Uncut Gems Podcast

In this episode of the 80s Icons series, a now bimonthly project where we discuss the more prominent and well-liked movies from the 1980s, we are taking a close look at Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the long and arduous production history behind this movie, how Robert Zemeckis spared no expense trying to mesh live action and animation in a way that hadn't been done before and whether this achievement stands the test of time. We also talk about this movie as a tech-first spectacle where the story...

In this episode of the show we are leaving behind Stephen-King-Tober and begin David-Crono-Vember with a discussion about the 1981 Scanners. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about this movie putting Cronenberg on the map of the stars (sic!) of the American entertainment industry, how it was made on a shoestring with half a script, how it shows its seams and whether it matters or not. We also talk about Michael Ironside and his Jack Nicholson energy, Stephen Lack and his lack of onscreen presence, medical scandals and conspiracies, exploding heads and whether Scanners is...

In this episode of the show our Stephen Kingtober concludes officially with a discussion about the 1989 Pet Sematary. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Pet Sematary was a book that King refused to publish and a movie that many studios refused to finance. We talk about the personal angle in the story struggling to make its way into the film, Stephen King as a brand and how the movie captures the scenery of rural Maine. We also discuss the ins and outs of casting very young children in horror movies, taking narrative...

In this podcast we are tying into our month-long conversations about Stephen King's adaptations from the 1980s with a debate about Stand by Me... which also happens to be the only non-horror adaptation we chose this month and deliberately placed it close to Halloween to swim against the current or something. At any rate, over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the reasons why the King brand might have been removed from the movie, Rob Reiner finding himself in the story he was directing and the trials of casting a group of kids in...

In this episode of the show, which also happens to be the 300th main podcast recording, we are joined by Tony and Rich to discuss the merits and demerits of the 1986 Maximum Overdrive. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Stephen King getting talked into directing by Dino De Laurentiis and making an absolute mess of things on set of this movie, how the production was mired in crises from day one and how it became a movie that can only be loved in a "so bad it's good" way. We also talk about...

In this episode of our ongoing 80s Icons series we are attempting to bite into the gargantuan body of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about - among others - how Kubrick's movie relates to Stephen King's novel, what it retains and what it leaves out and what it does to the narrative. We talk about Jack Torrance as a vessel for weak men and an elevated slasher villain you have to live with, Wendy Torrance as an underused protagonist, Shelley Duvall's emotionally draining performance, Kubrick's directorial snobbery, the moon...

In this episode of the show we carry on discussing Stephen King adaptations from the 1980s and we stop over to debate the merits and demerits of Mark L. Lester's Firestarter. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about this movie struggling to decide if it wants to be a paranoid thriller, a faithful adaptation performed at speed or a spiritual successor to Carrie. We also discuss Drew Barrymore's performance as Charlie, George C. Scott playing a character that should have been played by a Native American, the challenges of adapting a plot-based book and...

With the spooky season upon us it is only appropriate to delve into some horror fare, which is why we decided to discuss one of the most prominent slashers of the 80s, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Wes Craven's frugal approach to filmmaking, the freshness that this movie oozed and how it also introduced one of the most recognizable slasher icons. We also talk how A Nightmare on Elm Street breaks and elevates slasher rules, how it harbors a number of thematic conversations behind its narrative, how...

In this episode of the show we are continuing our trip through 80s adaptations of Stephen King novels and short stories with a debate about the 1984 Children of the Corn. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many ways in which the movie differs from King's original story, what it leaves out and adds to the narrative and at what cost, and how the concept of stretching a short story into a feature film requires some creative decisions that the filmmakers didn't quite know how to handle. We also talk about King's fascination...

In this episode of the show we are beginning a brand new month (and season) in our journey through the 80s. We are embarking on what looks like three months of dark, brooding, gritty and somber cinema and we begin this operation with a whole month of Stephen King adaptations from the 1980s. So, we start with the 1983 Cujo. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how Cujo became a symbol and how it used a simple what-if conceit to generate horror, how Stephen King wasn't quite aware of having written the book because...

In this episode of the show we are closing the books on our month with Walter Hill in the 80s as well as the entire season of Summer Action Solstice and we do so by talking about the 1987 Extreme Prejudice. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie originated with John Milius and whether it carried on with even a sliver of what it would have looked like if it had been directed by him, how the editing of the movie saw nearly a third of the film taken out and whether...

In this podcast we are tying into this month's theme of Walter Hill's directorial exploits in the 1980s with a debate about his biggest hit of the decade (or even his entire career), the 1982 48 Hrs. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this was a producer-led passion project carried from the 1970s by Larry Gordon and how it introduced the world to Eddie Murphy. We also interrogate the oft-repeated truism that this movie became the template for buddy cop action comedies and establish that it's only partially true while other classics like Freebie...

In this episode of the show we are continuing our chats about Walter Hill in the 80s by digging into Streets of Fire. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us try to make sense of what this movie is and what it attempts to do, how it tries to function as a heightened musical set outside of time but somehow informed by western iconography and whether it all comes together in the end. We talk about Michael Paré as a miscast stoic outlaw, Willem Dafoe's ridiculous costuming choices, the iconography and pre-comic book aesthetic doing a l...

In this episode of our ongoing 2026 80s Icons series we are about to find out if it indeed can be killed if it bleeds as we talk about the 1987 Predator. Over the course of our sprawling debate you will hear us recount our early memories connected to this iconic action movie, how Predator was perhaps misunderstood upon release and what made it connect with audiences so profoundly that it spawned not only a movie series but a full-blown multimedia franchise. We also discuss Arnie in the context of a team of muscular manly specimens, Carl Weathers as a guy...

In this episode of the show we are continuing our September stay at the Walter Hill Saloon and we are discussing the 1981 Southern Comfort. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us recount the grueling production this movie went through, complete with swamp-induced hypothermia, directorial gag orders and alleged animal cruelty. We also discuss the movie as an allegory of the Vietnam War in direct contravention of what Walter Hill would have liked, the film working as a descendant of Deliverance and an action-slanted progeny of The Hills Have Eyes, how it all reflects perfectly the American...

In this episode of our 80s Icons series we are carving out time to talk about one of the foremost action heroes of the era, Arnold Schwarzenegger. And on this occasion we are discussing the 1985 Commando. Over the course of our sprawling and detailed debate you will hear us talk about how ridiculously quickly this movie came together, how one of its writers Steven de Souza wanted to show Arnold's playful side and how the film ended up competing in the arena of on-screen violence with one of the year's box office juggernauts, Rambo II. We also talk about...

In this episode of the show our 80s Action Solstice is entering its final month. Over the course of the next couple of weeks we will be discussing the 80s efforts of Walter Hill and we begin with the 1980 The Long Riders. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Walter Hill as a filmmaker who had always wanted to make westerns but was born in the wrong era, whether hiring multiple sets of real-life brothers to act in the movie was a gimmick or an inspired choice, and if The Long Riders is Walter...

In this episode of the show we are putting a bow on our August trip through Jackie Chan's 80s exploits with the last movie he made in that decade, the 1989 Miracles. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Miracles being Jackie Chan's favorite movie he ever directed despite the fact it was mostly rejected by paying audiences, the allure of a period piece and the pattern of successful filmmakers wanting to wear a hat on screen for some reason. We also talk about the idea of adapting a Frank Capra classic and putting kung...

In this show we are tying into our month of discussions about Jackie Chan in the 80s and we are talking about arguably one of the most daring and and exuberant action movies in his catalogue, Police Story. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie was inspired by Jackie Chan's unfortunate sojourn to Hollywood and how he wanted to make a cop procedural "his" way, how its story was built around stunt-laden set pieces and how the movie ended up dubbed "glass story" by stunt performers because Chan insisted on numerous...

In this episode of the show we are talking about the well-known video store cult classic, Armour of God. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us discuss this movie as an evolution in Jackie Chan's career as an action star where he's attempting to imitate a cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond, but with roundhouse kicks and daredevil stunts. We talk about the film's many tonal inconsistencies, a difficult-to-follow plot and the fact that, in a departure from his previous fare, Jackie Chan's character seems to be completely unlikeable. We also touch on the daring...

THIS PODCAST IS AVAILABLE TO LISTEN FOR FREE ON OUR PATREON!!!

In this special episode of our exclusive 80s Icons series, we are joined by a two great friends, Jak and Carson, to talk about one of the most iconic movies of the 1980s, Top Gun. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Top Gun as an exemplar of the MTV aesthetic, Tony Scott's unmistakable energy, mad ideas concerning paying 25000 dollars to turn an aircraft carrier around and the cocky energy oozing from the screen. We also debate if Iceman was the...

In this episode of the show we are talking about the 1984 Wheels on Meals as part of our August Voyage to Hong Kong in an attempt to discuss his 80s efforts. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about The Three Dragons (Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung and Yuen Biao) putting comedy over action, the idea of moving from homaging Buster Keaton to the Three Stooges, and the vagaries of setting a Hong Kong movie in Europe. We also talk about the many fight scenes this movie is remembered for, the humor that doesn't quite land...

In this episode of the show we are carrying on with our mission to watch a whole bunch of 80s action movies starring Jackie Chan as we are discussing Project A. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the phenomenon of the Three Dragon (Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao and Sammo Hung), the idea of leaving Wu Xia stories behind and doing a kung fu movie in a more familiar period setting and the guts it took to stage a production as lavish and vast in scope as this one. We also talk about how...

We are finally concluding the Mike Nichols Marathon we started all the way back in 2025 and we are doing so in style! We are joined by our great friend Hillary White to talk about Charlie Wilson's War. Over the course of our sprawling conversation you will hear us talk, among others, about this movie commenting on geopolitics of the post-9/11 era, Aaron Sorkin's sharp writing and Tom Hanks playing the kind of character he'd normally steer clear from. We discuss Philip Seymour Hoffman's scene-stealing performance, Mike Nichols reconnecting distantly with political satires and how the movie illustrates the America...

In this episode of the show we are kicking our Summer Action Solstice into a new gear as we are going to spend the entire month discussing the 80s movies starring Jackie Chan. We are beginning this project with a debate about the 1980 The Young Master. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the crazy backstory concerning this movie, how Jackie Chan came to reinvent Kung Fu cinema and how he ended up kidnapped by the Triads while trying to set up this production at the Golden Harvest studio. We also talk about the...

In this bonus discussion tying into our month of buddy cop action movies we decided to take on a movie that isn't perhaps an example of a buddy genre but it had nonetheless influenced the trend one way or another, the 1984 Beverly Hills Cop. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many ways in which Eddie Murphy impacted Hollywood, the long and winding history of how the movie came together and how it ended up proving once and for all that a black actor did not need a buddy to lead a movie...

In this episode, the first part of our Action Solstice where we spent the entire month talking about 80s buddy cop movies is coming to an end. And in that spirit we are ending the series with literally the last action movie of the 80s, released on Christmas 1989, Tango & Cash. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many trials and tribulations the production of this movie faced, how it was an illustration of changing tides that saw off the era of muscle-bound action heroes and how it remains for many viewers a formative...

In this episode of the show we are continuing our July chats about buddy cop action movies from the 80s with Stakeout. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about John Badham as a journeyman director whose success was tied to the quality of the script, Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez as a pair of cops who differ only a little and the concept of Rear Window meeting a rom-com as a vehicle for a successful blockbuster. We also talk about Dreyfuss not recognizing a line from Jaws, the practicality of doing pranks while undercover...

In this episode of our 80s Icons series we are finally sitting down to talk about the biggest movie of the 80s, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us discuss the many reasons why this movie became the most successful film of all time, how it exemplified what we termed "suburban fantasy" and how it continued confirmed Spielberg in post as one of the greatest entertainers of his generation. We also talk about E.T. being a gateway drug for film criticism, Spielberg's interest in exploring broken families through a genre lens...

In this episode of the show our trip through buddy cop movies of the 80s continues with the 1987 Dragnet. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how this movie did not after all originate as a potential vehicle for Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi even though it looks like could have, how it spoofs the police procedural genre in ways that is closer to Zucker-Zucker-Abrahams movies than to SNL, and whether Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd shared any meaningful chemistry. We also talk about how easy it is to ruin a perfectly good premise...

In this penultimate episode of our now long-running Mike Nichols Marathon, we are touching base with Closer. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about Mike Nichols revisiting his dramatic comfort zone and rediscovering the same energy that led him to direct Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Carnal Knowledge, a handful of substantial changes the movie made to Patrick Marber's play and the movie becoming a celebration of stage work captured on film. We also discuss the film's central conceit as an exploration of a variety of relationship dysfunctions, the movie as a protoplast...

In this episode of the show we are officially beginning the Summer of Action where we will spend the next three months talking about 80s action movies, some iconic and some less so. And we begin this journey with a whole month of buddy cop action movies that took hold of the box office in the mid-80s. Our first conversation is about the Peter Hyams-directed Running Scared where you can hear us talk about Hyams trying to put his own stamp on the genre, Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines as an onscreen duo, and how the post-Blade Runner...

In this episode of the show we are closing both our June with John Landis comedies and the entire Spring of Comedy as well with an absurdist gem from the middle of the decade, Three Amigos. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how it was demonstrably new for Chevy Chase to appear as a part of an ensemble, how Steve Martin smuggled a lot of Monty Python-esque absurd comedy into the movie and how the movie was both ahead of its time and just outside of the brief window when comedies that were...

In this bonus tie-in show we are augmenting our June trip through John Landis comedies of the 80s with a conversation about his biggest hit of the decade, the Eddie Murphy-starring Coming to America. Over the course of our chat you will hear us talk about Eddie Murphy's brightly shining star and what this movie meant for his career and how it was a lifeline thrown to Landis who had just emerged from years of court battles. We talk about Murphy playing a non-comedic lead while also saturating the film with cameo performances rooted in out-and-out comedy, the film...

In this episode of the show we are continuing our June trip through John Landis comedies of the 1980s with the 1985 effort titled Spies Like Us. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about how, much like many Aykroyd-written comedies, this one also originated as a potential vehicle for Aykroyd and John Belushi, how it was morphed into something fit for Chevy Chase and how the two SNL alumni struggled to find the right frequency to work together. We also talk about Spies Like Us working as a prototype of Elaine May's Ishtar, Aykroyd's signature...

In this episode of our 2026 series about iconic movies from the 1980s we are taking on, for a second month in a row, a movie directed by John Hughes. This time we are talking about his 1985 The Breakfast Club. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the many reasons why The Breakfast Club connect with the youth of the time, whether or not its messaging remains relevant or maybe functions as timeless and if its manufactured nature is an impediment to enjoying the movie or onboarding its message. We also talk about the vice-principal's...

In this episode of the show our trip through John Landis comedies of the 1980s continues with Trading Places. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about this movie as less an example of the 80s-native edgy sketch comedy but rather an evocation of the spirit of classic screwball comedies in the style of Frank Capra and Howard Hawks. We talk about the chemistry between Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy, Hollywood slowly waking up to a possibility that a black star could carry a movie (but still only in an ensemble or a buddy setup...

In this episode of the Mike Nichols Marathon we are taking a look at one of the last major works Nichols left behind, his made-for-HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's eponymous play Angels in America. Over the course of our conversation about this dense piece of filmmaking you will hear us talk about the genesis of this miniseries as a two-parter that Robert Altman was supposed to direct at one point, the AIDS crisis presented through the lens of magical realism and how this was both a return to a comfort zone for Mike Nichols and his attempt at leaving...

In this episode of the show we are officially diving into the third and final month of our Spring of Comedy where we are going to talk about John Landis-directed comedies of the 1980s. And we can only begin this journey by donning our G-Men suits and sunglasses to talk about The Blues Brothers. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the long and eventful history of how this movie came together, how the Blues Brothers phenomenon reinvigorated the careers of blues and soul icons, how it nearly bankrupted the studio thanks to the...

In this episode of the show our May excursion through the sex comedies of the early 1980s comes to a close with a chat about Revenge of the Nerds. Over the course of our conversation you will hear us talk about the way in which this movie fits this microgenre, how it traverses its landscape with such brashness that it makes Porky's look subtle and nuanced and its success still suggests that the teen comedy could be transplanted into a university setting without much ado. We also talk about youth tribalism as the engine of the film, Revenge of...