All '90s Action, All The Time!

We're Back! After an enforced hiatus (technical issues) we have returned to once again look at the best, worst and all things in-between of 90s action cinema. On todays show Scott is joined DTV expert Matt Poirier (DTVC podcast) to talk about the biggest film of 1996, "Independence Day."

Over the course of the podcast we talk about the film's epic ensemble cast, those groundbreaking special effects and how, for all its obvious flaws, this is still pretty much perfect popcorn Summer Blockbuster filmmaking.

Plus, we get into the ups and downs of Roland Emmerich's directorial career, how this film cemented Will Smith as a future superstar and how Jeff Goldblum is the absolute MVP of this film. We also go off into a lot of side tangents and, of course, get into Bill Pullman delivering the greatest speech movie history.

Host Scott is joined by special returning guest Adam Thornton (Films That Time Forgot) to talk about the now semi-forgotten Arnie flick "Eraser."

Over the course of the episode Scott and Adam discuss what makes this the last Classic Arnie Era film, why this was a hit at the time but seems to faded from memory now and debate whether "Eraser" had franchise potential. Plus, we get into how director Chuck Russell deals with the action in his first large scale action flick (his background being horror and comedy), theorise why Vanessa Williams didn't get more action roles and extol the virtues of James Caan as the villain.

On todays show Scott is joined DTV expert Matt Poirier (DTVC podcast) to talked about forgotten Natasha Henstridge/Christopher Lambert sci-fi actioner "Adrenalin: Fear the Rush."

Over the course of the episode Matt gives us his insight into the career of late DTV favourite director Albert Pyun while we also get into this particular feature productions battle (namely the 110 minute directors cut being slashed to a mere 76) and it's difficult.

Plus, we wonder what Natasha Hendstrige's career could have been with a few different decision as well as celebrating our man Lambert for being his usual cool self (even if his character is kind of useless here).

Craig and I complete our 1995 journey with a Yuletide edition looking at that old Xmas classic...eh..."Money Train."

Over the course of the episode we talk about the chemistry between Snipes and Harrelson, Jennifer Lopez before she was JLo and how there is whole lot less Money Train than you would assume from a movie called Money Train. Plus, we get into how this films tries to be four films at once, how it ended it up being surprisingly controversial on release and how this forgotten 90s actioner had one of the largest (or certainly the longest) sets ever constructed built for it.

Host Scott is joined by special guest Caleb Knutson (Caleb Watches Movies) to talk all about Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.

Over the course of the episode we talk about how the film came to be, the multiple productions issues that best the film and decide whether it is bad as reviewers thought at the time. Plus, we get into the joy of Ivan Ooze, just how 90s the film is and celebrate the late great Jason David Frank's contribution to the Power Ranger franchise.

Hosts Scott and Craig take a look at the Robert Rodriguez action classic "Desperado."

Over the course the episode we talk about what a blast this bare bones actioner still is, how in Rodriguez films the "Rule of Cool" is always paramount and how Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek are one of the most beautiful pairings ever put on screen.

Plus, we get into whether this film is a remake or sequel, Tarantino's acting chops and how the El Mariachi character evolves over the course of the Mexico trilogy.

Host Scott is joined by special guest Craig Cohen to deep dive into the cyberpunk oddity that is Johnny Mnemonic!

Over the course of the episode we talk about the behind the scenes creative fight between director and studio, the films fascinating production design and whether the film deserves to be the punchline it became? We also get in how Keanu's performance is better than perceived, the weirdness of Dolph Lundgren's performance and how hilariously antiquated some of the movie's technological predictions seem. Oh yeah, we also of course talk about the dolphin.

Host Scott is joined by special guest Liam H Dempsey to deep dive (pun very much intended) into Tony Scott's submarine classic "Crimson Tide."

Over the course of the episode we talk about whether this is Tony Scott's best movie, whether it is the best submarine movie ever and how the film seems even better now than it did back in the 90s. Plus, we get into the messy business of how the script got completed (and Tarantino's weird contribution to it), how the navy were not a fan of this production and, of course, we talk extensively about the heavyweight act-off between the late, great Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.

Note: In this episode we had some audio/connection issues but I did my best to try edit around that and hopefully it has not come out too bad.

Hosts Scott and Craig are joined by a very special guest Last of Action Heroes Podcast Network head honcho Ryan Rebalkin (as well as one of the hosts of One More Round: The Rocky Series Podcast, host of It's a Long Road: The Rambo Series Podcast, the Worst of the Best Podcast and most recently founder of the Directors Chair Network)

Over the course of the episode we talk about the movies troubled production, tonal messiness as well praising the performances of Lori Petty, Naomi Watts and, most particularly, Malcolm McDowell. Plus, we get into it's very hip for 1995 soundtrack, how faithful (or not) it is to the comics and how this might be the horniest post-apocalyptic sci-fi there is.

Host Scott is joined by special returning guest film director Adam Stovall ("A Ghost Awaits") to talk about the JCVD Die Hard knock-off "Sudden Death."

Over the course of the episode Adam and Craig express their multiple disgruntlements while Scott tries in vain to defend it as not just a fun movie, but a good one. However, their is one thing that they can all agree on and that is the greatness of Powers Boothe in the film. Plus, we dive way more into Ice Hockey history than anyone was expecting for a brief period.

Host Scott is joined by special returning guest Adam Thornton (Films That Time Forgot) to talk about the biggest action movie of 1995 "Die Hard with a Vengeance".

Over the course of the episode we talk about the great chemistry between Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson, Jeremy Irons epic turn as the the villain of the piece and how this didn't start life as a Die Hard film at all. Plus, we talk about both this place in the Die Hard franchise and its place in 90s action cinema (Hint: It ranks highly in both).

Host Scott is joined by special guest Scott Kraushaar & Steve Smith (Dropping A Bruce and The Men of Action Podcast. Also because Scott is a podcasting maniac he also hosts The Church of Tarantino and Kill/Marry/Smash/Eat) to chat about an obscure East meets West Christopher Lambert action thriller " The Hunted."

Over the course of the episode we talk about how the film avoids many of the pitfalls of the "Japanes panic" action films of the late 80s/early 90s while simultaneously falling over into the white saviour trap. We debate whether Christopher Lambert is the best lead for the film, talk about how wasted Joan Chen is and dissect the films one truly excellent action sequence set on a Bullet Train.

Host Scott is joined by special guest Nathaniel Metcalfe (The JCAS Presents: Nick and Nat Control The Airwaves and The JCAS Present-Nick & Nat Consume and Obey) to dissect one of the most iconic actioners of 1995, Bad Boys!

Over the course of the episode we talk about the divisiveness of Michael Bay, how he feels like he is doing Tony Scott impersonation here and the early shoots of what come to be known as Bayhem. Plus, we get into the insane chemistry of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, 90s actions love of a colour and how we both agree (even if we are in the minority) that Bad Boys II is the worst entry in the franchise.

Host Scott is joined by special guest and friend of the show Darryl Edge (Cage/Rage and Getting Dafoe You) to dive into one of the most obscure films we have covered on the pod "No Contest."

Over the course of the episode we get into what we think of Shannon Tweed as an action star, just how closely the film sticks to the Die Hard formula (even by the standards of your average Die Hard knock-off) and the greatness of "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Plus, a whole lot more!

We once again kick off our new season with our 4th Annual Edition of Chanuary and, if that was not good enough, we also have an extra special guest in the form of one of our favourite movie reviewers Outlaw Vern .

Over the course of the episode we break down the typically insane Chan action on display, discuss how this differs a bit from Chan's usual stuff and debate why this ended up being the one that broke him big in the west.

Host Scott is joined by special guest, friend of the show and former editor of the pod Petros Patsilivas (Caged In: Coppola Connections and Getting Dafoe You) as we talk about the two Skydiving centred action movies of 1994 "Drop Zone" and "Terminal Velocity."

Over the course of episodes we debate the merits (or lack thereof) of each of these very 90s action flicks and try to determine who takes the crown as the ultimate Skydiving actioner!

Hosts Scott and Craig share a love for action comedies and thought it would be fun to cover one they have never seen before. Enter Stephen Chow one of true comedy action masters and one of his early Hong Kong hits "Love on Delivery"

Over of the course of the episode we talk about how we might be stretching the definition of action movie here (this film is way more of a comedy), how the "Garfield" fight scene might be one of the funniest things and ponder why this struggled to make an impression in the West at the time.

Hosts Scott and Craig tackle one of the best action films of not only 1994 but the '90s in general. Over the course of the episode we dive into the epic overacting of Oldman, the coolness of Reno and just how impressive Portman's performance is, given her age at the time.

Elsewhere, we tackle the controversies of the film (involving Mathilda and Leons relationship) and the director (both his controversial marriage with Maïwenn and later SA allegations made against him).

Host Scott is joined by special guests and friends of the pod Brandon & Andrew from the Namely 90s podcast as we talk about Harrison Ford's second Jack Ryan outing "Clear and Present Danger". Over the course of the episode we talk about whether Harrison Ford is the best Jack Ryan (he is), how cool Willem Dafoe is here (very) and whether this really an action film at all (undecided but it is a damn fine film none the same).

Host Scott is joined by special guests Scott Hardy & Cam Smith (SpyHards - A Spy Movie Podcast) as we talk about the comic book movie classic that is The Crow. Over the course of the episode we talk about how comic book movies differed in the '90s, the peak '90s cool of the film and, of course, the legend that is Brandon Lee.

Host Scott is joined by special guest Doug Greenberg to talk about the problematic classic that is True Lies! A film we are extra excited to cover being it is both our first Arnie and first James Cameron film we are getting a chance to talk about on the pod!

Host Scott is joined by special guest Andrew Gaudion (Ramblin: An Amblin Podcast) to talk about the all-time Keanu banger that is Speed!

Hosts Scott & Craig are joined by Matt Brothers (Is Paul Dano Ok & Spocklight) to talk about the critical bomb that was the Street Fighter movie.

Over the course of the episode we talk about the mistakes of video game movies in the 90s, try to decipher what they were actually going for here in terms of tone and just how great Raul Julia is in this thing!

Hosts Scott & Craig are joined by Matt Poirier (AKA The DTV Connoisseur) to talk about the critical & box office flop that is Highlander III: The Sorceror.

Over the course of the episode we talk about how the film repeats the original but worse, how it still kind of improves on the second one and how Highlander has one of the confusing continuity's of any franchise.

Host Scott and special guest Katie Geilenkirchen (host of Retromade and co-host of One More Round: The Rocky Series Podcast) take a look back at the underrated(?) Mel Gibson western "Maverick."

Over the course the episode we talk about what giddy fun this film is, how stacked the cast is and just how charming Mel was in the the 90s (and how that makes all his later controversies all the more dispiriting than they already were).

Host Scott and special guest (and No 1 Dolph Lundgren Expert) Sean Malloy ("I Must Break" This Podcast) break down the forgotten Ice T effort "Surviving the Game."

Join us for our 3rd annual edition of Chanuary! As Scott and Craig look at the Jackie's 1994 Martial Arts classic Drunken Master II, which many fans consider to be his best film.

Host Scott and special guest (and No 1 Dolph Lundgren Expert) Sean Malloy ("I Must Break" This Podcast) break down the Dolph outing Joshua Tree (AKA Army of One).

Host Scott chats to "Wild and Crazy Guys" author and Empire editor Nick De Semlyen about his brand new book "The Last Action Heroes" which chronicles the highs and lows of some of the 80s and 90s biggest action stars (Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Willis, Chan, Van Damme, Seagal, Norris and Lundgren).

Join your regular hosts Scott and Craig, along with their special guest director/producer Michael Peterson (Knuckleball) as they deep dive into the cult film "Judgement Night." A critical and box office bomb in its day but a movie that has picked up a solid following over the last 30 years.

Over the course of the episode we discuss the films all-star cast, how this film taps into the middle class paranoia's of it's day and, of course, the films classic soundtrack.

Here at All '90s Action, All the Time sometimes we like to explore more obscure fare as well as the stone cold 90s action classics, which is exactly what we are doing today as we look at the forgotten buddy comedy "Gunmen." Granted, this selection was mainly inspired by co-host Craig Draheim's desire to cover a Christopher Lambert film but it was still a fun one to tackle.

Over the course of the episode we discuss the greatness of Lambert's laugh, the OTT-ness of Patrick Stewarts acting and the peak early 90s coolness of Mario Van Peebles. Plus, we get into Dennis Leary being Dennis Leary, whether the movie deserved the critical derision it received at the time and we discover that there is more than one Doctor Dre!

Well with a brand new Super Mario Bros. coming out soon we thought it would be a perfect to go back and rewatch the original film. A movie which many may not remember as the first video game to movie adaptation. Many may also not remember at all and if they do they probably don't have great memories. But did it deserve the critical savaging it got at the time and the lasting horrid reputation it has? These are just some of the many questions your regular hosts Scott and Craig and their special guest Brandon try to unravel. Tune in to see the results!

Finally Craig is back! Yes, after going AWOL on a super top secret mission the other half of All '90s Action, Mr Craig Draheim, returns to discuss with Scott this rather unheralded, but pretty decent, DTV effort starring a pre-LOTR fame Viggo Mortensen.

Welcome back for our 2nd annual Chanuary celebrations! Tune in as Matt Poirier AKA The DTV Connoisseur joins in with regular host Scott to talk about one of Jackie's wackiest adventures (and one of his least favourite of his own films) "City Hunter."

"All 90s Action, All the Time" returns just in time for Christmas! Tune in as Matt Poirier AKA The DTV Connoisseur joins in with regular host Scott to talk about the Xmas classic that is "Batman Returns."

Join us as we finish off our All '90s Bond season! This time on our whistle-stop tour of the Brosnan era (minus Die Another Day) we are looking at a somewhat maligned entry in the Bond franchise 1999's "The World is Not Enough."

And this time Craig is back to his regular co-hosting duties! That is not all as we also have a great special guest in the form of film critic Adam Thornton (Thorny Reviews & The Wee Review). Over the course of the episode we discuss whether the film deserves its ropey reputation, the movie's noted departure in tone and how it provides a dry run for many elements that would be perfected in the Craig era. Plus, we get into whether this is Brosnan's best acting appearance as Bond, the daftness of Christmas Jones and the poignancy of Desmond Llewelyn's final scene in a Bond film.

Join us as we continue our All '90s Bond mini-season. This time on our whistle-stop tour of the Brosnan era (minus Die Another Day) we are looking at the oft-slighted but actually in our opinion (or well Scotts really) one of the most underrated Bond adventures "Tomorrow Never Dies."

Sadly, due to being busy with super-villiany Craig could join in the fun for this one but your regular host Scott once again called on the assistance of Namely '90s Brandon Schwitter to delve into this one. Over the course the episode we debate Elliot Carver's (Jonathan Pryce) villain credentials, Bond's spying ability in this adventure and if Richard Stamper (Gotz Otto) is an under-utilised henchmen. Plus we get into how Teri Hatcher has less screen-time than you remember, it's great action set-pieces and the greatness of Michelle Yeoh.

All '90s Action, All the time has returned! And we are back for a special All '90s Bond mini-season were throughout the month of August we will be celebrating all things 007! In this show we look at what many consider to be one of the best Bonds "Goldeneye."

Joining your regular hosts Scott and Craig we have a very special guest in the form of Namely 90s co-host Brandon Schwitter. Over the course of the episode we talk about how this proved to be a return to form for 007, how does and doesn't update the Bond formula and how Xenia Onatopp is one of the franchises greatest henchpeople.

We're back! So we were not sure if we would return but we thought there were still some action movies we had to cover and how could we resist celebrating the 25th anniversary of Con Air!

Joining your regular hosts Scott and Craig we have a very special guest in the form of Namely 90s co-host Brandon Schwitter. Over the course of the episode we talk about the greatness of John Malkovich's film-stealing performance, how we collectively forgot Dave Chappelle is in the film and how Cameron Poe is a superhero. 

Plus there is all the usual tangents and nonsense that you have come to expect from the pod. 

So this had been planned as a two-parter titled "Those Pesky Kids!" (the other movie we were going to cover was 1997's Masterminds) but instead will provide us with our final episode before we go on indefinite hiatus.

More on that in a minute but first some details on the episode. For this last hurrah we pulled in an excellent guest in the form of fellow podcaster and Coppola family expert Petros Patsilivas to talk about a film that both him, our regular host Scott Murphy and we would guess any 90s raised martial art enthusiast have a lot of nostalgia for 3 Ninjas! 

Over the course of the episode Petros and Scott talked about scenery chewing villains,  obvious stunt double work and the greatness of Victor Wong. Plus, they get into how this movie manages to pack in EVERY early 90s cliche, try to make sense of the villain Snyder's operation and how this film was popular enough to spawn three sequels.

Lastly, Craig and I would just like to thank everyone who checked out our little podcast that allowed us to revisit some childhood action favourites and some movies we never want to watch again! It has been a blast. Hopefully we can record specials in the future. So, keep subscribed as you just never know when we will be back! 

Welcome back to Chanuary! As this month we celebrate all things Jackie Chan!

In our second (and final) edition of Chanuary your regular hosts Scott and Craig look at 1997's "Mr Nice Guy." Listen as the pair talk phoney Italians, incoherent plotting and Sammo Hung's women problem. Plus, we talk about YouTube subtitling issues (it subtitles the English but not the brief Mandarin parts!), cinema's most convoluted director's cameo and unsurprisingly we delve into the jaw-dropping stunt work common to Chan's Hong Kong output.

Elsewhere Scott and Craig look back upon the pod and select some favourite moments before we put it on indefinite hiatus after the next episode! (although we both suspect we will be back at some stage!)

It's Chanuary! Yes, for the month of January we are going to be covering two films from Jackie Chan's 90s filmography. 

First up we look at the 1992 classic Supercop! Listen as regular host Scott Murphy alongside guests "A Ghost Waits" director Adam Stovall and film critic and podcaster supremo Drew McWeeny (The Last 80s Newsletter) breakdown the awe-inspiring stunts of both Chan and Michelle Yeoh. We also talk about the dynamite chemistry between Yeoh and Chan, how much Hollywood stole from Chan films and just how ridiculously entertaining this film is!

It is our grand Kilmer finale! And to round out the season your regular hosts Scott and Craig look at 1997 spy movie flop "The Saint" alongside the £1 Movie Podcast host Wayne Saunders.

Over the course of the episode our intrepid trio discover "The Saint" is way bigger franchise than they thought it was, puzzle over the curious lack of action in the film and are curious as to how the finished product is so well so-so given all the talent involved. It ain't all bad though as the trio enjoy Val's many wacky personas, Rade Šerbedžija and  Nikolaev's scenery-chewing villains and all things Elizabeth Shue. 

Elsewhere, we get into the movie's ridiculous accents (most of which come from Val), silly seduction techniques and its hilarious portrayal of the British police.  

In the penultimate edition of our short Val Kilmer journey we look at the 1996 action-adventure "The Ghost and The Darkness."

Over the course of the episode Scott, Craig and regular special guest Caleb Knutson (can we still call him a special guest at this point? He is basically just part of the show, right?) talk about the true story the film is based on, how this was a passion project for Kilmer and how, for once, it wasn't him giving the director headaches (that would be Michael Douglas!). Plus we get into the movies dodgy effects, even dodgier politics and dodgier still accents. 

Elsewhere in the episode, the gang get into common silly action tropes, white saviour narratives and there is some brief wrestling chat (amazingly instigated by Craig!). Plus, Scott comes up with the Ken Loach cut of the film and poorly explains a Scots term much to the bemusement of his co-hosts.

Well you nearly didn't get this episode as part of the original recording was lost. Which is a real shame as it is probably one of our best (but then you only have our word for that). Thankfully with a bit of last minute scrambling together we managed to re-record it with our favourite YouTuber Caleb Knutson. Unfortunately 1/2 of the regular host team Craig could not make it this time around. 

Anyway onto to the re-recorded episode where Scott and Caleb talk about wrestling, fast food franchises, 80s cartoons. And, oh yeah, also get round to talking about Batman Forever in all its campy glory. Throughout the episode we delve into its wacky tonal shifts, dodgy CGI and glorious neon production design. As well as which we tackle the vital questions such as where does Val's Batman rank? Is Jim Carrey a good Riddler? (the answer is hell yes!) and what is with that anatomically correct suit?

Plus we talk extensively about the Schumacher Cut and whether it will ever see the light of day? 

Wait, from the writers of "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" you say? Oh f---

Anyway come join Scott and Craig as they continue their Val Kilmer season and examine this (rightfully) forgotten Kim Basinger vehicle that Val really does try his darndest to make this semi-entertaining in a valiantly futile effort. Much like the "Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot" episode Scott and Craig once again try to figure out why are these gags so bad? Is this Terence Stamp's worst performance? Who is this movie for exactly? And why have we put ourselves through this? 

Elsewhere in the episode Scott and Craig come up with their own based on side characters. Well you know we have got to amuse ourselves somehow!