Opening Weekend

Episode 100: Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Sorcerer : December 18, 2015/June 21, 1977

3 men. 100 episodes. 247 movies.  Innumerable hand-farts.  IN A WORLD…where movie theaters closed their doors during a worldwide pandemic, three best friends decided to hop into their mental DeLoreans, go back in time to talk about movies & opening weekends from the last 40 years, and bask in the buttery glow of nostalgia.  Three and half years later they arrive at their 100th and final trip back in time…twice! First, the boys head AAALLL the way back to where it all started: early summer of 1977, and William Friedkin’s Star Wars squashed thriller, SORCERER.  And then, in a space/time continuum-shaking rift, they jump forward to 2015 and the last time all three of them were in a movie theatre together, screaming their heads off like John Boyega, watching STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. And finally, the boys raise a glass to some MORE nostalgia with the Fourth Annual Golden Sheila Awards ©.  PLUS a final visit from The Arthropod Squad and Gene Gene the Punning Machine: Mr. Shalit, himself.  ALL the feels and ALL the farts on EPISODE 100 of OPENING WEEKEND!

Episode 99: Purple Rain - The Karate Kid - Indiana Jones & The Temple of Doom - Star Trek III: The Search For Spock: Summer '84

If adventure has a name, it must be…Opening Weekend!For their penultimate outing, the boys head back to one of their favorite movie eras ever, Summer ‘84, for a supersized episode wherein they wax on, wax off with THE KARATE KID, hit the jungles of India seeking fortune and glory with INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM, beam down to the Genesis planet in STAR TREK III: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK, and purify themselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka with PURPLE RAIN.  AND the amazing Robin Curtis (Star Trek III: The Search For Spock) joins the boys to discuss all things Saavik and the intricacies of Vulcan Pon Farr!Throw in some intense games of ‘80s Trivial Pursuit, some even more intense private lip sync concerts, and some VERY intense feelings towards Morris Day on Jason’s part, and you’ve got an episode worthy of Kali Ma. No time for love, Dr. Jones! It’s time for Episode 99 of Opening Weekend!

Episode 98: The Witches of Eastwick - RoboCop - The Untouchables - Predator: Summer '87

“If it bleeds we can kill it.” Listen, Arnie, you may be able to take down the Predator, but you CAN’T take down Gene Shalit! That ‘stache don’t bleed!Yes, it’s been a loooong wait, but the boys are back to warm up your fall pumpkin lattes with…hot summer movies! This week the guys hop back to Summer 1987 to revisit Jack Nicholson and THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK, Paul Verhoeven’s satirical sci-fi gore-fest, ROBOCOP, Costner and crew as THE UNTOUCHABLES, and the man-meat testosterone-filled jungle that is PREDATOR. You pull a knife, Sean Connery, we pull Episode 98. THAT’S the Opening Weekend way!

Episode 97: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial - Grease 2: June 11, 1982

“E.T. phone Zmed!”It’s the summer of ‘82 and Jason, Dan, & Fred are lining up outside the movie theater to see the most anticipated movie of the year…GREASE 2! Also, there was apparently a movie about an alien called E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL that people liked, too. Jason is getting sued for Smurf copyright-infringement; Olivia Newton John is helping Dan get Physical…with himself; and Fred is stealing magic balls and slicing up fetal pigs…ya know, your typical early tween summer in the 80s. Let’s bowl, let’s bowl, let’s rock and roll with EPISODE 97 of OPENING WEEKEND! 

Episode 96: Godzilla - Bulworth - Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas: May 22, 1998

Up from the depths, 30 stories high,  breathing fire, his head in the sky…GENE SHALIT?!? No, it’s just the three big openers from May 22, 1998: Terry Gilliam’s fever dream adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, the Warren Beatty political satire BULWORTH, and the Roland Emmerich disaster….movie…?….GODZILLA!It’s the spring of ‘98, and while Fred is playing on subway platforms to strangers, Dan is playing on stages to no one, and Jason is playing in bathrooms with EVERYONE. Beatty is rapping, Depp is ranting, and the audience for Godzilla ‘98 is retching. Roland Emmerich, you Swine! Get ready to go Gonzo for EPISODE 96 of OPENING WEEKEND!