Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast

Rocky is currently seeing his corner man before we dive into the Creed trilogy. Thankfully, it's almost Halloween and we have a new "mini" retrospective to tide you all over. Listeners of ours know that we have made it our intent to tackle everything associated with Stephen King. We've slowly but surely been working our way through piece by piece during the years. However, if you're knowledgeable of how we are breaking our order down, you are scratching your head is to how we arrived here. Rest assured that there are circumstances we divulge in this recording to explain why...

After the dust had settled on Rocky V and it was deemed a failure, writer/star Sylvester Stallone started making noise about wanting to end the series in another way. But she was starting to catch up to him, and soon it would just look silly for a 50 plus Stallone to once again step into the ring against yet another new contender. And then the most unexpected of all unexpected things happened. At the ripe old age of 45, George Foreman scored an unexpected knockout of heavyweight champion Michael Moorer to become the new WBO heavyweight champion of the world. As...

Where else can you go after turning your title character into a comic book character? If you’re Sylvester Stallone, it’s take him back to his roots. Bring back original director John G Avildsen. Put Adrian right back in that pet store. Move right back into that Rocky II apartment. And wax nostalgic about clothes you wore in the previous entries.

Who would have ever thought a prize fighter from Philadelphia would have been able to go to America’s number one Cold War enemy the Soviet Union, cause peace between the two bitter sides, and defeat those commie bastards once and for all? In 1985, that’s exactly where screenwriter/star/director Sylvester Stallone took his Oscar winning character of Rocky Balboa. Oh, and let’s not forget that same year’s Rambo First Blood Part II, but maybe we’ll get to talk about that one another day. Hear all about Garrett’s first Rocky theatrical experience, as well as Adam talk ab...

Rocky 3 marked a turn for the franchise. Not just for its lead star. But it marked the first time the series went from full on human drama emphasized by boxing. To a boxing movie with hints of drama here and there. We also see a changing of the guard as Burgess Meredith’s Micky is killed off, and Apollo steps in, as he goes from Rocky’s arch nemesis to his boxing trainer. Oh, and did we mention two people by the names of Hulk Hogan and Mr T?? Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they dissect 1982’s Rocky 3. A film t...

At the very end of 1976’s Rocky, our title character makes it clear that he doesn’t want a rematch. But, Hollywood and boxing are extremely similar in that if something is successful, people will clamor for more. But writer/star Sylvester Stallone found himself ignoring those calls. Instead, he wanted to to prove that he wasn’t a one trick pony. But after his directorial debut Paradise Alley and the Norman Jewison directed F.I.S.T. were both critical and box office failures, Stallone and United Artists couldn’t ignore the calls for a rematch any longer. For 1979’s Rocky II...

After taking Toy Story to task and having each hosts’ list of favorites of that series be different from one another, how do you follow a series like that up?? How about stepping outside and finding out! Here is yet another series Garrett has done in the past. But while Adam and him had plenty of Rocky marathons together as teenagers, they haven’t spoken about these films on the air. As for Matt, he came into the series around the time the first Creed was being released. The Rocky series is going to be rolled out gradually. The first six...

After going through the entire Toy Story franchise, the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast has decided to do a little house cleaning. The Odyssey will come in due time. But until then (and the end of the first leg of their next series), they review the latest film in one of the site’s most acrimonious series. The DC series. After being released to huge fanfare last year (and despite Garrett’s negative review of it) James Gunn’s highly successful Superman film ended with a scene that immediately set up this summer’s Supergirl film. A prospect that excited...

For the 3rd time in this retrospective, the three co-hosts ask the same question: why and how do we have another Toy Story movie? But this time, Matt, Adam, and Garrett are seeing and reviewing it at the exact same time. That’s right. It’s time to finally conclude the Toy Story retrospective with this review of Toy Story 5! Listen to the podcasters talk about their theatrical experiences, go detail by detail through the film’s plot, and finally reveal what they’re doing next. Here’s a hint: bring your short shorts and prepare to run on the beach! Tha...

Conceived and released between Toy Story 4 and 5, 2022’s Lightyear is the first film released within the Toy Story universe to be considered a flop. Rejected by audiences and critics alike, there is no reason two people who hadn’t seen it before would come away liking it. But that, as they say, is why we record the podcast. Listen to this review of Lightyear as both Garrett and Adam watch it for the very first time. Is Lightyear’s derision deserved? What about Matt, who did actually see Lightyear when it was released to theaters? Listen to the full review below...

Toy Story 3, for all intents and purposes, was the perfect end to the original Toy Story trilogy (well, maybe not in Adam’s eyes if you listen to that podcast). Woody and company were in safe hands with Bonnie, Andy was completely out of the picture while earning a college degree, and John Lasseter was ousted from the company under creepy circumstances. No, I’m not going to recap those here. So the question has to be asked that we seem to always ask on this podcast. How, the hell, do you follow up the billion plus dollar conclusion to Pixa...

In what is going to become a theme for this entire series, no one thought there was any way Toy Story 2 could have a sequel. Just the work alone in getting that film done and out to the masses, only to become a massive hit, meant Pixar would be playing with fire if they decided to make a Toy Story 3. But with all the resources at their disposal (no employee with a copy on their hard drive would be needed to save the film this time) Toy Story 3 came out in 2010 and crossed the billion dollar mark upon its arrival. ...

When Toy Story became the surprise hit of 1995, newly minted Pixar knew they had to follow it up. But director John Lasseter had another passion project he wanted to do first, which turned out to be A Bug’s Life. With another hit on his hands, Lasseter knew that it was time to follow up his original hit. But how do you follow up a beloved film that not only took Hollywood by storm, but also built a whole studio? The answer to these questions resulted in more peaks and valleys than they could count. Join Matt, Adam, and Garrett as...

What Star Wars is to the cinematic world, Toy Story is to the animation world. When it arrived in 1995, it ushered in a whole new way of telling stories, as well as launched one of the most profitable and prolific studios in the history of film. Join the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast as Matt, Adam, and Garrett dissect what Toy Story has meant to them individually. Atlantis least one person is coming at this from a whole new angle than when they covered it before. Listen below to find out who. Oh, they also review the 1995 computer animated...

After many years of anticipation by seemingly no one but Garrett and Adam, the brand new Masters of the Universe film was released in June to a massive amount of screens. And limited box office returns. What happened? And is the film any good? Listen to Garrett, Adam, and Matt as they dissect those questions in this podcast that was recorded the week the film came out. What were their theatrical experiences like? Did Matt, who proclaimed last podcast to not have any investment in this property, find any enjoyment in this 80s nostalgia fest? Or was the presence of...

Note: This podcast was recorded the week before the new movie opened) Time for a new retrospective series! With Masters of the Universe hitting theaters, we decided to get on the He-Man bandwagon. Well, 2/3 of us did. Listen to Garett and Adam go over their childhood love of the character, while Matt tries to figure out the character’s appeal. But Matt has been notorious on this show of endorsing bad movies. Does Cannon Films’ 1987 Dolph Lundgren (again?!) starring movie get added to that list? And what did Adam and Garrett think of it when it was originally released?? What do t...

Seven years following the release of Rise of Skywalker, it is once again time to talk about an entry in the Star Wars universe. However, this time it’s not a juggernaut that stays on top of the box office for weeks and weeks. This time, Jon Favreau and company fell victim to two YouTube phenoms who came and took the box office over like a sand storm on Tatooine. So, what happened? Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they try to dissect that last question, as well as the plot to the movie that contains Disney’s most popular Star...

Finishing out this leg of their look at Stephen King’s entire set of adaptations, the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast are looking at a film which features one of the popular author’s most recognizable villains. Before the book was even published, producer Richard Kobritz (Salem’s Lot) enlisted Halloween’s John Carpenter to come in and helm a film adaptation, to come out at the end of the year. After a few years on their own network, the guys have finally gotten to a piece of Carpenter’s well regarded early resume. What is everyone’s background when it come...

We have come to the third of a three part look at writer Stephen King’s book Different Seasons. And this podcast, which is a two plus hour look at Stand By Me, may be among our most emotional. With a huge backstory to how the film got made, as well as stories galore about the four boys at the forefront of the film. How will Adam feel about this sentimental favorite after seeing it for the first time? Has time been good to it? Is River Phoenix as good as we remember? Is Jerry O’Connell actually….good?? And how do...

Disclaimer: A word of warning up front. This podcast deals with some content that just may not be suitable for most. Things like a kid getting leered at while sleeping and of course, all things the director of Apt Pupil allegedly did to his mostly young cast get discussed in harrowing and disgusting detail. Listener discretion is strongly advised.

Now that The Dark Tower is out of the way, it’s time to dive into perhaps author Stephen King’s most well regarded book of stories -or novellas- Different Seasons. But before we get to Apt Pupil and Stand By Me, we review the adaptation of the first story in the volume, a little film called The Shawshank Redemption. With Rob Reiner (eventually) giving first time feature director Frank Darabont the chance to adapt the story (called Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption in the book), the film came out…and hit with a thud. That is, until that year’s Oscar...

After a few months away from his crazy imagination, it’s time for the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast to return to the world of Stephen King. And what a doozy to start this leg of adaptations, as in 2017 screenwriter Alivia Goldman and producer Ron Howard brought King’s seven plus Dark Tower book series to the screen! Widely criticized as being one of the worst adaptations ever put to screen, the movie nonetheless possesses both Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in the two main roles. So what is the film criticized? And do Garrett, Adam, and Matt agree?? List...

You know how sometimes while reviewing Joe Hill’s father and his adaptations we say we wonder when he will run out of inanimate things that are evil? For example, a linen folding machine shows there is no limit to how vast Stephen King’s imagination can take him. However, we’ll get back to him soon. Now, we are reviewing a movie that was spawned much the same way King came up with The Mangler. Hill phoned Scott Derrickson and asked him, ‘what would happen if The Grabber called Finn from hell?’ The rest, as they say, is history. Join the T...

This week the guys finally get to a theatrical release as they review director Ang Lee’s long awaited 2003 film, Hulk! After Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon became an unexpected commercial and critical darling, Lee had a slew of big budgeted opportunities flood his inbox. The two biggest ones being a follow up to James Cameron’s Terminator 2 Judgment Day, as well as the long in development by Cameron’s ex Gale Anne Hurd Hulk film. Yet, he turned down Terminator 3 in order to take the big green monster on. And after years of rejected scripts and start stops, the green light...

With a successful television show and a string of TV movies The Incredible Hulk proved to be a hugely rewarding experience for Bill Bixby. So it’s understandable that he was apprehensive about finally putting the character to bed. In fact, all reports are that he didn’t want to fully put it to bed. We get into that on this podcast. But before that happens, David Banner finds himself mixed up with spies, with nary a Jack McGee sighting. That, my friends, is the plot of The Death of the Incredible Hulk. A movie even Hulk can Garrett wasn’t look...

After The Incredible Hulk Returns was a ratings success, actor/director Bill Bixby seemed justified in wanting to bring the big green monster back. But he wanted more. Enter The Trial of the Incredible Hulk. This time, Bixby had Daredevil and a John Rhys Davies played Kingpin in tow. Though now, a big black bat played by Michael Keaton was fixing to come to the big screen a month after this film was broadcast. Could Bixby and company beat them to the punch and come out a ratings success? Rejoin Matt, Adam, and Garrett as they continue going through each...

Five years after The Incredible Hulk TV show was canceled by CBS, Bill Bixby wanted more. But original creator Kenneth Johnson had moved on to direct Short Circuit 2, so Bixby was left to guide the project by himself. But a move to NBC, as well as a changeover to Roger Corman’s production company New World, meant that Bixby could be do things his way. And in 1988, The Incredible Hulk did indeed return in the aptly titled The Incredible Hulk Returns. But this time, he had superhero company. Join Matt, Adam, and Garrett as they once again dissect a part of...

A couple months after finishing up with The Punisher, the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast have decided to tackle another part of Marvel. Though, by all accounts, the big green guy known as The Incredible Hulk is a damn tough individual to tackle. To begin things, Matt, Garrett, and Adam review the 1977 pilot to the TV show many credit for making Marvel comics viable on television. DC had Batman and Wonder Woman. Marvel had Hulk. Surprisingly, Garrett is the one who Carrie’s love for this character. Here, he gives background as to why, what is his actual background wi...

Just in time for Avatar Fire and Ash’s digital release, it’s time for a little blue house cleaning. This week, the Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast finally review the third Avatar film. Why did it take so long? Well we get into that in the podcast. Needless to say, all of us experienced it in theaters, and all of us have stories. But, most importantly, after three years away from the blue world of Pandora, how does James Cameron handle a story that up until this point, many have called derivative? And do we all still stand by o...

Here we go. The end of the Scream retrospective is finally upon us. After all the buildup and behind the scenes drama, Scream VII was released to massive box office success. But the reviews have not been kind. So the question is will Garrett, Matt, and Adam feel the same? Check out this bulk sized review, and be sure to stay tuned until the end as we reveal what we are going to covering next, as well as give some acknowledgments. As an aside, we’d like to give a big thank you to all who listen and give us fe...

In 2011, it was not good luck to wait 11 years to bring the band back together and do another Scream film. Scream 4 lost money, and plans to continue that trilogy went by the wayside. Flash forward another 11 years. 2022 brought back key players like David Arquette and Neve Campbell, while ushering in a new batch of kids. But without Kevin Williamson writing the script, and new series scribes/directors Radio Silence taking the helm, how does 2022’s Scream entry add up?? Join Garrett and Adam (both watching Scream 2022 for the very first time) as well as Matt as they review the certified hi...

Eleven years after the release of Scream 3, producers were ready to try again. Though the difference is this time, they didn’t have too many schedules to work around. Everyone from Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette, not to mention director Wes Craven, had nothing else going on and were ready to play in the Scream sandbox again. Though Craven did have some some standards. If he was coming back, Kevin Williamson had to return to write it and the script had to be as good as the first film. So Williamson waited until a break in The Vampire Di...

With Scream 2 in the foreground after certifying the series as a franchise, it would seem that everyone associated with the horror films had better things to do than come back for its (at the time) swan song. Specifically, star Neve Campbell and director Wes Craven. Campbell was working on Party of Five and a film called Drowning Mona. And Craven wanted to wade his way through the horror ghetto to do the Meryl Streep starring Music of the Heart. Writer Kevin Williamson submitted outlines, but he was also busy not only directing his first feature Teaching Mrs Tingle, but he...

As much as the first Scream lovingly poked the bear that was the 80s slasher genre, they played right into the same sensibilities those franchises did, as a sequel came out less than a year after the original was released to surprise success. It took a couple weeks to catch on. But once 1996’s Scream gathered the best word of mouth since Pulp Fiction from a couple years before, it sure didn’t take long for a sequel to get greenlit. Original writer Kevin Williamson, now the new hot writer on the block, was able to churn out a script, with...

After a break from the genre, The Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast has finally returned to horror! With a new Scream film hitting theaters this month, the co-hosts embark on reviewing the entire groundbreaking film series. Every franchise has to begin somewhere, and some believe that the 1996 original is the best of the entire series. But is it? Join Garrett, Matt, and Adam as they begin their quest of answering that question. Listen to Adam and Garrett discuss how they initially saw the film that redefined the horror genre. They also talk about how Wes Craven essentially took the...

Nooo, we didn’t forget. around this time last year, we reviewed 1987’s Arnold Schwarzenegger starring film The Running Man. We knew there was a remake coming down the block, but we put it off for reasons we get into on the podcast. When director Edgar Wright was asked a question on Twitter about what movie he wanted to remake, he did not hesitate in answering The Running Man. Producer Simon Kinberg (the X-Men franchise) saw the tweet and got this production going. Wright, with original author Stephen King’s approval, wrote up a script with his longtime collaborator Michael Bacall...

With two Punisher movies that yielded zero profit, it might be baffling to read that Lionsgate wasn’t done trying to make more films featuring the character. Perhaps even more baffling is the idea that star of 2004’s effort Thomas Jane was poised to come back to the skull shirted character. But, with delays galore, as well as creative indifference to the direction Lionsgate wanted to take, both Jane and original director Jonathan Hensleigh walked off the project. Enter Ray Stephenson and recent Oscar nominated director -and former kickboxing champion- Lexi Alexander. Speaking of fights, this podcast gets more confrontational than...

15 years after Dolph Lundgren proclaimed that he would be waiting in the sewers for those who need to be punished, it was time for Thomas Jane to take the mantle. Directed by action screenwriter Jonathan Hensleigh (Die Hard With A Vengeance, Armageddon), 2004’s The Punisher was released to dwindling reviews and disappointing box office receipts. Yet, there is a love for it from some Punisher fans. So the question is, does anyone from The Three Men and a Retrospective Podcast think so? Join Matt, Adam, and Garrett as they continue punishing themselves by going through Marvel and get 2/3 into their Pu...

New year, new time to be punished. Like last year, we are kicking off 2026 with another dent in the long running Marvel series. This time, we are going to watch three different movies with three different actors playing the character. First, it’s Dolph Lundgren in 1989’s The Punisher. By 1989, Lundgren’s time in the sun was looking dim. Master of the Universe (which we MIGHT cover) was released with him playing the title character, and it ended up being a huge reason why Cannon Studios crumbled. Here, he’s actually in good hands, as noted action director Mark Goldblatt (Terminat...

Here it is, the 2025 wrap up show! Listen in as Matt, Adam, and Garrett go deep into their favorite retrospectives of the year, give their top five favorite films of the year (definitely purely some surprises here), answer YOUR questions, and give a little preview as to what to expect in the coming year. We are so pleased to go into our fifth year at this, and it’s because of people like you that we do it! Thanks so much for listening, and we’re looking forward to another year of talking about movies…and arguing.