VIA VHS Podcast

Your boys Sho’ Nuff John and Alejandro join Wesley to talk about their first childhood obsession and the film that rocked our collective minds in 1990, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! This week’s Flux Capacitor looks back at the 90s adolescent capitalists favorte film Blank Check and the 1979 classic The Warriors. Blank Check-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109287/?ref=nvsr_1 The Warriors-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080120/?ref=nvsr_1 Finally, our Rewind Review focuses on the 1990 live-action film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This film marked a cultural milestone for 80s kids and even better, it lived up to all the hype. The attention to detail, great portrayals of beloved characters, amazing costumes and incredible stuntwork made this film an instant classic, and kids across the world burned through multiple copies of this VHS and it’s subsequent sequel. So sit back, grab some pizza and enjoy this trip down memory lane. Cowabunga Dudes!

We’ve finally broken through the dystopic hellscape of January films, so we reward your perseverence with two iconic comedy classics in the Flux Capacitor. Don’t worry, VIA VHS stays true to form as we ridicule a sub-par, 1992 animated propaganda film about why trees are good, but human bad. DIRECTOR BIRTHDAY SPOTLIGHT: This week we have two birthday boys in Tobe Hooper, an iconic horror master and B-Movie auteur, along with Frank Darabont, who’s obsessed with prisons and angry e-mails. Tobe Hooper-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001361/?ref=nvsr_1 Frank Darabont-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001104/?ref=nvsr_2 FLUX CAPAXITOR- February starts off with a bang as we discuss two amazing comedy classics and a late 90s Mel Gibson action flick. 1999-Payback:ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120784/?ref=nvsr_1 1994-Ace Ventura:Pet Detective: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109040/?ref=nvsr_1 1974-Blazing Saddles: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071230/?ref=nvsr_1 In this week’s Rewind Review, we decided to do something a little different. Not only did we review an animated film for the first time but we chose a film we adamantly hate! Look, I love trees, I love nature but I hate being preached too, and Fern Gully:The Last Rainforest is a very pretentious and preachy kids movie. Despite being mediocre at best, we discuss the film’s incredible cast that includes Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Christian Slater and both Cheech and Chong. We also examine the similarities between Fern Gully and a certain blockbuster from 2009 by James Cameron, did the highest grossing film of all time rip-off a low level kid’s flick? You be the judge. Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104254/?ref=nvsr_1 You can find the VIA VHS Podcast on Twitter @viavhs. Background music by Raydar-https://youtu.be/WY3IDFNreGs

We travel to the year 2032 by way of 1993 to review the Action/Sci-Fi/comedy hit Demolition Man, starring Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes and Sandra Bullock. So put on your happy joy joy feelings, grab some Taco Bell and enjoy this episode of VIA VHS. We have a brand new segment on this week’s show! The Director Spotlight focuses on famous directors celebrating birthdays. This week’s featured directors are: John Carpenter-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000118/?ref=nvsr1 John Lasseter-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005124/?ref=nvsr1 John Mctiernan-https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001532/?ref=nvsr_1 This week’s Flux Capacitor looks back on films from 1999, 1994, 1989 and 1984: Broadway Danny Rose-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087003/?ref=nvsr1 Cohen and Tate-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097074/?ref=nvsr1 Intersection- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110146/?ref=nvsr2 Still Crazy-https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0149151/?ref=nvsr1 REWIND REVIEW: Demolition Man is bizarre. On the surface it seems like your typical shoot-’em-up 90s action flick starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, but there’s much more to it than that. Demolition Man is a witty social satire, laced with Orwellian elements and blatant homages to Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, a denouncement of the PC culture nanny state and the lack of true humanity in the placid, rose colored Utopia many people crave. Demolition Man has aged well, perhaps to well. The fact that tho film is as relevant as it is almost 26 years after its release is actually frightening to me. Lenina Huxley, played by Sandra Bullock is a citizen of San Angeles in the year 2032. A soft, calm, tranquil society that is free of violence and crime, where harsh language and physical touch has been outlawed, especially real life intercourse. Lenina surrounds herself with relics of the 90s, a time when humans could be, well, human. Sure there was violence, crime and offensive language in the 90s but people could express themselves and not worry about offending anybody. People could enjoy many of their vices, as long as nobody else was getting hurt, they could take risks, have sex, laugh at vulgar jokes and watch R rated films. Of course, the real life 90s weren’t exactly perfect, but it was definitely a smorgasbord of culture compared to Lenina Huxley’s bland new world. One could argue even better than real life 2019. Of course, in this alternate universe of Demolition Man, a great Earthquake of 2010 precipitates a major paradigm shift in their culture. While the cultural change hasn’t been as dramatic, you can see a parallel in the change of culture in Lenina’s world to the shift we experienced in the 9/11 terror attacks, and this is portrayed in a film that was released 8 years before that event happened. I don’t think our world is in danger of becoming as ridiculously overbearing and neutered as Demolition Man’s version of 2032, but we aren’t as far off as I’d like. Demolition Man’s greatness comes in the form of two machismo maniacs and rivals from the 90s named John Spartan and Simon Phoenix, who are thrust into a docile daycare society after being unthawed from cryogenic freezing. These two turn San Angeles upside down as they settle scores with hand to hand combat, car chases, explosions, guns and bad one liners, as two muscle bound meatheads from a bygone era.

Two weeks in a row! Gotta be some kind of record right? This week VIA VHS goes back to a golden age of comedy in the late 70s to check out a film by popular stand-up comedian and SNL side piece Steve Martin. The Jerk is directed by Carl Reiner and stars Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Mabel King, Richard Ward and Caitlin Adams. To discuss The Jerk, we’ve brought in an all around nice guy, a Southern gentleman from Tennessee, John Davidson, who may be enjoying an extended stay at VIA VHS. In this week’s Flux Capacitor we look back at films celebrating their 20th and 30th anniversaries. From 1989 we have the skateboarding cult classic starring Christian Slater, Gleaming the Cube. Also from ’89 we have the abysmal knock off of the Abyss called Deepstar Six. From 1999 we have the oft forgotten box office bust Virus starring Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland. Finally we end with this years most well known Flux Capacitor film so far in the raunchy, teen comedy about Texas high school football, Varsity Blues Alex, John and Wesley also discuss the role of PC culture in films today, and how it effects Comedy films. so puke and rally, then enjoy this episode of the VIA VHS podcast!

Baby, it feels so good to be back in your earholes! After a brutally long 10 month hiatus, the VIA VHS podcast is back to bring you radical, rambling, ADD fueled Retro Reviews of the best and worst films of the VCR era. I’m joined this week by a blast from the past as my buddy Alex re-joins VIA VHS. Also long time friend of the show Spencer Scott Holmes visits to talk some aeronautical action. In the comeback episode we revisit the magical land of late 90s action flicks where doves, explosions and cheesy one liners reigned supreme. Con-Air, directed by Simon West stars Nicolas Cage, John Malkovich, John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, Dave Chappelle. Ving Rhames and several other noticiable action stars in a proposterously audacious film about the worst prisoner transport idea ever conceived..and pink stuffed animal bunnies. So join us as we bask in the glorious presence of Nic Cage’s beuatiful mane and conspicuously charming bad Southern accent in an adrenaline fueled piece of Republican propaganda… that f*ing rocks! This week’s Flux Capacitor films: Celebrating their 25th Anniversary, we have Cabin Boy starring Chris Elliot and The Air Up There featuring Kevin Bacon. We also look back on the film McQ starring john Wayne celebrating it’s 45th anniversary. In addition, Alex, Spencer and I reveal some of the films we are most looking forward to in 2019!

Rumors of this show’s death have been greatly exaggerated! I know it’s been a little while since I’ve been in your earholes, I’ll try to be gentle. If you’re subscribed to this show you proably forgot that you were and that’s understandable, it’s been almost 8 months since an episode of VIA VHS has been released. But like a phoenix from the ashes this show will rise again! A little dramatic I know. Big changes are on the way for a revamped version of the show, so if you have a moment, I’ll me explain what you can expect when VIA VHS hits the airwaves again.

As a movie fanatic, it’s fitting that I was born in 1984 because it is such an amzing year for film. Ghostbusters, Gremlins, The Karate Kid and so many big hits, but none was a bigger hit at the box office than Beverly Hills Cop. Eddie Murphy was everywhere, probably the world’s most famous standup at the time, killing it on SNL and now his first major blockbuster. This week’s Flux Capacitor focuses on 1988’s Beetlejuice, celebrating it’s 30th anniversary and Francis Ford Coppila’s 35 year old film The Outsiders. Promos this week feature our Podfix pals Gravity Beard and Who Spiked The Puns. You can find Justin every week on the Epic Film Guys podcast http://www.epicfilmguys.com/. Both Epic Film Guys and VIA VHS are proud members of the Podfix Network. Also be sure to visit @viavhs and @80smovietourney on Twitter to check out all of the action on this week’s 80s Movie Tournament. 64 of the best films from the 80s battle it out in a March Madness, NCAA Tournament style competition for 80s superiority.

Dang it feels great to be back! After taking a little time to regroup and record a few new episodes VIA VHS is back for what should be an amazing Season 2! Joining me on such a special occasion is one of my favorite podcasters, Paul from the Countdown Movie and every once and a while, almost never, TV reviews podcast. In stereotypical VIA VHS fashion, I’m having my Australian friend review Mad Max 2, obviously. Just kidding, Paul picked the film and at least he didn’t go full Aussie stereotype and pick Crocodile Dundee. Our guest spotlight is unintentionally James Cameron heavy this week as Paul tells us which Cameron films he loved as a kid and about a cute but crazy/homicidal ex-girlfriend who may or may not have been abducted by Aliens. This episode also features a sparse yet interesting Flux Capacitor segment with 1998’s US Marshalls and one of my all time favorite films, also celebrating it’s 20th anniversary, The Big Lebowski. Not to mention tons of side topic rants in VIA VHS ADD tradition. You can listen to the wildly succesful Countdown Movie & TV Podcast on all your favorite podcatching apps and as well on PodOmatic http://thecountdownmoviesandtv.podomatic.com/ The Countdown and VIA VHS are both proud members of the Podfix Network, find other great podcasts at https://www.podfixnetwork.com/ If you enjoy the show, please rate and subscribe for more Retro Films from the 70s, 80s and 90s. You can find VIA VHS on Twitter @viavhs on Instagram @viavhspod and on Facebook @viavhspodcast. Thanks for listening, VIA VHS will be back next Thursday with a brand new Rewind Review and the start of the 80s Move Tournament.

I’ve been waiting an entire year for this, the start of the 80s Movie Tournament. 64 of the best films from the 80s in a cutthroat battle for superiority!The best part is, YOU get to decide the winner! From March 15th to April 2nd in concurrence with the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (March Madness), the 80s Movie Tournament will take place through matchups decided in Twitter polls on the VIA VHS Twitter page @viavhs https://twitter.com/viavhs To help me with the seeding in theis tournament, Ive enlisted help from several of my Podfix pals. Ashlee Wright from our sister show the Rabbit Ears TV Podcasts @RabbitEarsTVPod, Dave from Super Movie Bros @SuperMoviePod, Chris Braaten from More Gooder Than @MGTpodcast and finally Justin Winters from So I Married A Movie Geek @MovieGeekCast. You can find all of their awesome shows at podfixnework.com I’ll be deciding the rest of the Top 12 seeds in the 80s Movie Tournament, however narrowing the field down to 64 80s movies is in credibly difficult. The great news is, you get to decide that as well. Head over to the VIA VHS facebook page https://www.facebook.com/viavhspodcast/and join our the Video Store Rejects facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/videostorerejects/to vote in the 80s Movie Tournament Bubble Poll to help decide who will make it into the tourney by the skin of their teeth. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on each matchup, here’s hoping for an exciting March!