The Bobby Bones Show – Movie Mike: Greatest Movies Turning 30, 20, and 10 Years Old

Host: Movie Mike
Date: January 25, 2026
Episode Focus:
A nostalgia-filled exploration of the biggest movies from 1996, 2006, and 2016, plus a spoiler-free review of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and a Trailer Park preview for The Wrecking Crew starring Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista.

Episode Overview

Movie Mike takes listeners on a journey through time, celebrating the standout films that are hitting major anniversaries—30, 20, and 10 years old. He delves into his personal memories of each era, spotlights box office hits, and shares industry tidbits about box office trends, star salaries, and notable debuts. This episode provides both a deeply personal and encyclopedic nostalgia trip, followed by a punchy review of the latest in the 28 [Days/Weeks/Years] Later franchise, and an enthusiastic breakdown of an action buddy-comedy trailer.

Section 1: Nostalgia Overload – Movies Turning 30 (Released in 1996)

[03:33–25:40]

Personal Retrospective: 1996

• Mike reminisces about his five-year-old self: "If nostalgia were a pillow, I would take two in the morning and two every single night just to make me feel good." (02:44)
• Recalls childhood favorites—Barney, Shining Time Station, Power Rangers—and the magic of VHS tapes from his cousin's collection.

Fast Food Tie-ins & '90s Kid Culture

• Heartfelt appreciation for Burger King toys, especially the Pokémon gold-plated card Pokéballs: "There was no better fast food tie-in than those Pokémon balls with the gold cards." (04:55)
• "The Burger King Kids Club... I always wanted to be Kid Vid." (07:08)

1996’s Top Box Office Movies

• Top 10 Highlights:
  • #10: Space Jam – "Does not get more '90s than Bugs Bunny and Michael Jordan together. I had to beg my parents for a Toon Squad jersey." (08:22)
  • #9: Jerry Maguire – "I want to see Rom-Com Tom Cruise again...I still think he would make a lot of money." (09:03)
  • #8: The Nutty Professor – "Prime Eddie Murphy...so many iconic scenes...but you probably could not do this movie today." (09:53)
  • #6: 101 Dalmatians – "A perfect movie day movie...It’s movie day, we need to watch a movie that doesn’t have any bad words." (11:05)
  • #5: Hunchback of Notre Dame – "The McDonald’s tie-in with the Hunchback of Notre Dame toys—I got the toys before I watched the movie." (11:30)
  • #3: Mission Impossible – "That scene of Tom Cruise rappelling down...defined the franchise." (12:25)
  • #2: Twister – "Probably seen [it] the most in my lifetime, at least over 55 times...I remember walking up to Buffalo Creek and seeing it was sold out." (13:19)
  • #1: Independence Day – "Welcome to Earth. What a great movie. This movie blew my mind so much as a youngin’ that I thought it was real." (14:12)

More 1996 Gems & Oddities

• Happy Gilmore, Scream, James and the Giant Peach, The Birdcage, Matilda, Romeo + Juliet, Jingle All the Way, and more—each gets a quirky shout-out.
• Scream’s twist: "Wes Craven did the thing that threw everybody off, killing [Drew Barrymore] in the opening scene...there are no rules." (15:57)

Industry Snapshot: 1996’s Top Earning Actors

• Notables: Arnold Schwarzenegger ($74 million), Tom Cruise ($30 million), Jim Carrey ($20 million).
• "All those [big stars] are still pretty much right up there...I think everybody else would have a chance of putting out a movie that people actually cared about." (18:35)

Notable 1996 Debuts

• Edward Norton (Primal Fear), Ryan Gosling, Jamie Pressly, Colin Hanks, Wes Anderson (director) with Bottle Rocket, Luke & Owen Wilson, Viola Davis.
• Personal Jamie Pressly story: "I saw her at a movie theater, thought about saying hi...but she went to the bathroom and I wasn't gonna be that person waiting outside." (19:31)

Section 2: DVD Burners & Emo Teen Years – Movies Turning 20 (Released in 2006)

[25:41–33:50]

Setting the Scene: 2006

• Mike at 15: "I was probably insufferable at this point. I thought I knew everything...Looking back, I was an idiot. I had nothing to offer." (21:59)
• Burned DVDs and dollar rentals at local “Video Station.”

2006 Blockbusters & Trends

• Top 10:
  • Happy Feet, Superman Returns, Mission Impossible 3, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest—the year’s only billion-dollar movie.

Movie Trends

• “Twin films” phenomenon: The Prestige vs. The Illusionist:
  • "I think the better of the two is The Prestige,...but The Illusionist also not a bad movie." (27:58)
• Other highlights:
  • High School Musical: "Could we get Zac Efron back into the long hair 2000s wig to do a reunion for that movie?"
  • Idocracy: Crocs as the future—"Mike Judge...found Crocs and thought, these are so dumb, there’s no way they'll catch on. And then, what happens? Crocs end up getting really popular." (30:48)
  • Clerks 2: "Maybe at times I enjoy it more than Clerks 1...as far as just quality story and emotional impact, I like Clerks 2 a lot better." (32:04)
  • "If you were five in ’96, probably loved Open Season or Flushed Away by 2006."

Acting & Industry Notes

• Top paid in 2006: Tom Cruise ($67 million), Johnny Depp ($37 million), and A-list actresses like Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman.
• Notable debuts: Dave Bautista, Ana de Armas, Greta Gerwig (as actor).

Section 3: Adulting & Full-Time Movies – Movies Turning 10 (Released in 2016)

[33:50–35:58]

Where Was Mike?

• In college, just before moving to Nashville. "2016 was a defining year. It was also the year I reviewed my first movie professionally." (33:50)
• First pro review: Batman v Superman—reviewed on Snapchat, got a shout-out from Bobby.

The 2016 Top Grossers

• Standouts:
  • Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: "Even if you didn’t know anything about Star Wars going in, you can stand alone with this."
  • Captain America: Civil War: "They finally got Spider-Man and Peter Parker right. Tom Holland came in as the younger, fresher Peter Parker that we needed."
  • Deadpool: "Really rocked the ecosystem of superhero movies…R-rated, very meta…changed what we thought superhero movies could be."
  • Finding Dory, Zootopia, The Jungle Book show the surge in animated blockbusters.

Other Notable Releases

• Moonlight, Hell or High Water, La La Land, Moana, Fences, Doctor Strange, Manchester by the Sea ("If you missed the initial window, probably won’t cry watching it now")

Industry Stuff

• Top paid: Dwayne Johnson ($64.5M), Matt Damon, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp.
• Anya Taylor-Joy’s debut: The Witch.
• “Most other big debuts were just the cast of Stranger Things...not their film debut, just Netflix.”

Section 4: Spoiler-Free Review – 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

[39:11–48:31]

Initial Thoughts & Franchise Context

• Picks up where the prior 28 Years Later left off.
• Bone Temple feels like a different movie: "I was so surprised how much this felt different than the first movie...completely different." (39:48)
• Switch in directors (Alex Garland to Nia DaCosta) gives a distinctive mood.
• You could start with 28 Years Later and not be lost: "You don’t necessarily have to watch those movies...it does add to the emotional impact." (41:03)

The Plot & Themes (Spoiler-Free)

• Less about the 'infected' (not-quite-zombies), more about "the real enemy, which is humans."
• Civilization is completely gone: "No remnants of the world that we know—that is completely gone." (42:40)
• "This movie is less about the infected and more about...the need for survival, the need for power." (43:02)

Performances & Standout Moments

• Ralph Fiennes is transformative:
  • "Ray Fiennes did an amazing job at portraying this character who I just wanted to be friends with...An amazing interpretive dance that was so sinister, paired with one of the best songs you could possibly use." (44:15)
  • "That set design, on its own, deserves an award. Seeing that tower of skulls...the fire...it was just perfect."
  • "This is what Avatar, Fire and Ash should have been. This is the real fire and ash." (44:36)
• Jack O’Connell: "Plays a really good person that you want to hate—you hate him so much that you kind of love him." (45:18)
• "Acting is A-plus. Ralph Fiennes alone brings all the credibility you need to this franchise." (46:00)

Thematic Depth

• "28 Years Later franchise...the only reason this is even in the horror genre is because it has some scary images...but this isn’t a traditional horror movie. It feels so much more than that because of the message of this movie..." (46:46)
• "Politics of survival and what this would look like if this actually happened today." (47:13)

Audience Reaction

• Early-morning screening still electric:
  • "Even with just 12, 15 people, there were gasps and claps...That tells you this movie is going to hit you on an emotional level." (47:34)
• Scare factor: "Not so much nightmares—more just violence and situations that make you cringe."

Verdict

• "I don’t think I can rank this above the original...but it is right up there next to that one. I ended up enjoying it more than 28 Years Later. For The Bone Temple, I give it 4.5 out of 5 human skulls." (48:23)

Section 5: Trailer Park – The Wrecking Crew (Prime Video)

[51:36–56:40]

Movie Mike’s Take:

• "Are ‘80s and ‘90s action movies trying to make a comeback? Because after watching this trailer for The Wrecking Crew...that is the vibe I’m getting. In a good way. The chemistry between [Momoa and Bautista] seems really good...You can’t just put two big muscly guys on screen together and get a good product." (51:42)

What’s It About?

• Two half-brothers (Bautista and Momoa) team up in Hawaii after their father's suspicious death. Yakuza gang is after them.
• Director: Angel Manuel Soto ("I’ve had Angel on this podcast...He does a really good job just in this trailer of capturing that aesthetic...") (52:04)

Noteworthy Impressions

• “I’m so surprised—the director does a really good job in this trailer of capturing the aesthetic of an ’80s or ’90s action movie with two guys just teaming up and taking down bad guys.” (52:17)
• "Dave Bautista is in my top five, if not my top three, of favorite wrestlers turned actors...He’s really taken the time to hone in this craft." (54:34)
• "Jason Momoa...his best movie, to me, is probably the first Aquaman...But seeing them together just makes sense." (55:23)
• Personal touch: “If you have a father figure, maybe this movie will help you bond like it’s going to help me bond with my dad...You need some action, and you need a really easy plot to follow along to.” (56:01)

Quick Notable Cast

• Jacob Batalon (Spider-Man’s Ned), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool), Stephen Root (Office Space).

Section 6: Listener Shout-Out & Book Update

[56:46–61:39]

• Listener Garrett encourages Mike to read Project Hail Mary:
  • Quoting Garrett: "Get to work…read the book, stop procrastinating. There are spoilers for the book in the trailer. So dumb. Read the book." (58:22)
  • Mike updates: "I am about one fourth of the way through the book now, which is huge for me...this book did hook me in from the very beginning." (59:44)
  • “I’m not going to let you down, Garrett!” (61:33)

Memorable Quotes

• On Nostalgia: “If nostalgia were a pillow, I would take two in the morning and two every single night just to make me feel good.” (02:47)
• On ‘Scream’ (1996): “Wes Craven did the thing that threw everybody off, killing [Drew Barrymore] in the opening scene, letting you know that, okay, this movie is here to play. There are no rules.” (15:57)
• On Zombie Movies: “Most people would say they are zombies, but to me, they act completely different…28 years later is really not in that same category.” (41:52)
• On Dave Bautista: "He is somebody who has not always chased the money, sometimes has taken fairly small roles in major movies, but...has shown me a lot of different sides." (54:34)

Key Timestamps

• 03:33 – Movies Turning 30: 1996
• 25:41 – Movies Turning 20: 2006
• 33:50 – Movies Turning 10: 2016
• 39:11 – Review: 28 Years Later – The Bone Temple
• 51:36 – Trailer Park: The Wrecking Crew Preview
• 56:46 – Listener shout-out & Project Hail Mary book update

This episode is essential listening for movie lovers, nostalgia fans, and anyone eager for passionate, detail-rich commentary that is as fun as it is informative. Movie Mike blends personal anecdotes, in-depth film knowledge, and heartfelt recommendations, making this a time capsule for movie culture across three decades.