VIA VHS Podcast

Sandwiched between Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Hook, Spielberg brought us an 80s remake of ‘A Guy Named Joe’ in a movie titled Always. Out of all the films in the peak decades of Spielberg’s career, Always  may be the most forgotten, least discussed and certainly least celebrated. Starring Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman, Holly Hunter and even Audrey Hepburn in her last ever film appearance, Wes and Spencer discuss weather or not this film is a hidden Spielberg gem, or does it belong at the bottom of the barrel?

In this episode of Rewind Review we revisit the 1986 the cheesy yet endearing action film Iron Eagle. In memory of Louis Gossett Jr we look back at one of his peak VHS era flicks in this conventionally terrible and simultaneously charming Reagan era American propaganda film

We live in a time where there are actual hearings on Capitol Hill about disclosing to the public information regarding the Government hiding proof of UFO's and the possible existence of Extraterrestrial Alien biologics on Earth....and nobody gives a shit. Things play out a little differently in the 1997 film Contact which is the subject of this week's Rewind Review. This is one of Wes's favorite films of the 90s, and we discuss how this movie blew his mind as a teenager. In addition to our retrospective on Contact we delve into the recent Government hearings on UAPs and possible Alien Biologics and why nobody seems to care or the conspiracies have completely reversed.

80s music was dominated by hair metal, power pop, and corporate driven synthesizer sell out garbage (that I love the sh*t out of) But in this time of soulless capitalistic Huey Lewis cheesiness, a movie was released that celebrated the roots of so much of modern American music, the Blues. Crossroads is an amazing journey of blues discovery told as a road trip adventure, with just enough supernatural elements to live up to the mythos and folklore that surrounds Blues music. Starring Ralph Macchio during the height of his Karate Kid fame, Crossroads is a forgotten 80s gem that didn’t sell out. So travel down to the Delta with us as we review Crossroads (1986) Crossroads IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090888/ For a rad multimedia experience, check us out on all platforms here: viavhs - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree Check out all of Spencer’s cool work including the Pizza Boyz Comic and the Old Man Orange Podcast here: Old Man Orange Podcast, Pizza Boyz Comics, Drunk Batman Comedy, & Multi-Media Fun! - Old Man Orange Blog

Sam Raimi makes his way to our Rewind Review film list with this Sharon Stone lead 90s Western, The Quick and the Dead. Co-starring Gene Hackman, this film is bolstered by an amazing cast, including two future Hollywood A-Listers before they were household names in Leonardo Dicaprio  and Russell Crowe. The Quick and the Dead certainly has it's own unique flavor, but is it all style and no substance? Wes and Spencer shar their somewhat opposing views and this 90s Cult Western.

Wes and Spencer travel to the Deep South for some deep fried biker action in this episode of the VIA VHS Podcast. NFL burnout and 80s steroid icon Brian Bosworth takes on a dangerous, greasy, drug dealing group of racist bikers, who somehow pull the hottest women around into their group. It must be the meth? The Boz has to take them down into this Grade A trailer park action flick Stone Cold. Oh, yeah almost forgot, Mullets….lots of Mulets!

An 80s cultural phenomenon! Top Gun captivated audiences with it’s action, style, music, charisma and…homo-erotic tension. With the highly anticipated (by us) sequel Top Gun: Maverick hitting theaters in just a week, we go back to the Danger Zone with Goose, Maverick, Ice Man, Wes and Spencer to relive the the all time classic Top Gun!

Wes dips his toes for the first time into the world of anime with this delightfully bizarre and strangely artistic space fantasy called Space Adventure Cobra!

In this episode of VIA VHS Rewind Review revisit the 1997 comic book action film Spawn. Major childhood disappointment or unfairly judged classic?

Spencer and Wes get all oiled up and ready to discuss this muscly man, action flick about arm wrestling and…child custody disputes? Anyways, we are looking back on the  Canon produced, Sylvester Stallone dud Over the Top in this week’s Rewind Review

From the Schlockmaster Supreme Roger Corman comes one of the dumbest films we’ve ever seen, Avalanche. Rock Hudson and Mia Farrow Star in this cinematic excrement from 1978 and we endured a viewing just to tell you what we think.

In this episode of VIA VHS we revisit the 2001 failed reboot of the Planet of the Apes franchise. What did Tim Burton and company do wrong to make this film a failure? What did they do right that doesn’t get the credit it deserves?  Wes and Spencer discuss this and more in this weeks Rewind Review

Seemingly at random, we chose to review a film neither of us had heard of. Turns out Voyage of the Rock Aliens is somewhat of a cult classic and perhaps deserves more recognition, in some ways. This delightfully bizarre 80s "musical' harkens back to the 50s Beach Movie days and mixes that dynamic with the 80s Music Video revolution. What is born of that is a weird little cult hit that was perhaps one hit song away from being a big deal, guess they should've got Michael instead of Jermaine. Enjoy Wes and Spencer's review of Voyage of the Rock Aliens

Finally, after many trials and tribulations we have successfully launched ourselves into the world of video podcasts...hopefully. To celebrate our overcoming of previous upload inadequacies, we are reviewing one of the most bad ass, bombastic, over the top action films of all time, Hard Boiled.

In this episode of the VIA VHS Podcast, Wesley and Spencer relive the delightfully tacky yet unrefined Hulk Hogan small screen action vehicle, Thunder in Paradise. A TV movie written in a Hooters restaurant about a highly advanced speed boat captained by Martin ‘Bru’ Brubaker (Chris Lemmon) and Randolph J. Hurricane(Hulk Hogan) Turn off your brain for this one folks, just sit back and take it in. Halfway through you’ll have tons of questions, how is Hulk Hogan able to sneak around undetected, how can Hulk Hogan stand up with head room in the cabin of a tiny speedboat, why is this a bad rom com most of the way through, what happened to Chris Lemmon’s career? All of these questions will be answered in this direct to video film/TV pilot episode. Find VIA VHS on Social Media: Twitter: @viavhs twitter.com/viavhs Instagram: @viavhspod instagram.com/viavhspod Facebook: @viavhspodcast facebook.com/viavhspodcast Find the VIA VHS Podcast on all platforms: https://linktr.ee/viavhs Find all of Spencer’s work including the Old Man Orange Podcast and Pizza Boyz Comic at: Old Man Orange Podcast, Pizza Boyz Comics, Drunk Batman Comedy & Multi-Media Fun! - Old Man Orange Blog Intro music is the track Hackers thanks to Karl Casey at White Bat Audio. Listen to all his dope ass music on Spotify, YouTube or at: White Bat Audio

The self-proclaimed Horror Novice Wesley joins co-host Spencer to give his thoughts on his FIRST EVER viewing of the all-time great horror masterpiece, George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead. Did the standard bearer of Zombie flicks further drive Wesley's new found interest in the genre? Or was he underwhelmed? BLASPHEMY!! Also hear the Flashback Portal's first foray into the 1970's in this episode of VIA VHS Rewind Review.

Buried into oblivion was this bizarre, horror comedy starring Denise Richards and Paul Walker called Tammy and the T-Rex. Originally marketed as a light hearted and stupid family film, Tammy and the T-Rex lost all it's gory, violent, tongue-in-cheek charm and disappeared from public awareness for almost two decades. Vinegar Syndrome with help of a gory Italian cut of the film, restored Tammy (or Tanny?) to it's former glory as a B-level horror comedy inspired by the all but brief access to an animatronic T-Rex and presumably drugs. In this episode of Rewind Review, Wes and Spencer look at the original vision of Tammy and the T-Rex

As the Cold War wanes and the Soviet villain is becoming passe, James Bond finds a new foe in America's other ongoing war with drugs. This is an odd Bond film but perhaps one of the best. Unfortunately, an absolutely stacked box office and a new geopolitical era on the horizon caused this Bond film to be lost in the shuffle, calling into question the future of the franchise as a whole. In this episode of VIA VHS Rewind Review, Wes and Spencer revisit Timothy Dalton's last outing in his all to brief run as Bond, License to Kill.

No more fun and games, no more corny villains, no more silliness…ok a little silliness, but not too much. It’s the late 80s and it’s time for a new James Bond. A Bond that won’t take your shit, a Bond that will bang your Mom, eat all of your Fruit Roll Ups and then leave. Timothy Dalton is here to steal your girl. Roger Moore was fun, don’t get me wrong, but we need a return to Fleming’s Bond. A cold, ruthless assassin in the streets and, well, ask your Mom about the sheets. The forgotten Bond, Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights is this weeks Rewind Review.

Not long ago, in an age of neon pants, ghetto blasters and breakdancing, the world was covered in ice...Vanilla Ice. Mr. Van Winkle was everywhere in 90-91, but as the Vanilla Ice-age was coming to an end in October of 1991, the Vanilla Ice marketing decided to strike while the iron was cool and release the much maligned box office bomb, Cool as Ice. In this episode of Rewind Review, Wes and Spencer look back at this time capsule of douchebaggery and tell you how cool it really is! Word to ya mutha