Episode 113: The 80s Kids Top 5 Films of the 00s Face Off - Part Two

Gosh it seems like it's taken us a long time to get here. Which is BECAUSE IT HAS! Two and a bit years is a long time in anyone's book. If someone had put you in a box and buried you for that long you'd jolly well know about it by now... or maybe you wouldn't.

Anyway, here we are. The 80s Kids faves of the 00s are about to be known by one and, indeed all. The implication of this is that with a little careful re-examination of the archive you could build some kind of Uber List of 80s Kids top movies from the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s. That's a lot of favourite movie action there people.

Anyway, now you're back after your impromptu film festival of the last four decades(ish) of cinema I have to tell you that you missed up to 8 important movies. Yes, you, you're always running off to do stuff without thinking it through.

The 80s Kids, and there are four of them, have two movies each yet to disclose. You went off to watch the rest and left these ones out. So you'd better sit down right now and listen to this podcast because only then will your life be complete*.

Incidental music by incompetech.com

*This may not actually happen. But it's a good podcast.



Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/113The80sKidsTop5OfThe00sFaceOffPartTwo/113-the-80s-kids-top-5-of-the-00s-face-off-part-two.mp3

Episode 112: The 80s Kids Top 5 of the 00s Face Off Part One

You know the drill people, we start with 5 films, all withheld from each other's knowledge. We countdown from 5 to 3 taking turns to reveal our picks. Simultaneous choices could lead to harmonious joy or social awkwardness. Who knows which way it will go.

Leo's pretty confident that he won't be interfering with anyone else's picks in the first part of the countdown. Sue believes she hasn't picked anything that other people will have gone for. Ian and Justin are both more wary.

Will there be upsets? Harmony? Discord? Social Awkwardness? A rapidly shoehorned in Shia Lebeouf monster? There's only one way to find out!

... Yes... that's listen to the podcast. What did you think I meant? Hum. Okay, why would I have meant that? You need help.

Incidental music provided as ever by Incompetech.com



Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/112The80sKidsTop5OfThe00sFaceOffPartOne/112-the-80s-kids-top-5-of-the-00s-face-off-part-one.mp3

Episode 110: 2009 - Is That All There Is?

The 80s Kids finally run out of road, chronologically speaking, this week as they arrive at their stated destination of 2009. This being the objective of their quest from the beginning. You would expect a chequered flag, a ribbon to break, champagne, fireworks.

Instead, and rather predictably, they just find a load of inconvenient questions...

Where does one file "The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus"? Was it a good year to be a child? A sci fi fan? A horror fan? What if you like Literary Adaptations? Or just fancied a bit of a laugh? Or splosions? Everyone likes splosions! Surely?

There was certainly a good quantity of product on offer at the close of the noughties. How much of it was any good though? The 80s Kids roll up their sleeves and get stuck into a year like any other, desperately so.

In other news their mysterious nemesis, working on behalf of the evil arch-nemesis Big Bay, finally has the kids cornered. As they've managed to get this far without dying, and now their journey is at its end, you probably won't care much for the resolution of that plot strand though, will you?

Hardly incidental, and actually rather good, music provided by incompetech.com Awesome.



Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/1102009IsThatAllThereIs/110-2009-is-that-all-there-is.mp3

Episode 98: 2006 - Lady in the Podcast

So we prepared for this one, adequately we felt. We have noticed that year shows at the latter end of the journey are somewhat... how shall we say... baggy. The pace of film production has just gone mental these last few years.

We took a look at the list of major releases recorded for 1976 the other day and it looked like someone had left off 75% of the titles to our jaded modern eyes. So we carefully selected the movies to look at and the ones to group and discuss en masse. We stuck to the plan. We knew we could keep our discussion time down.

We failed.

So what went wrong??? Well, 2006... and this sounds like a cop-out but really it's not... 2006 was a very cerebral year at the pictures. Not so much in Hollywood where it was all pirates and secret agents and failing to do Superman properly again. The smaller projects are the problem. How can you not spend quality time discussing Children of Men? Or Deja Vu? Or Idiocracy? Or Pan's Labyrinth? There's just so much to talk about!

Thank goodness we did V for Vendetta in our Wachowskis retrospective, because honestly that might have taken us past the 2 hour point. Thankfully 2007 is shaping up to be completely boring, so next time... next time...

Incidental Music by incompetech.com

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/098Films2006LadyInThePodcast/098%20-%20Films%202006%20-%20Lady%20in%20the%20Podcast.mp3

Episode 97: Noughties Procedural Action Men - The TV show

Procedural drama. You know the stuff. You have your cast of regulars who act as problem solvers and each week they get to do their job, working their way through whatever crisis is going on in a neat format be that Murders, Undead Horrors or Aliens come to Earth to stir up trouble.

Of course we've got over an hour to kill talking on this topic on our episode so this necessitates a degree of formula. After our attention grabbing opening skit we sink our teeth into 'Angel' as this series more than any other seemed to umbrella over so much of what we wanted to discuss. This quickly leads into a more worldly chat about the frantic '24' and then onto the crime shows of 'CSI', 'Lie to Me', The Mentalist', 'Criminal Minds' and that UK attempt at '24' style show ... 'Spooks'. If we were a procedural show all this would fall before our first ad break so you can safely assume it will be a dead end as we move on to new lines of inquiry after a word from our sponsor.

We then head into the thrilling middle section as the problem only seems to deepen. Taking our conversation to the amazing but gritty 'The Shield', the undying 'Supernatural', the much beloved 'True Blood', the quirky 'Eureka' and charming 'Warehouse 13'. But all this is mere run around that only leaves us with an ever deepening mystery.

Finally, getting desperate, Leo lets Ian off his leash and lets him talk on the shaggy Doctor Who spin off 'Torchwood', and while he's waffling away to himself something he says makes a connection in Leo's mind and suddenly in a dramatic final scene all is explained and the topic put to bed in time for the closing titles.

And next week will be very much the same I expect. But I think people find such things reassuring.

Incidental Music by incompetech.com

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/097ActionNoughtyTV/097%20-%20Action%20Noughty%20TV.mp3

Episode 94: 2005 - The Man For Whom Aeon Flux Was Made

This week the 80s Kids are going to talk about 2005. Here we are, slap bang in the middle of the noughties and if this zero themed decade is about anything I guess it should be happening RIGHT NOW!

Looking over our selection it seems to be a year of torch passing, or at least torch dropping while other more successful flame bearers are getting on those sport shoes with the spiky soles and limbering up for a good run ahead defining the era. Very much in the stumbling camp are the relics of yesteryear greats.

The Star Wars prequels finally reach 'okay' on the watchability spectrum and calling it a day. Hitchickers Guide to the Galaxy finally expires with it's latest incarnation on our cinema screens bring an end to Douglas Adams twenty year ambition to tell exactly the same story over and over in every possible medium.

Spielberg's War of the Worlds stalls badly upon arrival on Earth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory judders off the Burton production line and ends up in the reject bin and the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe totally fails to enchant itself to a new generation of children.

Meanwhile the superheroes continue their campaign to dominate all cinema with the impressive Batman Begins and the not so impressive Fantastic Four. The stylistically violent nihilistic noir of Sin City and acceptable Keanu Reeves vehicle Constantine.

King Kong lumbers about like he owns the joint and as usual Potter dominates the year. This year also proved conclusively that Firefly fans really are a small tiny minority of an obscure short lived show with the failure of Serenity.

This might garner the film a extra special place in our sentimental hearts, but then Leo pointed out that while Firefly fans are few the total number of people for whom Aeon Flux was made for number only one, and that was him and him alone. Given the duty of geeks is to love the most obscure thing possible in favor of the mainstream we have named this episode in its honor. Incidental Music by incompetech.com

Direct Link:https://archive.org/download/094Films2005/094%20-%20Films%202005.mp3

Episode 92: Space - The Final Boxset

This week the 80s Kids are strapping on their rocket packs, putting on their best rock quarry hiking boots and setting their story arcs to stun. Yes, this week we're discussing the long running space operas of the Noughties.

A quick glance at the rows of boxset on my groaning DVD shelves reminds me this will cover such things as the sexy obsessive and strangeness of Farscape, to the overly serious plot rambling Battlestar Galatica reboot. From the dismal inbred mutant that was Enterprise to Roddenberry's illegitimate spawn Andromeda.

From Stargates Atlantis to Universe and back again. Strap in tight as we set nostalgia to lightspeed, it's time to fly out into the great beyond and seek out new opinions and insights as we boldly return to where many a geek as gone before. Incidental music by incompetech.

Direct Link:https://archive.org/download/092SpaceTheFinalBoxset/092%20-%20Space%20the%20Final%20Boxset.mp3

Episode 91: 2004 - Alien King Arthur of the Dead and the Catwoman of Azkaban Versus Predator Sky Captain Helsing's Spiderford Wives Team America of the Spotless Robot

Delayed by a mere 24 hours episode 91 is finally here!

This week the Decade trotting trio confront the Bombs and Booms of 2004's Film choices! I'm sure I can fill a few sentences with humorous and informative descriptions of what we talked about. But really, doesn't the films of 2004 sum it all up already?

I really feel I'd be repeating myself if I went into any more detail about which films in particular. I mean, google the darn year and you'll see this is the time of Van Helsing, Catwoman, I Robot, King Arthur, The Third Harry Potter Film, Team America, District 13, AvP, The Chronicles of Riddick, Spiderman 2, Hellboy, The Stepford Wives, Bourne Supremacy, Man on Fire, Shaun of the Dead and Blade Trinity to name but a few.

With our rose tinted glasses we predictably rifle our way though this jumble of date collected movies, offering opinions on the fly on the remembered big hitters and the forgotten bombs of this yesteryear ... erm .... year.

If you don't know what the 80s kids are like by now ... well ... you're very much like the other 99.999999999999% of the internet, so why not stand out and give us a listen? Incidental Music by incompetech.com

Direct Link:

https://archive.org/download/091Films2004AlienKingArthurOfTheDead/091%20-%20Films%202004%20-%20Alien%20King%20Arthur%20of%20the%20Dead%20and%20the%20Catwoman%20of%20Azkaban%20verses%20Predator%20Sky%20Captain%20Helsing_s%20Spiderford%20Wives%20Team%20America%20of%20the%20Spotless%20iRobot.mp3

Episode 80: 2001 - The Year We Make... Not Much Worth Talking About, And Fantasy Movies

Well, I won't pretend to be anything other than a wimp ... but I ... Ian ... am a tad unwell. So I'm going to shirk my duties and do a short write up this week. So to be brief: In 2001 Fantasy lands big time and gets much talked about.

Meanwhile the 90s goes through it's dying spasms with a heap of forgettable movies that should never have been made. Oh that was easy. I should be lazy more often! Incidental Music by Incompetech

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/080Films2001/080%20-%20Films%202001.mp3

Episode 78: 2000 - A New Springtime For The Kids

At last the 80s Kids land on the shores of the Noughties and set to work the task of reviewing the films of this fresh millennial year. A year that is not so much known for it's genre busting iconic films and more for necessary evolutionary steps.

No one could call the first X Men movie anything other than functional but it puts down another vital stone on the path to our modern cinema. And Pitch Black proves highly successful due to it's Riddick genes of course. But as with all evolution there are dead ends, TITAN AE failed to find its audience and has only faded in time due to its virtue of being a cartoon.

And the old Terminator Arnie is besides himself in clone action thriller "6th Day" making him a very literal 80s fossil. But all in all, and obviously excluding "Battlefield Earth" there really wasn't anything so terrible or offensive about this new start. Other than Leo gushing about Battle Royale of course ... but as a former teacher I suppose he finds some glee in the messy affair.

Incidental Music by incompetech.com

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/0782000ANewSpringtimeForTheKids/078-2000-A-New-Springtime-For-The-Kids.mp3

Episode 76: Resurrection Of The Noughty Children

This week the 80s kids dig perhaps not so deeply into their long memories and summon back into existence their Noughties counter parts as they recount their changing lives and cinema visits during the first decade of the new Millennium. From Ian's cultural high life in Bath to his exile in Victoria Australia. From Justin's struggle to make it as an illustrator and quest to find friends who share his passions to his fateful meeting with Leo. From Leo's job hopping, city moving adventures to settled married life.

The Noughties were a time of a grown up kind of change for our batch of now 20s going on 30s pod-casting heroes. But most importantly they recount their experiences of seeing the films of this period, when they were fresh new and all sparkly and what is was like to actually be there. It's our usual scout head prior to starting a new decade. And along the way lies all that came just before the slice of time we are all living now.

Direct Link: https://archive.org/download/076ResurrectionOfTheNoughtyChildren/076-Resurrection-of-the-Noughty-Children.mp3