KnockBack: The Retro and Nostalgia Podcast

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#239 | Gym Class Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

For school children around the world, gym class is a grueling, years-long rite of passage, and when we were growing up, it was especially arduous. Climbing ropes. Getting picked last. The dreaded Presidential Challenge. Square dancing?! Let's be honest: Gym was (and still is) complete nonsense -- a distraction from learning the fundamentals -- but it's a collective memory for most of us, and it's the perfect topic for KnockBack. So nock your arrow, pull yourself up, go watch film, and then join us for an extensive discussion about a piece of perpetual Americana: Physical education. Or the lack thereof.

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#238 | Lethal Weapon Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

When you think of 'buddy cop'-style movies, Lethal Weapon likely comes to mind. The 1987 smash-hit film starring a young Mel Gibson and a relatively unknown Danny Glover is one of the archetypes of this subgenre of action, with two polar opposites finding out on the fly that they have much more in common than they think. Featuring the likes of a pre-accident Gary Busey and chock-full of zany moments that all somehow make sense in context, Lethal Weapon remains a master class in the once-dominant action genre, and a reminder of how movies can be a lot of fun, not take themselves seriously, and yet remain grounded, believable, intriguing, and engaging. So, you may be too old for 'this,' as it were, but you're never too old for KnockBack.

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#237 | Lost (Season 1) Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

If you were around and paying attention when Lost aired on ABC, you'll already know that it was a true television phenomenon both in the United States and around the world. Indeed, when it first started running in 2004, it immediately became a 'water cooler'-type show, and it was an especially poignant time to watch something like Lost, because this was pre-streaming, pre-social media, and, for most, pre-DVR. It was appointment viewing. Otherwise, you rented or bought the DVDs when they came out, or hoped to catch a rerun or grab a bad-quality copy from online. And, most importantly, you dodged spoilers as best you could! The mysteries of the crash of Oceanic Flight 815 are at the center of what makes the show so compelling, and so as we begin our six-episode journey through what is perhaps ABC's most famous programming ever, we encourage you to watch along with us. The numbers. The hatch. The Black Rock. Ethan Rom and the Others. The beach craft. Polar bears. Needless to say, this is no ordinary island.

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#236 | The Shawshank Redemption Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

1994's The Shawshank Redemption is based upon a work by Stephen King, but unlike most of King's best-known work, Shawshank isn't horror-themed. At least, not in the literal sense. Instead, the movie deals with humanity, forcing viewers to see unlikable-on-paper characters through a different lens. The results are legion: An all-time famous cinema bromance, myriad theories about the work's subtext, philosophies of crime, punishment, and rehabilitation, insinuations of religiosity and heavy-handed Christian messaging, and something so ubiquitously-seen during the late-'90s and early-to-mid-'00s on cable that virtually anyone watching television at the time would have watched it multiple times through. The Shawshank Redemption is widely-considered an all-time great, and, well, we can't say we disagree. Some come on through, fresh fish, before we sing you a lullaby.

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#235 | Saving Private Ryan Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Steven Spielberg's 1998 film Saving Private Ryan is widely considered the greatest war movie of all-time, and honestly, it's hard to disagree. There's an absolutely obsessive level of detail in every single aspect of the production, and it gets just about everything right. See, in 1944, the world was a different place than it was today. The Allies were in an existential crisis against true evil. Brave people who barely knew anything about the world were asked to step up to the plate, and they did, sacrificing in ways we simply can't imagine. Their efforts helped shape the world today as we know it; the very least we can do is gush about The Greatest Generation.

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#234 | Ninja Gaiden (NES) Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

We -- the Brothers Moriarty -- loved us some Ninja Gaiden in our younger years. The NES original is actually a vague reinterpretation of an arcade title by the same name that preceded it; yet, in turning Ninja Gaiden from a beat-'em-up into an action-platformer, developer Tecmo spawned a powerhouse that easily rivals other late-'80s classics. Indeed, it belongs in the conversation of best NES games, full-stop. Our investigation into Ryu Hayabusa's retro adventure doesn't only end with the first game, though, as we explore its contemporaries on the market and wax poetic about the heyday of the fictional ninja in greater media, and how Ninja Gaiden's deeply-told story gave us context, perhaps for the first time in our then-young lives, into the deeper potential of video games.

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#233 | No Country For Old Men Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

In 2005, acclaimed American author Cormac McCarthy released one his most famous novels, a brisk read called No Country For Old Men. Set in 1980 in Texas' sprawling border region, No Country For Old Men is all about chance and consequence set amongst the backdrop of a brewing drug war that, in modern times, we know all too well. Our audience voted for us to cover this topic -- one about money, violence, love, and happenstance -- and we did so from two angles: We watched the movies, as you requested, but we also read the book, which is quite different in a number of ways. We're absolutely thrilled to talk about the Coen Brothers' award-winning film and the novel it was based upon alike. Just remember to call the coin.

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#232 | Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

By 2011, Sony-owned developer Naughty Dog was firing out critically-acclaimed games from a machine gun. Only two years removed from near-unanimous Game of the Year Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and two years away from the even-more-unanimous Game of the Year The Last of Us, Uncharted 3 finds itself in a bit of a pickle, at least with some. After all, it wasn't directed by Amy Hennig, and many players felt it to be a weaker iteration than what preceded it. Yet, within its bounds is an absolutely stunning adventure, a wonderfully cinematic romp with the perfect balance of combat, puzzle-solving, and storytelling. Many at Naughty Dog think Uncharted 2 and 3 are only held at different levels of appreciation because of the order they were released in, and that if launched in the other direction, people would simply love 3 more than 2. Is that true? We discuss that -- and a whole lot more -- in our Uncharted 3-themed episode of KnockBack.

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#231 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

We promised you we'd be back! A few weeks ago, we recorded an episode all about James Cameron's 1984 film The Terminator, and we figured we'd return with haste to talk about its mega-famous sequel. Launched in 1991, Judgment Day brings the co-stars of the first flick back, but turns the story on its head. This time, Arnold is a good guy, and he and Linda Hamilton act as stewards for John Connor, the all-important leader of the future resistance, after the dreaded Skynet becomes self-aware and goes haywire. Beloved to this day -- T2 is considered both one of the best sci-fi and action movies ever -- we dive into the story, setting, characters, and potential (both reached and missed) of this half-a-billion-grossing cultural phenomenon that helped further spawn and solidify an entertainment license that continues (to the chagrin of many) to this day.

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#230 | Game of Thrones (Season 8) Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

It's been a long trek, but we've finally made it through. Here is our eighth and final episode of KnockBack dedicated to the Game of Thrones television series, in particular its eighth season. These six episodes -- four of them essentially movie-length -- are contentious. Indeed, I don't think anyone would argue that this final run was blatantly rushed and not nearly as satisfying as to be expected. But it's not so much an insult to HBO's Game of Thrones as it is a compliment. We expected more. Yet, that doesn't mean there isn't much to talk about, praise, and enjoy in this final season, and we do just that. Buckle-up for the resolution not only of Game of Thrones, but of our nearly-20-hour discussion of it.

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