Retro Movie Reviews | Rick Retro | Substack

Dark Whimsy

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

Retro Review #77: "Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K." –Ted

Aug 19, 2025 • Rick Retro

Recap: Big (1988) <Extended Cut> (2007)

Retro Recap #1: Should we just call it "Bigger"?

Jul 18, 2025 • Rick Retro

Moon Over Parador (1988)

Retro Review #76: Have you ever wanted to be a dictator?

Jul 2, 2025 • Rick Retro

Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Retro Review #75: Cartoon props and sight-gags courtesy of Acme Corporation.

Jun 30, 2025 • Rick Retro

Retro Review #74: Big, yes, but a little smaller as time has gone by.

Jun 18, 2025 • Rick Retro

Recent posts

Wrapping Up the 2025 Christmas Tour

Rick Retro’s Realm, Project #4: 2025 Christmas Tour – Our last three Substack debuts in our tour have been posted. Christmas leftovers are up next.

Dec 27, 2025 • Rick Retro

Of Scissors, Muppets and Nightmares

Rick Retro’s Realm, Project #4: 2025 Christmas Tour – Christmas films in the early 1990s give us three Pure Dark Whimsy classics.

Dec 22, 2025 • Rick Retro

12 More Days of Christmas!

Rick Retro’s Realm, The Realm Report #9: Nothing to do with a partridge in a pear tree, just a scheduling issue.

Dec 18, 2025 • Rick Retro

The Stars Are Out for Christmas

Rick Retro’s Realm, Project #4: 2025 Christmas Tour – Trending in the late 1980s: Christmas box-office hits driven by big stars.

Dec 18, 2025 • Rick Retro

A Christmas Story of Gremlins Trading Places

Rick Retro’s Realm, Project #4: 2025 Christmas Tour – The early 1980s: cynicism and nostalgia with extra helpings of Dark Whimsy.

Dec 14, 2025 • Rick Retro

#nojs-banner { position: fixed; bottom: 0; left: 0; padding: 16px 16px 16px 32px; width: 100%; box-sizing: border-box; background: red; color: white; font-family: -apple-system, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 13px; line-height: 13px; } #nojs-banner a { color: inherit; text-decoration: underline; } This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Please turn on JavaScript or unblock scripts