game adaptation, which is a minigame collection released on the Wii, so you know it's good! 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: The Wizard of Oz 

The beloved YA novel series becomes a feature film with 2004's dark gothic family film LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS! Jim Carrey leads an all-star ensemble as the evil Count Olaf, trying to steal the inheritance from three industrious orphans. Ailish Collins is back to provide some literary context before we spring into the surprisingly solid Gamecube adaptation, where the three Baudelaire children use their wits, and their teeth, to fend off Olaf.  

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 

We feel the need... the need for speed. This week, we're discussing a crucial piece of 80's iconography, the film that made Tom Cruise a megastar and sent everyone on a highway to the danger zone, TOP GUN! This hyper-masculine megahit may have a head full of rocks but it's undeniably great entertainment; can the same be said about the NES game adaptations, or are those better left grounded? 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events 

Is it a music video compilation? An experimental art film? A propaganda piece? Or just a glimpse into a deeply unusual mind? Whatever MOONWALKER is to you, there's no question that it's a fascinating artifact, capturing the peak of one of the biggest pop cultural forces of all time, Michael Jackson. We're talking about the cult classic film before talking about the acclaimed game adaptations for Sega Genesis and the arcade! 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Top Gun 

The CARS series dumps the spy comedy in favor of a down-to-earth, weirdly poignant final entry, CARS 3! This 2017 film was largely overlooked and is one of Pixar's lowest-grossing films, but it has some interesting things to say and some of the most beautiful animation in the series to date. We're checking out the movie before playing CARS 3: DRIVEN TO WIN, which expands on the fun ideas of the CARS 2 game into a quiet banger of a racing game.

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Michael Jackson's Moonwalker 

Mater takes center stage this week for the oft-maligned spy parody CARS 2! While critics at the time may have relegated this to the bottom of the Pixar heap, the film may have finally found it's audience. It certainly has with our guest, certified CARS 2 superfan Hannah Mattes, who joins us to debate the finer points of this detour from the CARS formula. Then, we're playing the PS3/360 era game adaptation, a sprightly and fun action racer with a wide range of playable characters. 

Hosted by Steve Guntli, Jennifer "JBan" Bannister, and Justin Wilhelm 

Logo by Douglas McCambridge 

Email: [email protected] 

Instagram/Threads: @cinemarcade_podcast 

YouTube: @CinemArcade 

Next week's episode: Cars 3