Meet Your Host

Nathan Blackwell

Nathan Blackwell is a Phoenix-based filmmaker who began his career like many of his counter-parts, as a weird eleven year-old kid running around with a camera. In 1998 he directed his first feature film, Forever Midnight, and in 2007 he created his production company Squishy Studios, with which he produced numerous short films and the award winning, two season web series Voyage Trekkers. He’s won over 40 filmmaking awards, including six ADDYs for directing commercial and branded content, was named by the New Times as one of Phoenix’s 100 Creatives, and recently won Filmmaker of the Year at the Phoenix Film Festival for his feature film “The Last Movie Ever Made.”

Uncle Buck (1989) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 821

Uncle Buck (1989)

Heath Wilcock joins us as we make ourselves at home with John Hughes’ 1989 comedy Uncle Buck, a lovable exploration of family dynamics and giant pancakes.

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Akira (1988) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 820

Akira (1988)

David Westlake joins us as we dive headfirst into Katsuhiro Otomo’s groundbreaking 1988 anime masterpiece Akira. Buckle up—this one goes hard from frame one.

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Gymkata (1985) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 818

Gymkata (1985)

We pommel horse our way through one of the most wonderfully absurd action films of the 1980s—Gymkata (1985), starring real-life Olympic gymnast Kurt Thomas in his first – and last! – film role.

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The Monster Squad (1987) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 816

The Monster Squad (1987)

We venture into completely new territory with The Monster Squad (1987)—a film neither had seen before. Does the magic work when you’re encountering Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, and the Wolfman for the first time as adults?

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Spies Like Us (1985) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 814

Spies Like Us (1985)

Jordan Collier joins us to revisit the 1985 spy comedy Spies Like Us. What happens when a beloved childhood favorite gets the modern rewatch treatment? Sometimes the results are as bumbling as the protagonists themselves.

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Stand and Deliver (1988) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 813

Stand and Deliver (1988)

We tackle the 1988 inspirational drama Stand and Deliver, diving into whether this classroom classic still holds up or if it’s just another case of sitting through endless math problems.

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Masters of the Universe (1987) • The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast • Episode 812

Masters of the Universe (1987)

We’re joined by Jordan Collier and Derrick Tesson to tackle the 1987 sci-fi fantasy spectacle Masters of the Universe, a movie that should have been good but becomes a study in wasted potential.

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