Listen Now

Mike and John recap 1994 and share their Top Ten lists for the year.

This is it! Mike and John's grand experiment comes to an end as they review the final weeks of 1994, which gave us such the controversial comic gem Dumb and Dumber, the trainwreck disasterpiece Mixed Nuts, British import The Madness of King George, Robert Altman's Pret a Porter, and a bevvy of other films that wanted to be awards contenders...or were trying to get released with as little embarrassment as possible.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that unleashed Queen Margot (OK?), Disclosure (based on a book by Michael Crichton and directed by Barry Levinson, starring Michael Douglas and Demi Moore) and...Drop Zone (based on a fever dream, probably, starring Wesley Snipes and lots of parachutes)! So which were they able to see? Which were they able to tolerate? Which had a zanier ending? Which prompted a serious social discussion, and which has Gary Busey? When will I stop asking questions??? You'll never know...unless you listen to RetroPerspective and/or possess the will to research it all yourself! But we did all this work, so why not listen?

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that brought us Tom & Viv, Trapped in Paradise, and Cobb, which was totally supposed to be Oscar bait but missed it by a country mile.

Mike and John tackle November with gusto, catching up with Thanksgiving week and finding just where their tastes diverge with films as diverse as The Santa Clause, Interview with the Vampire, The Professional, Star Trek Generations, Junior, Three Colors: Red, The Pagemaster, and a whole host of other turkeys as they enter the final leg of their re-examination of 1994.

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that gave us Double Dragon, Floundering, Kenneth Branagh's Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Oleanna, and the Kevin Costner award-bait vehicle The War.

John and Mike revisit the week in 1994 that gave us the socially-conscious Drop Squad, the historically-focused curiosity The Road to Wellville, the mysteriously difficult to find Silent Fall, the Disney release Squanto: A Warrior’s Tale, and the movie that made Deviln & Emmerich a Hollywood force to reckon with... ...Stargate starring Kurt Russell, James Spader, and John's fascination with Kurt Russell.

​John and Mike are back and they're catching up on 1994, covering some exciting weeks which include Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, Shawshank Redemption, and whatever the hell else might've come out during that time. We appreciate your patience as we worked to get the show back up and running! If you want to yell at Mike about it on Twitter or Letterboxd, look for him @mumbles3k. To blame John, seek @kesseljunkie. But it's a massive, super-sized return to form, and this was worth the wait! We think. Thanks for listening!

John & Mike revisit a week that had a lot of stinkers, but they both watched the one that Rotten Tomatoes loved best: "What Happened Was..." written and directed by Tom Noonan. They also talk about urban legends having to do with legendary baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr. (not) beating up his good friend Kevin Costner, and John's determination to pay more attention to Rotten Tomatoes ratings for the rest of their visit through 1994.

John and Mike rewind to 1994 and visit the week that saw the release of Natural Born Killers, John Candy's last film Wagons East!, the heartfelt period drama Corrina, Corrina, Camp Nowhere, and The Advocate.

Mike and John cover THREE WEEKS of movies, which ultimately ends up with Mike having to endure a Naked Bruce Willis in a year marked by Naked Bruce Willis movies.

Mike and John revisit a week in 1994 that gave us Barcelona, Black Beauty, Foreign Student, It Could Happen to You, and the Jim Carrey hit The Mask.

Mike and John revsisit the week in 1994 that saw the John Grisham craze continue with The Client, Disney resurrect Lassie, the BBC release a Message Movie called Just Like a Woman, and Rob Reiner's North...a movie that Roger Ebert hated so much he titled a book with a quote about how much he hated it.

This week John & Mike revisit the week in 1994 that brought us True Lies, Angels in the Outfield, and a bunch of other movies that are hard as hell to track down 25 years later. Seriously, you'd think that you'd be able to find just about anything streaming nowadays, *especially* weird independent cinema. Providers keep screaming for content! Well, it's right there. And don't even get me started on how you have to see True Lies. Sign up for Cinemax as part of an add-on to Amazon Prime. I mean, sure, we're all gonna cancel after a movie or two have been watched, but at least make the thing rentable. It's the 21st Century for pete's sake!

This week in 1994 saw the release of Go Fish, Sex, Drugs & Democracy, and the eventual winner of the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture, Forrest Gump. Many people love the film Forrest Gump! Except Mike. Mike does not. There were two other movies released this week in 1994, too, but let's be honest - the argument that springs out of their disagreement about Gump may be their most spirited yet!

Mike and John revisit the week in 1994 that saw the release of I Love Trouble, Little Big League, Baby’s Day Out, Blown Away, and The Shadow. John saw two of these in the theater...can you guess which?

This week in 1994 saw the release of two films. Wyatt Earp, the second biopic in six months about the legendary lawman best known now for the shootout at the OK Corral. Starring Kevin Costner, with a supporting cast including Michael Madsen, Tom Sizemore, Bill Pullman, Tea Leoni, Catherine O'Hara, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rosellini, JoBeth Williams, Jeff Fahey, and a physically-transformed Dennis Quaid as Doc Holliday, this epic was directed and co-written by the legendary Lawrence Kasdan. Does it hold up? The other film released went on to become a beloved classic that cemented Disney's revival as an animation powerhouse known for regularly releasing smash success stories embraced by audiences young and old. Except for Mike, who doesn't really care for The Lion King.

Mike and John revisit the week that brought the Mike Nichols/Jack Nicholson collaboration, Wolf, which also featured James Spader and Michelle Pfeiffer. The same week saw the release of the kid-friendly comedy directed by Howard Deutch, Getting Even with Dad, featuring Ted Danson and Macaulay Culkin. Which was the better movie? Or were there no real winners this week?

Mike and John revisit the week that brought us the Keanu Reeves hit "Speed," the execrable "City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold," and the foreign language darling, "Three Colors: White." But mostly it's about "Speed," or as Homer Simpson called it, "The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down."

Mike (@mumbles3k) and John (@kesseljunkie) return to the week in 1994 that brought us A Gift from Heaven, Grief, Fear of a Black Hat, The Endless Summer 2, The Cowboy Way, and Renaissance Man.