Steven, Benjamin, and Sean wind the clock back to 1986 and take a month-by-month wander through one of the most eclectic, chaotic, and fondly remembered years in modern cinema.

From summer blockbusters to cult oddities, we revisit our first watches, reassess our long-held opinions, and shamelessly don the nostalgia goggles as each of us picks a favourite from every month of the year. Along the way, we celebrate the era-defining highs of Aliens, Highlander, The Fly, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Big Trouble in Little China, and gleefully tangle with the stranger corners of the year such as House, Troll, and The Golden Child.

There’s plenty of love for Labyrinth, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Three Amigos, and plenty of irritation from Steven when The Wraith inevitably enters the conversation.

We also take a detour through the 1986 awards season (what won, what didn’t, and what absolutely should have), alongside notable births, deaths, and the broader cultural context of the year.

A nostalgic, opinionated tour through a year when cinema swung for the fences, and often hit something wonderfully strange.

For this year’s Christmas episode, Film Utopia heads back to Middle-earth as Steven, Benjamin, and Sean tackle The Lord of the Rings Extended Editions in full – from The Fellowship of the Ring to The Return of the King. Not a misty-eyed holiday special, but a long, honest fireside reckoning with one of cinema’s most beloved trilogies.

While still a fan overall, Steven uses the extended runtime to reflect on the criticisms he’s developed over the years, particularly with Return of the King, from its ever-stretching length to its ageing CGI. Benjamin finds his affection for the finale has also waned, taking issue the Witch-king’s demise, and Smeagol’s transformation.

Sean remains the trilogy’s most steadfast defender Though he acknowledges many of the same flaws, his love for the films endures. Especially The Two Towers, much to Steven’s ongoing bafflement.

What IS unanimous, however, is the enduring brilliance of The Fellowship of the Ring: Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, the location shooting, Howard Shore’s iconic score, the majesty of Rivendell, and the purity of its single-journey structure remain untouchable.

Join us for a festive return to Middle-earth, brimming with admiration… and the occasional raised eyebrow.

This week on Film Utopia, Steven, Benjamin, and Sean hop in the cinematic time machine and cruise back to 1995, a year stacked so high with bangers, bruisers and cult classics that even John Doe would struggle to catalogue them.

We stroll month-by-month through our first-watch memories and rediscover why ‘95 was an all-timer. There’s expected reverence for Se7en, Casino, and Heat (the holy trinity of grimy crime masterpieces); love for Crimson Tide, 12 Monkeys, The Usual Suspects, and Strange Days, and even a warm salute for Tank Girl. Yes, even Steven, who has bizarrely softened on the film since his last watch.

From prestige thrillers to neon-splattered comic chaos, from time-travel gloom to mobster cool, 1995 gave us a cinematic buffet we’re still chewing on today.