Episode 141: TWISTER (1996)

"We've got cows!" as NostalgiaCast weathers the storm to talk about TWISTER, starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Returning guest (and hat enthusiast) The Lady Wan of the ScreenRun podcast joins Jonny and Darin to discuss the thunderous action, earth-shaking special effects, and drizzly character dynamics of Jan De Bont's pulse-pounding disaster spectacle, then settle down to bemoan the state of blockbuster cinema today.

It's time for the latest episode of NostalgiaCast, m-hm, as Jonny and Darin sit down for an order of french-fried potaters and SLING BLADE, written and directed by Billy Bob Thornton and starring Billy Bob Thornton, John Ritter, and Dwight Yoakam. Listen as your hosts chat about the movie's origins, filmmaking choices, and how it became an Indie darling at the 69th Academy Awards, plus a discussion of the ongoing battle between streaming services and physical media. All right then!

It's "Engage!", "Make it so!", and "Space—the final frontier!" as NostalgiaCast crosses another item off its bucket list with STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT, directed by Jonathan Frakes and starring Patrick Stewart, James Cromwell, Alfre Woodard, Alice Krige, and the entire NEXT GENERATION crew. Jonny and Darin welcome director, photographer and fellow Trekker/Trekkie Rachel Masters to the 'Cast for a discussion of the stellar performances, timeless FX, and terrific balance of TREK lore and blockbuster filmmaking that define what is arguably TNG's finest big-screen adventure. Listen now or risk assimilation!   Check out Rachel's podcast Film Fritter, here: https://www.youtube.com/@filmfritter   Check out Rachel's music video work, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1HhIXH-v1g

It's a time to question what you believe and no time for mistakes as NostalgiaCast opens its 1996 retrospective with A TIME TO KILL, directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, and Samuel L. Jackson. Listen as Jonny and Darin discuss the movie's hot-button subject matter as filtered through the blockbuster sensibilities, knockout performances, and questionable legal tactics that bring John Grisham's most personal novel to life. CONTENT WARNING: This episode features frank conversations about racial violence and sexual assault.

Podcasting is what happens while you're busy making other plans! NostalgiaCast closes out its 1995 retrospective with a look back at MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS, directed by Stephen Herek and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Glenne Headly, William H. Macy, and Jean Louisa Kelly. Listen as Jonny and Darin wax nostalgic about their high school days, how the movie captures the importance of art and imagination as well as the highs and lows of a life worth living, and Dreyfuss's tour de force performance. Also the masterful way that MR. HOLLAND'S OPUS spans 30 years without resorting to digital de-aging or other cheap tricks used ad nauseam by filmmakers today.

It's Tarantino time, baby! In this special interim episode of NostalgiaCast, Jonny and Darin sit down for a discussion of Quentin Tarantino's "controversial" Top 20 Films Of The 21st Century (so far). Listen as your objective hosts chat about the subjectivity of "Best Of" lists, why it makes no sense to lose your mind over someone else's opinions, and even compile their own lists of the Top 10 films they loved most over the past 25 years, as a proof of concept as to why any list should be emphatically 100% your own.

The future is history as NostalgiaCast winds the clock back... then forward... then back again for a mind-altering discussion of TWELVE MONKEYS, directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Bruce Willis, Brad Pitt, and Madeleine Stowe. Jonny and Darin are joined by friend, film scholar, and Sonic Cinema podcast host Brian Skutle for an attempt to unravel the timey-wimey plot twists and wackadoo acting choices of a movie so apocalyptic, it takes several watches just to get your bearings on it. Plus, Jonny, Darin, and Brian rank their Top 3 films from Gilliam, Willis, and Pitt. Colonics for everyone! Listen now!

We are go for launch as NostalgiaCast welcomes friend, scholar, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic Manuel São Bento for a rocket-fueled chat about Ron Howard's APOLLO 13, starring Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Kathleen Quinlan, Gary Sinese, and Ed Harris. Manuel joins Jonny and Darin to discuss the movie's technical mastery, stellar performances, and out-of-this-world historical accuracy, plus an exploration of the introspective nature of film, and how our reactions say infinitely more about us than we possibly realize.

Look at me, Harry! NostalgiaCast kicks off its 1995 retrospective with a fond look back at GET SHORTY, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld and starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito. Jonny and Darin don't say anything more than they have to, if that, as they compare this meta-comedy classic confection to the Elmore Leonard book on which it's based, gush over their favorite performances and dialogue, and marvel at how Sonnenfeld and screenwriter Scott Frank make the adaptation their own. Don't be a f*** ball. Listen now!

I'm your huckleberry! It's a tale of two Wyatts as NostalgiaCast gallops back to the Old West with a double dip into TOMBSTONE (directed by George P. Cosmatos and starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer) and WYATT EARP (directed by Lawrence Kasdan and starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid). Our friend / above average fanboy Joe Buttice of the Reel Spoilers podcast joins Jonny and Darin to discuss the wiiiildly different approaches to the legend of Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, the Gunfight At The O.K. Corral, and whether both versions stand better on their own or if they'd work better as an amalgam of aesthetics, writing, and performances.