This week we discuss SCROOGED! n this modern take on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Frank Cross (Bill Murray) is a wildly successful television executive whose cold ambition and curmudgeonly nature has driven away the love of his life, Claire Phillips (Karen Allen). But after firing a staff member, Eliot Loudermilk (Bobcat Goldthwait), on Christmas Eve, Frank is visited by a series of ghosts who give him a chance to re-evaluate his actions and right the wrongs of his past. Be sure to subs...
Dec 04, 2024•46 min•Ep. 49
This week we discuss HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS! When her teenage daughter opts out of Thanksgiving, single mother Claudia Larson (Holly Hunter) travels alone to her childhood home for an explosive holiday dinner with her dysfunctional family. Claudia quickly tires of her parents, her long-suffering sister (Cynthia Stevenson), her snobby brother-in-law (Steve Guttenberg) and her nutty aunt (Geraldine Chaplin). But the evening gets interesting when sparks fly between Claudia and her brother's handsome...
Nov 26, 2024•51 min•Ep. 48
This week we discuss the Thanksgiving cult classic - DUTCH!! Working man Dutch (Ed O'Neill) is dating the divorced Natalie (JoBeth Williams), and he offers to drive her stuffy 13-year-old, Doyle (Ethan Randall), from his private school in Atlanta to his mother's home in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Doyle is not interested as he blames Natalie for the divorce and wants nothing to do with Mom's new boyfriend, especially given the man's lowly, working-class roots. This pairing makes for a journey fill...
Nov 19, 2024•52 min•Ep. 47
This week we discuss 1994's WOLF!! After being bitten by a wolf in rural Vermont, aging book editor Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) finds himself full of youthful vigor. Randall then discovers that he's been fired and replaced by Stewart Swinton (James Spader), a vicious young executive. As Randall struggles to regain his position, he becomes enthralled with Laura Alden (Michelle Pfeiffer), his former boss's daughter. And, as increasingly animal-like urges begin to overwhelm him, Randall worries t...
Nov 12, 2024•48 min•Ep. 46
This week we cover 1994's THE CROW! Soulmates Eric Draven and Shelly Webster are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Draven returns to seek bloody revenge against the killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite pod platform and our YOUTUBE channel! Visit thecultworthy.com Visit https://www.themoviewire.com Video: http...
Nov 05, 2024•51 min•Ep. 45
THIS WEEK WE COVER LITTLE MONSTERS! Little Monsters is a 1989 American fantasy comedy film starring Fred Savage and Howie Mandel and directed by Richard Alan Greenberg. It tells the story of a boy who befriends a real-life "monster under the bed" and discovers a secret world of monsters who sneak into children's bedrooms at night to pull pranks on them. Although the film failed financially, receiving a limited theatrical release due to Vestron’s bankruptcy, it obtained a cult following on home v...
Oct 29, 2024•55 min•Ep. 44
This week we tackle the controversial "WOMEN IN DANGER" episode where Roger and Gene naively attack the horror/slasher genre - saying that it is against the "women's movement" and has no redeeming qualities. We hit back hard - how do you feel about it? Be sure to subscribe on your favorite pod platform and our YOUTUBE channel! Visit thecultworthy.com Visit https://www.themoviewire.com Video: https://www.youtube.com/@back2thebalcony...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 43
This week we discuss JEWEL OF THE NILE! Novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) is living with adventurer boyfriend Jack Colton (Michael Douglas) on his yacht. But she leaves when Omar (Spiros Focas), the head of a North African nation, asks her to visit his country and write about him. Jack intends to go on a pleasure cruise to Greece, but when he learns that Joan is a pawn in Omar's quest to polish his image and gain greater power, he partners with continent-hopping criminal Ralph (Danny DeVito...
Oct 18, 2024•49 min•Ep. 42
This week we discuss the Mel Gibson film THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE. Young Chuck Norstadt (Nick Stahl) wants nothing more than to join a prestigious military academy like his late father, but he is wary of the school's lofty academic standards. With only a single summer in which to study for the entrance exam, Chuck finds an unlikely tutor in the form of Justin McLeod (Mel Gibson), a disfigured recluse who was once a teacher. McLeod agrees to teach Chuck, and the two form a deep friendship -- until ...
Oct 08, 2024•53 min•Ep. 41
This week we discuss 1984's ANGEL! Angel is a 1984 American exploitation thriller film directed by Robert Vincent O'Neil , written by O'Neil and Joseph Michael Cala, [4] [5] and starring Donna Wilkes , Cliff Gorman , Susan Tyrrell , Dick Shawn , and Rory Calhoun . Its plot follows a teenage prostitute in Los Angeles who faces danger when a serial killer begins stalking and murdering young prostitutes. We cover the film and Siskel and Ebert's Review! CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR! BULLETPROOF COFFEE: htt...
Oct 01, 2024•54 min•Ep. 40
This week Justin and I discuss the classic comedy WEIRD SCIENCE! Teen misfits Gary and Wyatt design their ideal woman on a computer, and a freak electrical accident brings her to life in the form of the lovely, superhuman Lisa. She outfits Gary and Wyatt in cool clothes, surprises them with a Porsche and helps them stand up to jerks Ian and Max. But, all the while, the boys must hide Lisa's existence from Chet, Wyatt's nightmare of a big brother. We cover the film and Siskel and Ebert's Review! ...
Sep 24, 2024•53 min•Ep. 39
This week we are discussing the film La Bamba! Los Angeles teenager Ritchie Valens (Lou Diamond Phillips) becomes an overnight rock 'n' roll success in 1958, thanks to a love ballad called "Donna" that he wrote for his girlfriend (Danielle von Zerneck) whose parents didn't want her to date a Latino boy. But as his star rises, Valens has conflicts with his jealous brother, Bob (Esai Morales), and becomes haunted by a recurring nightmare of a plane crash just as he begins his first national tour a...
Sep 17, 2024•52 min•Ep. 38
This wee we welcome a very special guest: Josh Skaar of THE TALKING SMAC podcast! We discuss STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. The Federation calls on Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and the crew of the Starship Enterprise to contain an immense nimbused object that's on a crash course with Earth. After investigating, the crew discovers that the alien cloud harbors artificial intelligence with an ominous primary directive. Crisis strikes when a probe dispatched by the energy cloud attacks the c...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 37
This week we discuss SHE'S OUT OF CONTROL! She's Out of Control is a 1989 American independent coming of age comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti , starring Tony Danza , Ami Dolenz and Catherine Hicks . [3] The original music score was composed by Alan Silvestri . The film was marketed with the tagline "She was Daddy's little girl. Now she's at that age when girls go wild, guys go crazy and Dads go nuts". The film was shot with the working title Daddy's Little Girl . We cover the film and Siskel...
Sep 03, 2024•51 min•Ep. 36
This week we tackle the 80's disaster - BLAME IT ON RIO! Two friends who work for the same Brazilian company, Matthew (Michael Caine) and Victor (Joseph Bologna) decide to take a vacation together without their wives, since both men are having marital difficulties. Each brings his teenage daughter along, and there is trouble when Matthew begins an affair with Victor's daughter, Jennifer (Michelle Johnson). As Victor catches wind of the fling, Matthew tries to keep his involvement a secret, leadi...
Aug 27, 2024•54 min•Ep. 35
This week Justin and I discuss the 1980's yuppie comedy - THE SECRET OF MY SUCCESS. Recent college graduate Brantley Foster (Michael J. Fox) travels from his home in Kansas to New York City to pursue a new finance job. However, when Brantley arrives, he learns that his position has been eliminated, and he's forced to take a job working for his inept Uncle Howard (Richard Jordan), who became a company president through marriage. Brantley starts as a mere mailroom worker, but quickly climbs the co...
Aug 20, 2024•59 min•Ep. 34
This week Justin and I cover the Brian de Palma misfire - BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES! In this adaptation of the Tom Wolfe novel, powerful Wall Street executive Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) is riding with his greedy girlfriend, Maria (Melanie Griffith), when she makes a wrong turn and winds up in the Bronx. There, she runs over a black boy and drives off without reporting it. When alcoholic tabloid reporter Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) discovers the story, he knows it will be scandalous and riles up New...
Aug 13, 2024•58 min•Ep. 33
This week we take a listener request and cover the maligned Steven Spielberg film HOOK!! When his young children are abducted by his old nemesis, Capt. Hook (Dustin Hoffman), middle-aged lawyer Peter Banning (Robin Williams) returns to his magical origins as Peter Pan. Peter must revisit a foggy past in which he abandoned Neverland for family life, leaving Tinkerbell (Julia Roberts) and the Lost Boys to fend for themselves. Given their bitterness toward Peter for growing up -- and their allegian...
Aug 06, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 32
This week Justin and I discuss 1990's MERMAIDS. Fifteen-year-old Charlotte Flax (Winona Ryder) is tired of her wacky mom (Cher) moving their family to a different town any time she feels it is necessary. When they move to a small Massachusetts town and Mrs. Flax begins dating a shopkeeper (Bob Hoskins), Charlotte and her 9-year-old sister, Kate (Christina Ricci), hope that they can finally settle down. But when Charlotte's attraction to an older man gets in the way, the family must learn to acce...
Jul 30, 2024•57 min•Ep. 31
This week Justin and I take a break from our normal routine and focus on a special episode from 1992 dedicated to Siskel and Ebert's GUILTY PLEASURES. From TREMORS to EARTH GIRLS ARE EASY - we take these critics to task in regards to their "guilty pleasure" films. CHECK OUT OUR SPONSOR! BULLETPROOF COFFEE: https://www.bulletproof.com - USE CODE "B2B" Be sure to subscribe on your favorite pod platform and our YOUTUBE channel! Visit thecultworthy.com Visit https://www.themoviewire.com Video: https...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 30
This week we discuss the 1985 Western Classic PALE RIDER. When property owner Coy LaHood (Richard Dysart) starts using a band of hooligans to terrorize a group of small-town gold miners into giving up their territory, an enigmatic man named "Preacher" (Clint Eastwood) arrives in town. Preacher fends off the attacks, and then goes directly to LaHood to negotiate. When the miners, led by Hull Barret (Michael Moriarty), refuse the terms, LaHood sends in Marshall Stockburn (John Russell) to take dow...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 29
This week on BACK 2 THE BALCONY we discuss BEETLEJUICE! After Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam Maitland (Alec Baldwin) die in a car accident, they find themselves stuck haunting their country residence, unable to leave the house. When the unbearable Deetzes (Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones) and teen daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) buy the home, the Maitlands attempt to scare them away without success. Their efforts attract Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a rambunctious spirit whose "help" quickly beco...
Jul 09, 2024•52 min•Ep. 28
This week we make up for the lackluster "John Carpenter's Vampires" with a real vampire classic - FRIGHT NIGHT! Teenage Charley Brewster is a horror-film junkie, so it's no surprise that when a reclusive new neighbor moves next-door, Brewster becomes convinced he's a vampire. It's also no surprise when nobody believes him. After strange events begin to occur, Charlie has no choice but to turn to the only person who could possibly help: washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent. Heat our ...
Jul 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 27
This week we discuss one of John Carpenter's latter day curios - VAMPIRES! Ever since his parents were murdered by vampires, Jack Crow (James Woods) has had one purpose in life: putting stakes through bloodsuckers' hearts. With his battle-hardened crew of vampire killers and the assistance of the Catholic Church, Crow roams the New Mexico desert looking for undead lairs to annihilate. But he meets his match when, at a roadside motel, he comes face to face with Jan Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith), a ...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 26
This week Justin and I cover ENEMY MINE! During a war between humans and the reptilian Drac race, spaceship pilot Willis Davidge (Dennis Quaid) ends up stranded on an alien world, along with enemy fighter Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett Jr.). While both Willis and his Drac counterpart can breathe on the planet, the environment and its creatures are relatively hostile, forcing the two to work together to survive. As time goes by, Willis and Jeriba become unlikely friends, though their unique relatio...
Jun 18, 2024•57 min•Ep. 25
This week Justin and I tackle his guilty pleasure film IF LOOKS COULD KILL starring Richard Grieco. Before he can graduate, cocky high school student Michael Corben (Richard Grieco) travels to France on a school trip to earn a missing French credit. But when a British intelligence agent mistakes Michael for a spy of the same name, they rush him to headquarters and assign him to capture the evil Augustus Steranko (Roger Rees), using a plethora of espionage gadgetry. Michael has the time of his li...
Jun 11, 2024•57 min•Ep. 24
This week we cover the Siskel and Ebert Special from 1984 where they predicted the rise of Eddie Murphy and the decline of Richard Pryor. It's a sentimental episode that really showed us their approach and appreciation of these two amazing comics. Check it out! Be sure to subscribe on your favorite pod platform and our YOUTUBE channel! Visit thecultworthy.com Visit https://www.themoviewire.com Video: https://www.youtube.com/@back2thebalcony...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 23
This week we tackle GODZILLA 1985- and we struggle with it as much as our critics do! Godzilla 1985 is a 1985 kaiju film directed by R. J. Kizer and Koji Hashimoto . The film is a heavily re-edited American localization of the Japanese film The Return of Godzilla , which was produced and distributed by Toho Pictures in 1984. In addition to the film being re-cut, re-titled, and dubbed in English, Godzilla 1985 featured additional footage produced by New World Pictures , with Raymond Burr reprisin...
May 28, 2024•46 min•Ep. 22
This week Justin and I discuss GREAT BALLS OF FIRE from 1989. Upstart rock 'n' roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis (Dennis Quaid) has just cut a record at Sun Studio. Jerry's cousin, pastor Jimmy Swaggart (Alec Baldwin), tries to steer him away from a depraved life in the music business, but Jerry was born to play the so-called "devil's music." With rock 'n' roll king Elvis Presley busy with military service, Jerry sees his chance to claim the throne of popular music. But, his unabashed love of his 13-y...
May 21, 2024•56 min
This week Justin and I tackle Curtis Hanson's BAD INFLUENCE! Los Angeles marketing analyst Michael Boll (James Spader) struggles with insecurity despite his successes -- until he meets a mysterious man, Alex (Rob Lowe), who promises to help him gain confidence. However, Alex's guidance becomes toxic when he introduces Michael to sex, drugs and crime. When Michael's life begins collapsing, he comes to realize that his mentor is a sociopath. Is it too late, or can Michael escape Alex's sinister we...
May 14, 2024•57 min•Ep. 20
