Media Obscura - Retro and Obscure TV/Movie Reviews

On this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick and Raekwon sit down to discuss First Blood, a smart and criminally underlooked action film/thriller from 1982. In the process, they explore an interesting question: would we have been better off had we never gotten any Rambo sequels?Their conversation also covers the production history of the first Rambo movie, some insights into the alternate versions of the movie that we almost got back in the 70s, Rambo's place in the history of mental health and the introduction of PTSD into the American lexicon, and the sequels that came out and tarnished this first flick's reputation throughout the 80s up to today.

Wanna get full video versions of Glaring Admissions up to two weeks earlier than everyone else? You can do so by becoming a Patron/Channel Member! Links below. On this episode of Glaring Admissions, Nick busts out the movie that made Jackie Chan a star in America, Rumble in the Bronx! This episode finds him and his faithful co-host Raekwon discussing: - The differences between the US and Hong Kong cuts of the film (also known as Red Bronx in Japan), and which one is better/easier to find on streaming/physical media- How Jackie Chan movies were altered for American audiences, and marketed (including the infamous and dubious claim that Chan 'never uses stuntdoubles.'- Why Rumble in the Bronx was a turning point in Chan's career, as it made him known in America.- And whether or not the movie is truly a 'seminal' piece of cinema, or if it's even worth revisiting 30 years later.Support the channel:Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/NicheCaesarChannel Membership: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCscDbMTovs2Zww6by8HSDMg/joinSocials:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nichecaesar.bsky.socialLetterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/nichecaesar

Glaring Admissions shall return in... This podcast episode. On the final Glaring Admissions of 2024, Nick and Raekwon sit down with their friend (and original Media Obscura co-host Mike's brother) John to discuss GoldenEye! It's his first time watching a 007 movie before, and that leads to a long and playful conversation about the franchise and where he should take things from here. As for the movie itself, GoldenEye is an installment in the long-running Eon James Bond series of films. It was the debut of Pierce Brosnan as 007 and finds him squaring off against a rogue MI6 agent over control of a weapon known as the GoldenEye, a powerful Russian satellite that can discharge an EMP blast. Along the way, he teams up with one of the satellites operators, Natalia, and fights off Alec Trevelyan's henchman Xenia Onatopp too. Yada yada yada, dun nun na nunnnnnnnn, oh yeah and Judy Dench is M.

Scream! Louder! Scream is a 1996 horror film directed by Wes Craven. It follows a group of teenagers (led by Neve Campbell) and a reporter (Courtney Cox) that are getting attacked by a killer wearing a common Halloween mask. The film is known for helping revitalize the slasher genre in the 90s and for being a deconstruction of its tropes. Despite coming out right before Christmas and not being expected to be a hit, the film ended up being a runaway success that has since spawned five sequels and a TV series.

The best movie podcast duo out there (sorry, not sorry) is back to discuss John Landis 1980 musical comedy, The Blues Brothers! Raekwon’s never seen it before and, boy oh boy, did Nick feel the need to change that. For those of you that don’t know, The Blues Brothers is a film adaptation of the popular SNL characters of the same name/real blues revue band led by Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi. The film, which casts them as the Blues, follows them on an adventure to raise $5000 to save the orphanage they grew up in, and finds them joined by legendary black musicians such as Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Cab Calloway and Ray Charles. They’ve got a souped up car they’ve named “The Blues Mobile,” a killer band, and they’ve pissed off everybody they could in the state of Illinois in the process. And you know what else they’ve got? A heckin’ good movie. Like, easily Nick’s favorite musical tier stuff. So join Nick and Raekwon as they discuss the classic musical The Blues Brothers, and how it’s an important film in Saturday Night Live’s canon that is 100% worth watching! Because, really, it’s got a sixty car pileup! How many car crashes do you need for a movie to be worth your time???

Nick and Raekwon are back to chat about Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick on the latest episode of Glaring Admissions! Be sure to drop your thoughts on whether or not the 2022 sequel to Top Gun can really be considered a classic already down in the comments, as well as your thoughts on the series as a whole.

Independence Day is a 1996 action/disaster blockbuster that was directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars Bill Pullman, Will Smith, and Jeff Goldblum (among many others) as humans forced to scramble to fight off an alien invasion in the days leading up to the 4th of July. The film was released to massive success back in the 90s and briefly held the title as the second highest grossing film of all time (behind Jurassic Park). Despite it's popularity, and it's notability for helping jumpstart Will Smith's film career, it's also a movie that has received a mixed reception from critics and audiences alike for close to thirty years now. Which brings us to this video: Should we celebrate ID4? Is it actually a good movie? Welp, that's what here to find out.

Mulholland Drive is a 2001 surrealist drama/mystery that was written and directed by David 'Garmonbozia' Lynch. The film stars Naomi Watts and Laura Harring as two women investigating the circumstances that brought Harring's character (Rita) to Watts' (Betty, not Betsie's, I promise) door. Along the way, surrealism happens. Ya know, Lynch stuff. Chapters: 00:00 - Opening 00:38 - Movie Trailer 01:37 - The Episode Proper

Total Recall is a 1990 Paul Verhoeven directed adaptation of the Phillip K. Dick story "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale." It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as Douglas Quaid, a construction worker who dreams of going to Mars and stops at Rekall Incorporated to have the memories of one such trip implanted into his brain. However, something goes wrong. It appears that "Douglas" has actually been a spy who's been to mars all along! He'll now have to get back to the red planet and figure out what happened to himself before he's captured by the shadowy "organization" that seems to want to keep him from there! Join Nick and Raekwon as they chat about this classic action movie in this episode of Glaring Admissions: A Media Obscura Podcast.

Introducing Glaring Admissions, a show dedicated to watching/discussing iconic, famous movies that we've somehow missed out on! Join us on our inaugural episode as we sit down and discuss Steven Speilberg's iconic 1993 action/suspense/horror classic, Jurassic Park! It's spawned *a lot* of sequels, was worked on concurrently with Schindler's List and, surprise surprise, affirms that nobody can really do it quite as well as Spielberg can.

Check out the full-video edit of this episode, complete with cutaways, on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCscDbMTovs2Zww6by8HSDMg 1986's BMX, underdog, feel-good, teen, coming of age cult movie "Rad" is coming back to theaters this Thursday for a holiday called "Rad day" and, in preparation for it, I decided to sit down with my good friend/podcast co-host Raekwon to give the movie a run down. The film follows Cru, a paperboy/diner employee who loves BMXing as he prepares for a race against the nations best BMX racers. Along the way, he meets Christian (Lori Loughlin), a biker for the Mongoose team who quickly falls in love with him. He also butts heads with Ms. Rocky Balboa herself, Talia Shire, and Duke Best (who might be the craziest person ever). It's a movie.

Media Obscura's back and, on this week's episode, we're tackling Wild Wild (ficka) Wild Wild West, the 1999 Will Smith Box Office bomb! Join Nick, Sierra & Raekwon as they reminisce about this (not so) classic 90s action comedy! It's a film they all grew up with and have some nostalgia for it, so you'll be sure to hear the good, bad and ugly about this cowboy dud. Also, if you're that one listener Raekwon accidentally was mean to... he's sorry! nichecaesar.com

Team Obscura checks out the seminal 1978 superhero movie "Superman." directed by Richard Donner and starring the most iconic of the men of steel, Christopher Reeve! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura (and Jackson) come together to check out the 1987 Joan Jett and Michael J. Fox music drama, Light of Day! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura's back and are checking out the 1988 Fantasy/Adventure film "Willow" on this weeks Media Obscura! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

To celebrate two full years of "Media Obscura," Team Obscura revisits Sam Raimi's 2004 blockbuster classic, Spider-Man 2! Tobey Macquire's Peter Parker is losing his powers and struggling to balance having a personal life with being a superhero. Meanwhile, Mary Jane is set to get married and Harry Osborn laments the loss of his father, the Green Goblin. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Boo, Nick's body revolting and forcing another rerun. Boo, because it's Halloween. On this weeks Media Obscura, Nick and Raekwon check out a direct-to-video Addams Family movie starring Tim Curry as Gomez Addams! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

The gang checks out the 1985 action flick "Commando," starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the joke-telling action hero John Matrix! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

On this week's Media Obuscra, Nick and Mike check out the cult classic "The Iron Giant" from 1999! It just so happens to be Mike's favorite movie of all time! Also in this episode: Nick dies from a coughing fit, and the guys talk food/reminisce about before the pandemic. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

And we're back! Nick and Mike check out 1988's Hong Kong Kung Fu movie "Dragons Forever," starring Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao. It's got action, romance (?) and drug dealing kickboxers wearing guy-liner. It's fun, dudes. Real fun.  Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Another week, another re-run. Nick hates being sick. On this weeks re-run, Nick and Mike check out the long-running Japanese animated series, Detective Conan! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

On this week's Media Obscura, the boyz check out 1994's disappointing sequel, Cyborg Boy II. This one still doesn't have cyborg cops/robocops, still has more kungfu than you'd expect from these movies, and is still very low budget. It's... a time. I wouldn't say it's a good time, but it's a time. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Scrubs! Nick's out of commission again this week, so we're running with a rerun of one of our favorite episodes! On this weeks episode, Nick and Mike check out the classic medical comedy "Scrubs," starring the likes of Zach Braff, John C McGinley, Sarah Chaulk, Donald Faison, Judy Reyes and Neil Flynn! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura dives headfirst into a world of (very watered down) roleplaying and wonder when they watch 1982's Dungeons & Dragons/Satanic Panic CBS made for TV movie "Mazes & Monsters," starring Tom Hanks! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

On this weeks Media Obscura, Nick and Mike celebrate Cobra Kai hitting Netflix by checking out 1984's sports movie hallmark, The Karate Kid!  High schooler Daniel LaRusso is getting bullied by Johnny Lawrence and his karate buddies until he learns self-defense thanks to his new friend, Mr. Miyagi. Oh, and there's a crane kick or two in there somewhere. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Don't let go (of trying to capitalize on the success of others), am I right? On this weeks Media Obscura, the gang checks out 2010s horrid mockbuster, Titanic II!  Who would've thought a triple-threating Van Dyke could do an awful job ripping off one of James Cameron's best films? Especially with a $500,000 budget! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

We're out with another re-run this week (thanks Nick's still lingering case of mono), which is our episode on 2000's "yeah, this is definitely from the turn of the Millenium" kung-fu/comedy movie, Shanghai Noon!  Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura revisits the 1993 cult classic/coming of age movie "Dazed and Confused" on this week's Media Obscura podcast! They also discuss Nick's inability to tell people apart, Mike's refusal to watch movies that give him bad feelings, and how Raekwon has watched over/protected Nick since long before they even had a friendship. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

This weeks (rerun) episode of The Media Obscura Podcast has Nick and Raekwon checking out 1999's criminally underrated Andy Kaufman biopic, "Man on the Moon." Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura revisits 21 retro and vintage TV ads/commercials, as well as discovers that Nick was duped into mistaking Arsenio Hall as Wesley Snipes 6 years ago, something that he actually feels pretty terrible about. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura checks out 1984's iconic rock n roll movie, Purple Rain! It follows a fictionalized version of Prince and the Revolution as they fight to maintain their billing at the Minneapolis staple, First Avenue. Meanwhile, Morris Day and his band The Time try to get them replaced by a band named Apollonia 6, which is fronted by Prince's girlfriend! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura talks about the early 90's Nicktoon staple, Ren and Stimpy! They also overshare about their family trees and Nick talks about how popular he is with crows.  Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

This week, to celebrate the recently passed Joel Schumacher, Team Obscura checks out and discusses 1997's "Batman and Robin," a colorful box office bomb with a cast that features George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Uma Thurman. While hated at the time, this movie has found a bit of a cult following over the years and is honestly a lot of fun! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Woah! Team Obscura is chatting about the OTHER Bill and Ted TV adaptation to celebrate the trailer to Bill and Ted Face the Music! Todays episode is on the very short-lived 1992 sitcom adaptation of the 1991 Saturday cartoon adaptation of the first Bill and Ted movie, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. It features none of the movie's cast, has little charm, and is all-around weak. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura checks out Bride of the Monster, Ed Wood's 1955 tribute to classic horror movies! It stars Bela Lugosi, the vampire formerly known as Dracula, as a scientist that's essentially trying to create Captain America with the help of Lobo. He's a bit like Igor, but played by a Swedish Pro Wrestler. Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

We're taking this week off in solidarity for George Floyd and anyone that has lost their lives to police brutality. If you'd like to contribute to the BLM movement, please consider visiting: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/#donate  Nick and Mike decide to treat themselves to a good movie on this weeks Media Obscura, when they sit down to watch Tim Burton's 1994 classic, Ed Wood! Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura checks out the 1987 pilot to the cult television series Max Headroom! They also talk about alternate versions of movies that they'd like to see, as well as David Lynch, Star Wars, Back to the Future, Twin Peaks and the Lord of the Rings! Nick also resites the story of the Max Headroom TV hacking incident and has a tantrum at one point or another (probably). Check out some of our other vintage and strange movie/television discussions at https://themediaobscura.com/

Team Obscura (with special guest Jackson) come together to revisit the Lawnmower Man franchise, inspired by the Stephen King story, and find a convoluted and bloated story about cyberspace, virtual reality, and the internet... Oh, and it's a bad knock-off of the Matrix that inspired a pretty great episode of Community? Yeah, sure.

Released in 1993, Cyborg Cop follows Jack Ryan on a mission to find out what happened to his DEA agent brother on a mission in the Caribbean. Along the way, he fights cyborgs and cops, which only sorta explains why this movie is called Cyborg Cop. We can only assume that the other reason is that the name Robocop was already taken and that this movie wanted to ride on the coat-tails of the third installment in that series.

... Oh man. Oh man. Oh man. This is... Wow. This is... a thing? Team Obscura checks out the unnecessarily tone deaf 1986 teen comedy "Soul Man," a story about a student donning blackface in order to defraud Harvard out of a minority scholarship. It's... well, it's terrible. PodLink: https://pod.link/themediaobscura

Nick and Raekwon reunite with Sam and Jennette, two of their college friends and co-stars from a webseries they once created named Fishbowl! They reminisce about some of their pre-'rona escapades and also sit down to (re)discuss the late 90s watercooler hit series Ally McBeal! Email: [email protected] Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themediaobscura Love the show and wanna contribute to help us make more episodes? Feel free to buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/niche

It's time to talk about 1992's unauthorized Dragon Ball live-action adaption! Goku, Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha, Puar and Roshi have to team up to collect the seven mystical Dragon PEARLS before an evil king can use them for his own nefarious reasons.  Email: [email protected] Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themediaobscura Love the show and wanna contribute to help us make more episodes? Feel free to buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/niche

Team Obscura checks out the 2002 cult horror comedy "Bubba Ho-Tep," a movie about a retired/not dead Elvis Presley that has to team up with an also retired/not dead John F. Kennedy Jr. to fight a Mummy in a retirement home. Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMediaObscura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themediaobscura/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themediaobscura/ Email: [email protected] PodLink: pod.link/themediaobscura Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themediaobscura

Team Obscura sits down and gets weird by checking out the 1982 film "Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam," better known around the world as "The Man Who Saved The World" and even better known as "Turkish Star Wars." Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMediaObscura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themediaobscura/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themediaobscura/ Email: [email protected] PodLink: pod.link/themediaobscura Linktree: https://linktr.ee/themediaobscura

Another week of firsts for the show! Nick, Mike and Raekwon sit down (at the same time!) to talk about the 1980 Roger Corman sci-fi B-movie "Battle Beyond the Stars," a movie that reminds the gang of a certain movie that takes place a long time ago in a galaxy far far away.  Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheMediaObscura Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themediaobscura/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themediaobscura/ Email: [email protected]

A (much belated/year-and-a-half late) trailer for The Media Obscura Podcast!

Nick and Mike return... WITH VIDEO! On this weeks episode, they check out the 1987 movie "The Running Man," which was inspired by the Stephen King novel of the same name. The movie follows Arnold Schwarzenegger as he plays a contestant on a murderous game show that's hosted by Richard Dawson (of Family Feud fame). Oh, and this episode is also available on YouTube with full video!

Nick and Mike bring in the sixtieth episode of The Media Obscura Podcast by checking out the critically maligned Super Mario Bros movie! It's a movie about plumbers that... plumb. And also visit dystopian realities that are nothing like the source material from their iconic video game series!  It's... a thing.

Nick and Mike take a dive through time and check out 1933's cinema hallmark, King Kong on this weeks Media Obscura! They also share some trivia about Donkey Kong, stuff the episode with a bunch of fake ad-reads in a last-ditch effort to generate some revenue for the show, and plug The Media Obscura Redbubble page! Yep... Merch! Oh, they also weigh the logistics of a steak battle, and ponder Godzilla vs King Kong for a bit too.

Nick and Mike go back to the (Sega) Genesis of Sonic's cinematic overtures by checking out Pierrot's 90's Sonic OVA! EDIT: The episode mistakenly mentions Toei Animation as being behind this special... our bad! Love the show and wanna contribute to help us make more episodes? Feel free to buy us a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/niche