The Sandlot 

This is the ultimate summertime movie for me. It conjures every aspect of the perfect summer, captures it in an old Coke bottle, shakes it up, and rains its sticky, sweet story to refresh your childhood. The pool scene is a peak 90s family comedy. Not just one of the best baseball movies ever but also just one of the best movies ever. 

Creepshow 2 

Two words: THE RAFT. It did for secluded lakes what The Stuff did for refrigerators. Funny enough, I don’t think it’s actually summer in this one. It’s probably all the sand, speedos, joint smoking, swimming, and getting slowly digested alive by a gnarly water monster stuff that makes it feel summer-y.

Summer School 

You knew there would be at least ONE movie with the word summer in it, right? It’s gotta be this one for me. This movie is so fun, wacky, funny, heartfelt, and infinitely rewatchable. The prank horror scene Chainsaw and Dave put together is worth the watch alone. 

Heavyweights

As a former fat kid, this movie is everything. Ben Stiller’s performance is unhinged and hilarious. You forget it’s a Disney movie. This movie will forever be in my summer stack of tapes. Just remember: don’t put Twinkies on your pizza!! 

Stand by Me

This is a coming-of-age masterpiece, and I watch it every summer. It captures that feeling. You know that feeling of wonder and excitement, innocence and invincibility. And how quickly you have to grow up. For the 89 mins, this is on, it takes me back to that time when the whole world was ahead of you, but the only thing that mattered was what was in front of you. 

If you would like to know more information about Josh. The following contact information is below:

Josh Schafer  (Editor-in-Chief): https://lunchmeatvhs.com/

Instagram: @lunchmeatvhs

I asked Eleanor ( @bloomsdayreport ) to share her five summer movie recommendations this week!

Slums of Beverly Hills (1998)

It’s hot. You’re a teen. You’re horny. Everything is confusing. And you’re Natasha Lyonne starring in Tamara Jenkins’ debut feature film about a young girl navigating her family, class status, and body.

Camp (2003)

It’s hot. You’re a teen. You’re horny. Everything is confusing. And you’re at musical theater camp, where there’s an incredible talent and even more great drama. Plus: the legend himself, Stephen Sondheim, shows up! (Also worth checking out is this excellent oral history.

My Year of Dicks (2022):

It’s hot. You’re a teen. You’re horny. Everything is confusing. And you’re trying desperately to lose your virginity to the right guy, spiraling down a series of beautifully-animated wormholes and flights of fancy and cringe-inducing parental lectures until you land in precisely the right place.

Chasing Chasing Amy (2023)

A sweet and earnest exploration of the weight of the things we become obsessed with as teens. After giving a TED talk about how Chasing Amy saved his life, filmmaker Sav Rodgers embarks on a journey to wrestle with the complicated legacy of Kevin Smith’s film about a straight, cis man who falls in love with a lesbian.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)

Nothing says “give us summer Fridays” more than filling your corporate office building with a bunch of creatures who menace your boss via spider webs, electricity, singing “New York New York,” and an evil salad bar.

Eleanor would like you to know that in 1990 her summer birthday weekend coincided with the opening weekends for both Gremlins 2 and Dick Tracy. Can you imagine going to the cinema and having these two masterpieces to choose from? She would like to recreate this double feature someday, where she will dress as the hot lady gremlin.

“I’m all about sharing misplaced pop culture gems from the 80s, 90s and sometimes early 2000s. Really love all things kitsch camp and iconic. When Ladycult invited me to pick my 5 summer movies to watch, my response was “Just five?!” 

So, counting down and in the words of C+C Music Factory One two ready go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

5. Cutthroat Island (1995)

Before Captain Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, there was Cutthroat Island with Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) a female buccaneer and her crew racing against her treacherous pirate uncle to find a hidden island that contains a fabulous treasure.

The film was one of the biggest box office flops like… ever! All these years on it deserves to be revisited because it was one of the first “female lead” action films. It’s fun, silly and full of action with Gina Davis performing most of her own stunts. Watch out for the scene where she comes flying out a first story window forward rolls off a roof and lands in the driver’s seat of a horse drawn carriage *metaphorical chef’s kiss*

Did I mention that the super dreamy Matthew Modine co-stars? Looks like I just did.

The Castle (1997)

You’ll find that a couple of Australian films have made it onto this list and no it’s not a mistake. As an Australian cis gendered white proud gay man, I feel obligated to educate the children. The Castle is a quintessential Aussie film and follows a working-class family in Melbourne’s outer suburbs who fight to keep their home from being demolished to make way for an airport expansion.

The film was shot in 10.5 days on a budget of $705k, grossed over $11M in box office sales and created some of Australia’s enduring 90s pop culture references and lines – you can take that straight to the pool room! It shot Michael Caton into stardom and set Eric Bana on his way to becoming a household name. 

Working Girl (1988)

This film centers around Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith), a secretary from Staten Island who dreams of climbing the ladder and making it big in corporate NYC. It’s a real rags to riches story with fun performances from Sigourney Weaver, Harrison Ford, Joan Cusack, Alec Baldwin and Oliver Platt. Watch out for a bit part from Ricki Lake! If nothing else, it’s worth watching just for the 80s hair and fashion. 

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989)

Growing up in a single parent family during the 80s, going to see a movie was a special event. In December 1989, as an 11 year old, I was lucky enough to see this film at the cinema. Re-watching the movie for this list brought back all of those memories of first seeing the film.

It’s a fun and thrilling film with twists, turns and tears. The kids in this movie hold it all together and it must have been a lot of fun to be on sets with giant Oreos and Lego bricks. I can’t not mention iconic 80s comedy stars Rick Moranis, Matt Frewer and Marcia Strassman.

Muriel’s Wedding (1994)

If you’ve seen my Instagram profile, I love and adore Muriel’s Wedding. The reel that I have celebrating one of the film’s most iconic scenes has had over 4M views and counting. It’s the second Australian film to make it onto the list and the story centers around Porpoise Spit native Muriel Heslop (Toni Collette) who spends most of her time in her bedroom listening to ABBA songs. She desperately wants to get married and have a life as good as ABBA’s Dancing Queen.

Rivaling The Castle, Muriel’s Wedding has created some of Australian films most iconic popular culture moments and later into the 2000’s generating some unforgettable memes.

Just quietly add in here that Toni Collette lives just one suburb over from me in Sydney.

I’ve bumped into her a few times coming out of the Naturopath & Acupuncturist that we share. I’ve almost died each time!

If you would like to learn more about Matt . His instagram is @thisguymattford

Until next time!!

Greetings, Retro Cult fans! It’s your old friend, Scott Cherry, from Barbarian Rage.
I know it’s been a while since the last time, but I am excited to be back with my top 5 Summer
Movie List!
Viewing is of every movie on this list is mandatory! There will be a test!

Mac and Me
Mac and Me bombed at the box office.
It was panned at the time for being a rip-off of E.T. and its gross commercial tie-ins.
But now everyone loves it because it’s a rip-off of E.T. and gross commercial tie-ins.
The shining example is the McDonald’s birthday party in the middle of the movie. Everyone
breaks into a choreographed dance where Mac is disguised as a robotic toy bear and dances
with the real Ronald McDonald.
Steven Spielberg said the first time you saw E.T., he didn’t want you to say, “Awww. Cute”.
But that’s what you say when you first see “Mac” and his family. But they are only cute until
you realize that they are naked and have no genitalia.

There is a great episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000 where they watch Mac and Me.
I highly recommend watching it as well.
This movie was made notorious by Paul Rudd playing the same clip on every appearance he
made on Conan O’Brien.

Dick Tracy

The summer before “Dick Tracy” hit theaters,
“Batman” came out.
My twin brother and I went all in on Batman stuff. Toys, t-shirts, posters, cereal, trading cards
and (of course) comic books.
So, I was preparing for “This Summers Batman” the next year. I bought a Dick Tracy fanny
pack a bicyclist hat and a talking Dick Tracy game watch.
There was controversy over one of the action figures, “The Tramp.” That toy caught some heat
from homeless advocacy groups and was pulled from shelves. So I had to snag one of those. It
was the beginning of my toy collecting.
So, now I was ready to see the movie…
Okay…
“Dick Tracy” is not a good movie.
It’s stylish and pretty, has awesome makeup effects, and has an original score from Danny Elfman.
Dick Tracy is a highly polished turd.
How did it make this list, then?
Easy. I am nostalgic for it.
Nostalgic for being a dumb kid that bet what little money he had on a subpar movie. Then
I admitted defeat and looked at the pile of Dick Tracy junk that I had accrued.
Still worth a watch, though.

He-Man and The Masters of the Universe.
So much to unpack here from this Canon Films classic. As a vast He-Man fan, I won’t even be
able to scratch the surface.
First, this movie doesn’t really follow the mythology of the cartoon. A lot of the characters
and rogues gallery are either severely changed or completely absent.

Second off, this movie doesn’t have a discernible plot. Just a series of questionable decisions
by a couple of New Jersey teenagers that get caught up with evil villains from a different
planet.

“Masters of the Universe” was made to pump some life back into the Mattel toy line and help
fund Canon Films’ next film endeavor, “Spider-Man.”
Toy sales took a nose dive, and Canon never made Spider-Man.
The disappointment was confirmed with this movie as a kid, mainly because the bulk of it is based in
New Jersey and not on Eternia.
But I love this movie for its bizarre and unique plot structure.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The anticipation for this movie reached a maximum level when it debuted 25 years ago. I had
already been a fan of the book and Bill Murray’s portrayal of Thompson in “Where the Buffalo
Roam”. Terry Gilliam was one of my favorite directors.
I had just discovered LSD and was eating it like a fiend. So, it goes without saying that we went
to the opening of this movie on a head full of acid.
The movie’s first hour reaches a peak of hilarity without ever delivering one joke.
Two twisted friends in search of the American Dream is something that still resonates today.
Gilliams film is an excellent adaptation of the book.
It is intelligent, funny, insightful, infinitely quotable, and has a fantastic soundtrack.
Fear and Loathing is a masterpiece and remains one of my favorite movies.

One Crazy Summer
Savage Steve Holland’s unofficial sequel to the cult classic “Better Off Dead.” After graduation
“Hoops” and his listless friend go to Nantucket in search of inspiration for a love story (Which
is told throughout the movie in beautifully animated vignettes)
The cast is a murderers row of comedic actors.
Holland’s unique vision as a director offers hilarious gags consistently throughout the movie.
The directors’ commentary offers a fantastic look behind the curtain. I can’t get enough of this
movie; I’ve seen it a few dozen times (by the very least!).
It makes me wish that Holland had directed more movies, but I am happy with the ones he has
given us.
It’s the most fantastic Summer Movie of all time and is a master class in 80s cinema onto itself.

Honorable Mention:

Poison Ivy
Poison Ivy is a “Made For TV Movie” focused on a summer camp starring Micheal J. Fox.
Nancy McKeon (Jo from “Fact of Life”) plays the nurse and love interest.
Robert Klein plays the Head Councilor and has a dozen other TV actors filling out the cast.
Micheal J. Fox is practically crushed under the weight of carrying this movie.
Nancy McKeon towers over him in their scenes together.
Here it is taped off of NBCs Sunday Night Movie with the commercials still in it for maximum
retro vibes.

Scott Cherry is a Southern California-based artist best known for his original toy art and creator
of the Barbarian Rage comic book.
Instagram: @barbarian_rage
BarbarianRage.com

It’s that time of the summer again when Barnes and Noble have their 50% all Criterion Collection movies. Here are my five recommendations:

The link to buy is here:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-pasolini-101/39642307?ean=0715515284417

Thelma and Louise:

I am so happy that this movie got the Criterion Collection treatment! Definitely, a good movie to watch during the summer.

The link to buy is here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-thelma-louise-susan-sarandon/3623427?ean=0715515283717

I just watched this movie last summer, and oh my goodness, Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington heat up the screen in this movie.

The link to buy is here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-mississippi-masala-denzel-washington/3626959?ean=0715515272216

After Hours

This movie can have one event happen to you, and it will snowball out of proportion for the rest of the night.

The link to buy is here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-after-hours-griffin-dunne/3630634?ean=0715515285513

I finally watched this movie last week, and it reminds me of a Hitchcock movie with a bit of a twist.

The link is here to buy: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-dressed-to-kill-michael-caine/3872202?ean=0715515154413

What is your to-buy list for the Criterion Collection sale? Comment below!

Until next time!