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Around the World in 80s Movies

KKFI Community Podcasts

Join film writer Vince Leo as he journeys back through his favorite decade for films, the 1980s!

tv & film film history

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16:45

Checking in: Vince explains the delay in getting the...

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2025/09/22

Tl;dr: Vince started a funk-based internet radio station called Funk the Planet. | Check it out at https://funkthepla.net

49:54

The Karate Kid (1984) | John Avildsen

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2025/03/09

Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) and his mother (Randee Heller) move from New Jersey to Reseda, CA , to start a new life. It seems promising at first, but soon Daniel hates his new environs, thanks to a few run-ins at school with a group of karate-trained bullies. He does manage to irk the leader of the bullies, Johnny (William Zabka), when he starts seeing his ex-girlfriend, Ali (Elisabeth Shue). Johnny and gang belong to a no-holds-barred karate school in town that has a slogan of "no mercy", run

43:15

Rocky III (1982) | Sylvester Stallone

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2024/12/21

With Rocky III, director-screenwriter-star Stallone takes the film series into a new direction, although the underdog formula still stays intact. Stallone realizes that it's hard to be the underdog when you're the champion, so to knock Rocky down a few notches, he creates the most terrifying challenger he never faced, the bruising #1 contender, Clubber Lang (Mr. T). Lang has been stalking the ready-to-retire Balboa, showing up at every match and public appearance, egging the champ on to stop

39:05

Rocky II (1979) | Sylvester Stallone

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2024/07/13

After a replay of the climax of Rocky, Rocky II picks up exactly where the first film leaves off, with Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) and Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) taken to a nearby hospital after suffering serious injuries caused by the pummeling each fighter took in their 15-round contest. Creed won the bout by a split decision, but the victory isn't so sweet, as many fans accuse him of helping Balboa along, while some even think Balboa should have been declared champion. Contrary to what

72:22

Rocky (1976) | John Avildsen

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2024/05/27

The film tells the tale of Rocky Balboa (Sylverster Stallone), a washed-up Philadelphia boxer who just barely scrapes by, fighting in small clubs for meager pay, while supplementing his income as a thuggish debt collector for a local loan shark. He doesn't have many ambitions; his only real goal is to get to go out with the shy, mousy pet store clerk named Adrian (Talia Shire), sister to his friend Paulie (Burt Young), Opportunity comes knocking in a big way for Balboa when the world heavyweight

37:33

Tango & Cash (1989) | Andrei Konchalovsky

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2024/01/06

Sylvester Stallone plays Ray Tango, a flashy narco cop in the LAPD who is all business and efficient. Kurt Russell plays Gabriel Cash, more of a devil-may-care type who just so happens to get the big bust whenever he needs it. Drug kingpin Yves Perret (Jack Palance) wants the two biggest obstacles out of his way, and hatches a plan that will do it: have Tango and Cash brought up on a bogus murder charge. The cops are initially sentenced to a short stint in a minimum security prison, only to find

44:05

The Running Man (1987)

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/12/13

Set in the post-world financial demise of the year 2019, The Running Man stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as law enforcement officer and helicopter pilot Ben Richards, who ends up getting framed for instigating the murder of a crowd of innocent civilians engaging in a protest for food in Bakersfield. Richards and a couple of benevolent jail mates spring out of prison and go on the run, only to be captured later and used as scapegoats for the massacre by becoming involuntary contestants on the most

41:44

Action Jackson (1988) | Craig R. Baxley

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/10/21

Carl Weathers stars as Detroit cop Jericho "Action" Jackson, who earned his nickname due to putting his body on the line time and again in the line of duty in roughhousing and apprehending perps. Unfortunately for Jackson, the police captain (Duke) demotes him to the role of desk-jockey due to his dangerous reputation that has given the force a black eye by going too far in trying to take down the son of a slimy, power-hungry car company tycoon named Peter Dellaplane (Nelson). Jackson begins to

34:56

Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) | Tony Scott

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/09/30

This follow-up to the mega-smash Beverly Hills Cop sees the Beverly Hills police department stymied by the so-called Alphabet Robberies, whereby stores with monographed goods are hit by a gang of highly skilled thieves. One of these armed thieves is a statuesque blonde named Karla Fry (Brigitte Nielsen), who becomes a prime suspect when she attempts to murder Capt. Bogomil (Ronny Cox), shooting him twice and leaving him on life support. This brings Detroit detective Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) back

42:32

Beverly Hills Cop (1984) | Martin Brest

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/09/04

Eddie Murphy's superstar-making role has him playing crafty Detroit cop Axel Foley, who travels to Beverly Hills in order to try to uncover the reasons behind the professional hit placed on an old friend (James Russo). His investigative tactics immediately draw the attention of the local law enforcement there, who put a tail on Foley to make sure that his story of being on vacation there holds up. By-the-book detectives Taggart (John Ashton) and Rosewood (Judge Reinhold) are the cops assigned to

47:18

Die Hard (1988) | John McTiernan

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/07/18

New York cop John McClane (Bruce Willis) flies to Los Angeles to attend the swanky party of his separated wife Holly's (Bonnie Bedelia) company on an upper floor of their high-rise corporate building. However, the company didn't intend to have party crashers, particularly gun-toting German terrorists who want to rob the big boss blind while holding the employees hostage. The terrorists are led by international mastermind Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) who makes one major blunder in not taking into

39:13

Frantic (1988) | Roman Polanski

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/04/02

Dr. Richard Walker (Harrison Ford) and his loving wife (Betty Buckley) travel to Paris where he is to speak at a medical convention. In their hotel room, they discover that his wife has picked up the wrong suitcase at the airport, and they report this to TWA. While Dr. Walker is in the shower, his wife gets a phone call and is soon out of the room, and out of sight altogether as she is now missing. With the French police offering little assistance to his plight, Dr. Walker must search through Paris

32:24

The Bedroom Window (1987) | Curtis Hanson

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/02/18

Steve Guttenberg stars as Terry Lambert, a businessman who is having an affair with his boss's alluring French wife, Sylvia Wentworth (Isabelle Huppert). After their latest coupling, they are startled by a scream coming from the courtyard outside. Rushing to the window, Sylvia shrieks as she sees an assault on a woman at the hands of a redhead male with pasty white skin. However, she can't report it, as she desperately doesn't want her affair to become known by her wealthy husband. Terry thinks

33:38

Still of the Night (1982) | Robert Benton

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2023/01/09

Roy Scheider plays a newly divorced New York psychiatrist named Sam Rice, who discovers that George Bynum (Josef Sommer), one of his prominent patients, has been murdered. Bynum was the curator of antiquities for Crispin's, a high-scale auction house, who engaged in a sexual affair with Brooke Reynolds (Meryl Streep), a younger woman who worked with him. During his counseling sessions, Bynum told Sam all about Brooke in such vivid detail that Sam thinks he might have fallen for Bynum's mistress

42:55

Body Double (1984) | Brian De Palma

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/12/03

A struggling actor (Craig Wasson) finds a job housesitting for a rich friend of another actor (Gregg Henry). While there he spies on a neighbor (Melanie Griffith) who has a naughty habit of doing a striptease every night. He becomes infatuated with the woman and decides he wants to meet her, taking to following her around wherever she goes. He begins to suspect she is in trouble when a suspicious Native American follows her around as well. He suspects she will be murdered.

39:05

Blow Out (1981) | Brian De Palma

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/09/13

John Travolta stars as Jack Terry, a sound effects engineer for cheapie horror exploitation flicks. When a producer deems the victim's screams and wind effects used in their slasher film as substandard, Jack determines to capture new recordings. While outdoors, his tape captures audio from a nearby car careening off of a bridge and into a river after its tire blows out. Jack jumps to action to save a drowning woman (Nancy Allen) from the vehicle, but the driver dies, later revealed to be the

39:08

Dressed to Kill (1980) | Brian De Palma

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/08/09

Angie Dickinson stars as Kate Miller, a housewife so unsatisfied sexually that she often finds herself having vivid and wild sexual fantasies, with violent overtones. She has been seeing a psychiatrist, Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine), about her marital problems, and even makes a pass at him, although nothing comes to pass. Unable to resist the temptation, Kate has an afternoon fling with a complete stranger, only to end up the victim of a brutal and senseless slaying at the hands of a mysterious

21:39

Bates Motel (1987) | Richard Rothstein

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/06/27

The events of 1987's Bates Motel take place 27 years after schizophrenic serial killer Norman Bates is arrested and found guilty by reason of insanity for his crimes. While in the institution, Norman is introduced to a troubled young boy named Alex West (Bud Cort), who murdered his abusive stepfather in a giant tumble dryer and ends up staying in the same institution. Norman takes the lad under his wing until his death 27 years later, coincidentally the same year that Alex is finally allowed out

31:45

Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990) | Mick Garris

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/06/20

Psycho IV: The Beginning is the fourth and final film in Universal's Psycho franchise, and the last to portray Anthony Perkins in his most famous of roles. It's the first of the series not to be released theatrically, debuting on the premium cable channel Showtime in 1990. This film is a sequel in theory, as it does take a step forward in showing Norman Bates trying to live the semblance of a normal life today, finally in a relationship with a woman, with a baby on the way. Trouble is, Norman

37:00

Psycho III (1986) | Anthony Perkins

Around the World in 80s Movies ·

2022/05/31

The events of Psycho III take place not long after Psycho II, as Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), still the sole caretaker of the Bates Motel, ends up hiring a temporary new assistant in the wily rogue musician who goes by the name of Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey). He also has a new patron staying in cabin #1, a spiritually faltering (and suicidal) former nun with an uncanny resemblance, not to mention the same initials, of victim Marion Crane, Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid). Norman is intensely attracted

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