Shat the Movies

Russell Walker (Blair Underwood) has started a new hip-hop and rap label called Krush Groove, which features a stellar list of acts that includes Kurtis Blow and Run-D.M.C. However, Walker doesn’t have sufficient money to keep up the label, especially after Run-D.M.C. scores a big single. As he struggles to fund the label, more and more rap groups, like the Beastie Boys and LL Cool J, emerge in the New York City hip-hop scene. The film is based on the beginning of Def Jam Records.

Harry Crumb (John Candy) descends from a long line of sleuths, but the well-intentioned private detective tends to turn the simplest case into a disaster. That’s why Harry’s maniacal boss, Eliot Draisen (Jeffrey Jones), selects him to investigate the kidnapping of a rich heiress; Draisen himself is behind the crime and he’s hoping that Harry will perform as dismally as he usually does. But, with more than a few tricks up his sleeve, Harry may end up cracking the conspiracy despite himself.

Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) is a failure in life but a celebrity in his own mind, hosting an imaginary talk show in his mother’s basement. When he meets actual talk show host Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis), he’s convinced it will provide his big break, but Langford isn’t interested in the would-be comedian. Undaunted, Pupkin effectively stalks Langford — and when that doesn’t work, he kidnaps him, offering his release in exchange for a guest spot on Langford’s show.

Once upon a time, there was a movie about an unlikeable fancy lad joining the unlikeable crew of a ship called The Filthy Whore after David Letterman tried to sell him a monkey, but at least it had Tim Burton as the director. Until it didn’t. This week, Shat The...

Shat The Movies was made for movies like “Hardbodies,” a motion picture originally planned for the Playboy Channel but released in theaters because America needed boobs. This 1985 skin flick has all the tropes you’d expect: women in bikinis, beach parties, waterbeds and cheesy lines. But “Hardbodies” surprised us with...

“Let It Ride” is a 1989 comedy starring Richard Dreyfuss as Jay Trotter, a perpetually unlucky gambler who, after overhearing a tip about a longshot horse, decides to bet all his savings on it. As Jay’s luck suddenly turns around, he finds himself on an exhilarating winning streak at the...

Discussing race in America is never easy, and it was even harder in 1989 when Spike Lee released “Do The Right Thing,” a film filled with ambiguity, tension and Rosie Perez dancing. This supersized episode, commissioned by listener Grant Leisure, compelled the Shat Crew to take a hard look at...

Before “Matilda the Musical,” “Madeline” and “Coraline,” there was Danny DeVito’s 1996 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda,” a film the entire Shat Crew enjoyed — for very different reasons. Ash was the most familiar with “Matilda,” having seen it in theaters. Gene had read other Dahl books and knew what...