Welcome to Podcast Portal: a spontaneous column that will highlight podcasts of all genres that are lesser known or new shows that are worth giving a listen. With the medium continuing to grow, it is hard to acknowledge all of them. However, I am going to try and find as many noteworthy titles as possible to share and hopefully expand your mind to the greatest growing medium out there. If you have any podcast that you feel is worth adding to the Podcast Portal, please make sure to inform me whether through the comments or through an e-mail (information in sidebar).
SHOW: '80s All Over
HOSTS: Scott Weinberg, Drew McWeeny
NETWORK: None
HOSTS: Scott Weinberg, Drew McWeeny
NETWORK: None
EPISODE BEING DISCUSSED: "February 1980"
With each passing day and possibly hour, it becomes more and more difficult to have a podcast with a specific hook. It's also impossible to believe that there's pop culture obsessives who don't have their own show to spout weekly on their passions. As the gap of original idea shrinks, movie critics Scott Weinberg and Drew McWeeny break into the game with '80s All Over: a show dedicated to going month by month to chronicle and review every major movie released during the 80's. Their reason? They believe that it may be one of the most influential decades in recent cinema. Oh yeah, and both of them have a pretty clear memory of how it went down at the time.
In their second episode, they cover the films of February 1980. Among them are films ranging from The Fog, American Gigolo, and Cruising to more obscure titles like Maniac, Fatso, and Hero at Large. There's more to it, but they essentially share their opinions on each and every film - which they have seen - as well as the conflicting availability of each title as well as the appeal of the actors at the time. While their previous episode explained that they're exploring the decade to suggest that the decade wasn't just cheesy, there's a sense of passion and effort that goes into this that has an appetizing conclusion. Presumably in 120 episode (minus bonus content), we'll have a cohesive guide to every 80's movie ever.
Thankfully Weinberg and McWeeny work well together and seem to have a working knowledge of the films. If nothing else, Weinberg's passion for John Carpenter's The Fog produces interesting stories of how horror films impacted his youth. McWeeny is more facts oriented and tends to share the career trajectory of the stars, as well as the competing Tom Horn project. It may not be thorough and every film doesn't get equal treatment (though the best get extended rants), but it does create insight into a decade that is remembered as being neon-colored and full of synth pop. If the first two episodes suggest anything, there's a lot to debunk about this myth for younger audiences.
It also helps that it serves as a time capsule of sorts. McWeeny begins every episode by reading facts related to the era. There are also several audio clips edited in throughout meant to either emphasize the film, or explain the film's larger impact. For instance, Cruising was a controversial film of its time and the episode packs in various archival interviews with people who feel that the film would be damaging to the gay community's reputation. Even if it comes across as a survey of movie history, the fact that it is for some films that rarely get the podcast treatment, it's hard to find those passionate about cinema's rich history not interested in what has to be said here.
I'll admit some personal bias. I am only 27 and don't have much connection to the 80's. To me, it is that cliche decade that I generally find cheesy and hollow. I have thankfully tried to evolve past that, but I still find myself at times wondering why the decade was so revered. In just two months of the decade, there have been several classics discussed and my knowledge of their influence has been greatly improved. If nothing else, it gets me excited for when they get further into the series and find the iconic 80's films. I wonder what they'll have to say about them. It may not be as thorough of a dissection as most podcasts, but this is still a massive undertaking the likes of which would be exciting to see be achieved. Good luck to the hosts, and I'll be seeing you on the next episode.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: It's a tough call if you don't like 80's movies. However, if you like to have bite sized movie history lessons, I would definitely recommend giving this a shot.
With each passing day and possibly hour, it becomes more and more difficult to have a podcast with a specific hook. It's also impossible to believe that there's pop culture obsessives who don't have their own show to spout weekly on their passions. As the gap of original idea shrinks, movie critics Scott Weinberg and Drew McWeeny break into the game with '80s All Over: a show dedicated to going month by month to chronicle and review every major movie released during the 80's. Their reason? They believe that it may be one of the most influential decades in recent cinema. Oh yeah, and both of them have a pretty clear memory of how it went down at the time.
In their second episode, they cover the films of February 1980. Among them are films ranging from The Fog, American Gigolo, and Cruising to more obscure titles like Maniac, Fatso, and Hero at Large. There's more to it, but they essentially share their opinions on each and every film - which they have seen - as well as the conflicting availability of each title as well as the appeal of the actors at the time. While their previous episode explained that they're exploring the decade to suggest that the decade wasn't just cheesy, there's a sense of passion and effort that goes into this that has an appetizing conclusion. Presumably in 120 episode (minus bonus content), we'll have a cohesive guide to every 80's movie ever.
Thankfully Weinberg and McWeeny work well together and seem to have a working knowledge of the films. If nothing else, Weinberg's passion for John Carpenter's The Fog produces interesting stories of how horror films impacted his youth. McWeeny is more facts oriented and tends to share the career trajectory of the stars, as well as the competing Tom Horn project. It may not be thorough and every film doesn't get equal treatment (though the best get extended rants), but it does create insight into a decade that is remembered as being neon-colored and full of synth pop. If the first two episodes suggest anything, there's a lot to debunk about this myth for younger audiences.
It also helps that it serves as a time capsule of sorts. McWeeny begins every episode by reading facts related to the era. There are also several audio clips edited in throughout meant to either emphasize the film, or explain the film's larger impact. For instance, Cruising was a controversial film of its time and the episode packs in various archival interviews with people who feel that the film would be damaging to the gay community's reputation. Even if it comes across as a survey of movie history, the fact that it is for some films that rarely get the podcast treatment, it's hard to find those passionate about cinema's rich history not interested in what has to be said here.
I'll admit some personal bias. I am only 27 and don't have much connection to the 80's. To me, it is that cliche decade that I generally find cheesy and hollow. I have thankfully tried to evolve past that, but I still find myself at times wondering why the decade was so revered. In just two months of the decade, there have been several classics discussed and my knowledge of their influence has been greatly improved. If nothing else, it gets me excited for when they get further into the series and find the iconic 80's films. I wonder what they'll have to say about them. It may not be as thorough of a dissection as most podcasts, but this is still a massive undertaking the likes of which would be exciting to see be achieved. Good luck to the hosts, and I'll be seeing you on the next episode.
OVERALL RATING: 3.5 out of 5
WORTH A SECOND GO?: It's a tough call if you don't like 80's movies. However, if you like to have bite sized movie history lessons, I would definitely recommend giving this a shot.
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