JFD246: Five Element Ninjas, Terminal City Ricochet, Joe's Apartment

Junk Food January continues! This week, we tackle a classic kung fu flick, a semi-obscure Punk Rock "classic?", and the first MTV film!

First up! Chinese Super Ninjas beware of the deadly Ninjitsu clans of Japan, and their killer Wizard of Oz Trees in the surprisingly colorful and somewhat musically-influenced FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS from 1982!

Up next, a bizarre footnote in Punk Rock icon Jello Biafra's career is re-examined, in 1990's TERMINAL CITY RICHOCHET!

Finally, we get down and dirty with the diseased denizens of a derelict dump in Downtown NYC! It's Joe's Apartment, everyone's favorite cockroach-infested dwelling, from 1996!

All this plus witty banter between friends, Sean's crappy wifi signal, Lots of Love from the Sweetest Man Alive, Rambochats, Falling down with The Fallen One, the Razzie Nominations, Throwing down over Ethan Hawke, some Nerd Newsies, this week's DVD & blu-ray releases, absolute confidentiality, continued lack of police involvement, sneezes, belches, gleeks and a little bit more!



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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865).

Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We'll sing cockroach songs for your love and support.

Cumulus Frisbie's Top (?) Ten List!

I’m Jason and I co-host Parker’s other podcast, Pool Party Radio.
I saw 11 movies in 2014. Here are 10 of them:

1. Captain America: Winter Soldier
This film is as good as a filmic version of a comic book’s take on shadow governments can get. It’s entertaining enough, if you’re still on board with comic book movies saturating the subculture-audience market. The ending culminates with a flying battleship collapsing in the middle of D.C., for which no one takes responsibility since everyone who would be responsible goes into hiding (also, I don’t know if destroying D.C. is some sort of Marvel-vs.-DC inside joke). I still don’t know what to make of that fucking ending.

2. Boyhood
Richard Linklater’s epic that covers segments of a young boy’s life over twelve years, from age 6 to 18, and sometimes Ethan Hawke shows up to take him bowling or something. I dunno; It’s a Linklater film with an unique concept, so you’ll either praise it as a masterpiece or deride it as some novelty. My main gripe is that the music selection is horrible, and if you don’t believe me, then please try to sit through the title sequence without groaning.

3. Wild
Reese Witherspoon’s character has lost her mother, so she spends a year-and-a-half mourning the loss by introducing herself to heroin, fucking a bunch of exploitative, Patrick-Batemen-looking strangers in alleys and hotel rooms, and insulting her accessible mental health professional for not having a chaise lounge like the therapists on TV. When she finds herself pregnant and decides to get an abortion, it is then when she decides to turn her life around by hiking northbound on the Pacific Crest Trail over three months. I guess it’s possible that we all are capable of dealing with grief in this or a similarly self-destructive and then later self-explorative way, but — I don’t know how to finish this thought without coming off as a judgmental asshole, so I’ll just leave it as a gorgeously shot and uplifting story, which I’m sure was the goal. If anything, I hope this movie’s messages about self-determination to get clean and its encouragement to enjoy nature are of interest to viewers.

4. Lego Movie
“It’s a movie-length commercial for Legos” is how every dullard dismissed this bright and refreshing film. Lego Movie is pop art at it’s finest: it is self-aware while glowing. It makes jokes at the fact that the entire design of this feature length movie is about a goddamn toy line, and yes, after the story is told and the messages about creativity, individuality, and cooperation are delivered, you indeed have paid for and watched an hour-and-a-half of product placement, you fucking ninny, so pat yourself on the back for knowing a feature length advertisement when you see it, but shame on you if that’s all you got from this gorgeously animated gem.

5. Grand Budapest Hotel
It’s a Wes Anderson movie, so expect doll-house loads of whimsy. The film utilizes a couple of Anderson’s growing tool box of tricks, from setting the story in a fictional place and time that is somehow familiar to our universe to mixing new wave cinema sensibilities with unexpected uses of animation as well as cartoonish characters. Basically, this film feels like a children’s book at times, and if you don’t believe me, then check out at Adrian Brodie’s character’s fucking eccentric look and provide a better explanation of what they modeled it after. This director also did a heartfelt film adaptation of The Fantastic Mr. Fox, for fuck’s sake, so it’s not like you should expect The Bourne Identity.

6. Only Lovers Left Alive
It’s a Jim Jarmusch film, so I’m going to guess that you’ll think it’s as pretentious as art-house films get or you’ll find the cringe-inducing-ly hip dialog among the centuries-old vampires featured herein to be a critique on scene-culture and name-dropping. Imagine that prick who keeps one-upping your anecdotes, and now imagine that person as having lived generations: “Oh, you only read Dostoyevsky…yeah, his work made more sense when I asked him a few thoughtful questions about it. We’ll never have another one like him, and I got to talk to him, and you didn’t. Isn’t that interesting?” I might have the wrong interpretation here, but Only Lovers Left Alive does for hipsters what Goodfellas does for mobsters. Unfortunately, and much like Goodfellas, many people are going to see these characters and probably think they should mimic them rather than criticize society’s cultural fascination with them.

7. Palo Alto
If you don’t think James Franco is creepy yet, imagine that he wrote a book that features not only teenagers running trains on other teenagers, but also some statutory rape between a young athlete and a sad-dad coach, and then Franco plays said coach in the movie adaptation. The overarching thing we’re supposed to take away about the lead teenage boy and teenage girl whose interactions bookend the film like trains passing in the night is that salvation in love might be the person you ditch a party with for one sweet night of adolescent innocence and not that shitty psychopath you call a friend or the gross dude in his 40s who tries to bang all of the babysitters he hires.

8. A Most Wanted Man
This film is totally forgettable except for the fact that its Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s last non-YA-fiction-adaptation film. RIP in peace, you magnificent bastard.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy
The ending of this film looks almost exactly like Captain America: Winter Soldier, except it’s a floating battleship falling into an alien planet instead of D.C. Also like Winter Solider, this may be only for those who are still into comic book movies. However, it definitely is visually unique and funny. There are a lot of aliens in this summer blockbuster, plus an A.M. Gold soundtrack, so maybe those turn you on. I’m not sure to whom I’m writing this review, since I’m 99% sure everyone on the planet saw this fucking thing.

(Editor's Note: Beware the Wicked "Gone Girl" spoilers. You've been warned.)

10. Gone Girl
I like a lot of this film, except for the cold-blooded, psychopathic woman cliché. I guess the aloof husband with infidelity tendencies was also cliché (and I’m pretty sure his sister even has dialog saying as much, which I am still not sure whether that was self-awareness or just happenstance). The overall message about the damning psychological prison that commitment to another person (forced, otherwise, or a little of both at different point over the course of the relationship) in a life-long relationship or partnership can sometimes result seems interesting, but the story is explicit that she’s a psychopath long before the marriage, and I’m still not sure if there’s a particular reason for her psychopathy. So I guess the message of the film is that some people will cheat on their spouses, and those same people might marry a psychopath, and that psychopath will fake a bunch of shit, fool the entire planet into believing she was a victim, and then she’ll force a family to save face or some other bullshit reason. It doesn’t really matter, because she’s crazy, so let’s just stop there and pretend that’s enough, since it’s worked so far. Also, I’m thrilled that the book’s author, Gillian Flynn, wrote the screenplay. Hopefully, this will become a more frequent opportunity for other willing authors like her.

I don’t know what to suggest, gang. I was watching Monsters Vs. Aliens for the first time while writing this. It’s an animated film that came out five years ago, and I think it beats out most of this list. I didn’t see a lot of great films in 2014, but that’s probably the least sad thing about 2014. Happy New Year, everyone!

JFD245: SuperChick, Two-Lane Blacktop, Scotland PA

We explore the 70s this week with 3 wacky movies about everyone's favorite decade where the American Dream died a slow death.

First, a foxy young stewardess with a black belt in karate has boyfriends in Miami, NYC, Dallas and LA. How does she juggle them all? And how sexy are the results? We find out in 1973's "SuperChick." John Carradine shows up briefly as an old pervert who's into bondage, so watch out for that.

Next, James Taylor, his stoner mechanic and a hitchhiker hit the open road in "Two Lane Blacktop" from 1971. Warren Oates shows up as a habitual liar and challenges the trio to a race across Route 66. The flick is directed by Monte Hellman of "Silent Night Deadly Night 3" fame.

Finally, Shakespeare's MacBeth gets updated to be about a hamburger joint in 1970's Pennsylvania in "Scotland, PA." Christopher Walken is a detective, Amy Smart and Andy Dick are witchy hippies and murder and madness taint the entire diner.

All this plus witty banter between friends, Nerd News, Sad Nerd News, our Junky DVD picks for the week, Sean slowly disperses his Arizona secrets, The Holy Trinity of JFD Callers, Parker feeling #Blessed that Kevin makes him feel not-alone in disliking a movie and so much more!

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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line atJFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865). Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We will get you cha cha heels in exchnage for your love and support.

Sean's Top 10 Movies of 2014

As with every year, I regret not putting more time in on my couch or at the theater watching new movies. Until the second half of the year, I was under the impression we were in a very weak year for movies, until I started my scramble to catch up. While I've still got many flicks I've yet to see for the year (Foxcatcher, Whiplash, Goodbye to Language, Winter Kill, Cold in July, Housebound and many more), below is the best of what I did manage to catch up with.

10. Edge of Tomorrow
Easily the biggest surprise of 2014 for me, I never expected the combination of Doug Liman and Tom Cruise to yield something this exciting and fresh. Having seen Cruise in MI4, I wasn't surprised he still had the ability at his age to be a believable action star, but I was surprised that the novelty of the Live/Die/Repeat videogame aspect of the plot was mined so effectively in service of its many plot twists.

9. Interstellar
Although a little of the shine wore off on a second viewing, I'm still vastly impressed by some of the sequences in Chris Nolan's ode to Kubrick's 2001 and Dust Bowl Americana sentimentalism. Carried largely by another great performance from Matthew McConaughey and an admirably large-scale effects budget, the script does venture into incredulity from time to time, but not enough to greatly hinder the experience of seeing this projected on film on a huge screen.

8. Jodorowsky’s Dune
A great documentary in a year of several, this one tops the rest of them for me based on the heart of its central protagonist. While it does a great job to chronicle the history of this doomed film project, and does even more to help you imagine what kind of amazing the end result could be, for me the greatest joy in this film is just seeing how the whole process of the film falling apart was not viewed as a failure by Jodorowsky, but rather an opportunity for other artists to develop into forces of their own. If you're ever doubting the transcendent power of art, this is the documentary to help you reaffirm your faith.

7. Obvious Child
It's rare for modern comedies to make a lasting impression on me, but then again it's rare for the central theme of a comedy to be a woman struggling with her choice to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Jenny Slate's breakthrough performance is something every other podcast is talking about (as they're all hosted by standing up comedians), but it's actually something worth talking about. Rarely does a film tackle a serious subject like this without hitting all of the contrived, formulaic beats already established, but Obvious Child manages to pull that off and be funny while doing so.

6. Cheap Thrills
A beautiful little self-contained weird odyssey of a film, I was entranced by the way E.L. Katz's directorial debut kept elevating the stakes in a way that was simultaneously outlandish and believable, while balancing an unusual tone of comedy and true menace. This is another film in which a simple premise is really exploited to its full extent, and in this case, for minimal resources.

5. Coherence
Even smaller in scope than Cheap Thrills, here is a movie that was filmed for "basically free" at the home of the director and with a cast of actor friends over a few nights. Based on any scale, the results here are impressive, but based on that scale I'm a little bit blown away by James Ward Byrkit, another first time director, and his sense of economy. This is an eye-openingly existential sci-fi thriller with some genuinely scary moments, and one not worth spoiling plot-wise.

4. Blue Ruin
Understated and realistic in its approach to the violent outbursts the central protagonist often finds himself thrust into, this crime thriller proves again that alternative funding methods (ie, Kickstarter) can provide a great avenue for legitimately good movies to be made, even if it also means wading through a bunch of your stoner high-school friends Facebook invitations to fund their Reggae/Jazz/Doo-wop fusion record. Stylized direction, a great central performance, and an engaging revenge tale meld together for something truly memorable. This movie's sound is also killer (and features absolutely zero of your buddy's doo-wop).

3. Under the Skin
This year's surrealist breakout, I tend to think this film would have gotten none of the press it has without the involvement of one ScarJo, despite its many other merits. That said, I'm pleased she was able to bring a higher profile to this movie, which has a uniquely detached and cool approach to a Species-like Alien femme fatale plot. The inclusion of Lynchian elements such as a real-life Elephant Man, engaged in a love scene with our lead, really highlight the bold choices she's been making lately (even when they don't pan out exactly (looking at you, Lucy)).

2. Nightcrawler
What the hell is going on with first-time directors in 2014? Dan Gilroy knocks it out of the park here with his debut, a dark update on Chinatown and a half dozen other LA neo-noirs, with elements of Network and other social commentary dramas. Tonally perfect, with razor-sharp cynicism and a Patrick Bateman-esque turn by Jake Gyllenhaal as a sociopathic overachiever emblematic of the modern American myth of success over compassion. And the film's strict adherence to real geography almost make me think Gilroy had seen the complaints registered in the documentary Los Angeles Plays Itself (now on Netflix!) and set up to right the geographic wrongs instilled in most LA-set movies.

1. Boyhood

It's hard to say much about this movie that hasn't already been said, but that won't be enough to stop me (or many others in the future). Richard Linklater's latest is a triumph of course in terms of technical ambition, but the end result is just too good to believe, based on any shooting timetable. Effortless, honest, engaging, and enlightening, this film is a culmination of all of the good traits I've observed in his other work into just about the most ideal package I think he'd be able to deliver. Although, as he surprised me so much with this picture, I'll be sure to leave room open for another surprise.  In the meantime, I can't think of another movie from 2014 I'm more excited to rewatch. 

Honorable Mentions:
Even without seeing nearly as many 2014 flicks as I'd hoped, I somehow ended up with a large pool of flicks I had shortlisted for my top 10 that I just couldn't squeeze in. This was largely due to the sizable pool of great recommendations I was able to glean from the other JFD hosts and fans. These are all definitely movies that may have in another year ended up in the final ten:

• Snowpiercer
• twohundredfiftysixcolors
• I Am Divine
• Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
• Listen Up Philip
• White Bird in a Blizzard
• The Guest
• Gone Girl
• Guardians of the Galaxy

Kevin's Top 10 Movies of 2014

2014 was a strange but exciting year for movies, in my opinion. This is the first year in recent memory where I enjoyed several summer blockbusters just as much as a lot of the culty low-budget kickstarter and VOD releases (that were outstanding as well). As always, this list represents the small fraction of films I actually saw this year, so I'm sure there are many flicks that came out this year that I haven't caught yet that would wind up on this list if I were to go back and reevaluate it in a few months. Nevertheless, it was a great year at the movies, so without further adieu, here are the 10 I enjoyed the most this past year:

10. Nurse 3D (d: Douglas Aarniokoski)

I am so glad that they are still making movies like Nurse 3D in 2014.  Douglas Aarniokoski's ultra-sleazy tale of a psychotic, methodical, murderous nurse (played to perfection by the sultry, boozy and almost-always-nude Paz De la Huerta) who obsesses over and stalks the lovely Katrina Bowden (who, in my opinion, between this and Tucker & Dale vs Evil is poised to become one of this decade's finest scream queens) is a gory, late-night cult film lover's dream from beginning to end. Plus it is in 3D!!!  One of my biggest regrets of 2014 is not catching this in 3D in theaters one late evening, but the blu-ray is a fine consolation for some schlocky midnight viewing.


9. The Grand Budapest Hotel (d: Wes Anderson)
I'm sorry, I like Wes Anderson films. You know what, fuck it, I'm not sorry. The Grand Budapest Hotel to be charming and a lot of fun to watch.
Wes Anderson makes beautifully shot, well-written movies with terrific ensemble casts that are touching and exciting. I get that some people find his whimsical style a bit over-the-top and precious but at least he has a distinct style all his own and I found

8. Whiplash (d: Damien Chazelle)

My girlfriend and I are both drummers, so I guess I'm a bit predisposed to enjoy a film that is all about drumming but I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this flick. J.K. Simmons is absolutely terrifying as an overzealous jazz music instructor who pushes the young Miles Teller beyond his capabilities to bring out the best in him. The film also leaves the viewer questioning their own work ethic and I found myself contemplating where my abilities as a drummer and as a person may have ended up if I had a mentor that was as harsh and driven as Simmons.

7. Cheap Thrills (d: E.L. Katz)
Cheap Thrills is a cool movie. The story of a down-on-his-luck schlub (Pat Healy) who finds himself on an increasingly intense night out with an old friend (Ethan Embry) and a kooky wealthy couple (David Koechner and Sara Paxton) who continuously pit Healy and Embry against each other in a series of bizarre dares for cash is endlessly entertaining until the bitter end. Plus as stated on the show, the use of Agent Orange's classic punk anthem "Blood Stains" over the end credits is the perfect punctuation mark on this insane ride.

6. Cold in July (d: Jim Mickle)

It's amazing to me that Joe R. Lansdale's 1989 crime novel Cold in July hadn't been adapted to the big screen until now. However, I am very pleased with the results as Jim Mickle does a great job of bringing the tension of this story to life about a mild-mannered husband and father (the always excellent Micahel C. Hall), who kills an intruder in his home, only to be thrust into a mysterious and tangled web of crime and deceit. Throw in additional stellar performances by Sam Shepard and Don Johnson and Cold in July proves itself to be exactly the kind of thriller you enjoy coming back to for repeat viewings.

5. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (d: Matt Reeves)
As a huge fan of the original Planet of the Apes series of films I have been very skeptical of this new
batch of Apes flicks. Considering most remakes and reboots basically suck and they already tried to reboot the series with Tim Burton to lackluster results, I had my reservations about this new series. I enjoyed Rise of the Planet of the Apes alright, but I was quite pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the follow up Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. When the film first started I was immediately nervous by the presence of an all-CGI cast of apes that we were expected to connect with. "How are they going to make this work?" I thought. Well, to my surprise, not only did it work but the amount of emotion and personality conveyed through these cartoon monkeys was frankly outstanding. Plus, you've got apes on horseback firing machine guns, for Christ's sake. How much more can you ask for?

4. Blue Ruin (d: Jeremy Saulnier)

When you think of stylized revenge flicks, the first thing to come to mind is often creatively-lit shots of badasses spouting one-liners right before popping a cap in some villains ass, but what makes Blue Ruin so special is the how much it is not that. Jeremy Saulnier's low-budget tale of a man (Macon Blair) who has been devastated by his parents' murder only to seek revenge when he hears their killer has been released from prison is stark and realistic. It's a very accurate portrayal of what may actually happen if an inexperienced and damaged soul attempted to exact revenge like those in the movies. Add a terrific supporting cast and a great soundtrack, including an excellent use of Little Willie John's "No Regrets" and Blue Ruin may be the best revenge picture to come out this decade.

3. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (d: Alejandro González Iñárritu)
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I went and saw Birdman this year. I had seen some of Alejandro González Iñárritu's previous films such as Amores Perros and Babel and was intrigued to see how he would tackle a spoof on comic-book action stars. So, while this movie was less of a spoof on comic characters and more an artsy look at a man (Michael Keaton in his best role in years) struggling to remain relevant , it still managed to be one of the best written and best shot movies of the year by far. In addition to Keaton absolutely killing it, we get tremendous performances by Edward Norton, Zach Galifianakis and Naomi Watts as well as a great soundtrack of jazz drumming (much like Whiplash) and some of the most creative camera work of 2014.

2. The Raid 2 (d: Gareth Evans)

The Raid was hands down one of the best action/martial arts movies of the 21st century, if not ever. So, when I heard that they were making a sequel I thought "Good luck, it's going to be next to impossible to top that first one". Yet, somehow, Gareth Evans managed to raise the bar on everything that made the first one great. More complex and intense fight scenes, more plot and character development, more gore and bloodshed and even more stylized camera work and cinematography. I was lucky enough to catch The Raid 2 in theaters during it's brief wide release. I realize a 2+ hour foreign language sequel to a movie not many people saw is a hard sell, but it's a bummer not more people took a chance on this in theaters because it truly was one of the most thrilling movie-going experiences I have had in a long time.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (d: James Gunn)

If you're surprised that this Marvel summer blockbuster is my top pick for the year, I'm right there with you. I had heard good things about this but went into it not expecting much as I'm typically not a fan of these comic book movies, but the fact that James Gunn (who directed one of my favorite films of the last decade Super) was at the helm, gave me hope that this could be enjoyable. But goddamn, this thing blew me away. It was so fun, so well done, so funny, so touching, looked so cool and the soundtrack kicked so much ass, there was no way I couldn't have fallen in love. This movie is insanely rewatchable and gets better and better with each new viewing. I want to watch this all the time. I want to listen to the soundtrack constantly. I want the action figures. I want the t-shirts. This move made me feel like a kid again and is the most fun I've had with a movie in a very, very long time.

Parker's Top 10 Movies of 2014

10. TIE: "How to be a Man" / "X-Men: Days of Future Past" / "Dragon Ball Z: Battle of the Gods"

I usually like to keep my lists tight as a pair of Chucks and not do include ties or honorable mentions, but I've been switching these three excruciatingly different movies around like a shell game on my Top Movies List for about 6 months and I can't decide which I like best, as I like them in pretty different ways.

"How to be a Man" is written and produced by Vice Magazine founder Gavin McInnes ("A Million in the Morning") and concerns a middle-aged dying comedian who makes a video about how to be a man for his unborn baby he'll never meet. It's low-budget and works in a guerrilla-like way to play to its strengths and cover up its weaknesses with hilarious performances from McInnes and super fox Megan Neuringer. Regardless of whether you or I agree with everything (or anything) McInnes says IRL, the truth of this movie is that all our lives would be significantly better if we were born with a video telling us how to buy drugs, how to win fights and how to eat pussies.

"X-Men" is a movie that kicked my teeth in for not really ever caring about the X-Men. I find most of the other movies mediocre, I never got into the comics and a cross-over time travel tale set in the '60s seemed like a clusterfuck. But, it was pretty rad. Casting A-List actors like Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence for a summer blockbuster is a sure way to kick things up and there's about three Final Destination-esque scenes where superhero mutants get slaughtered like they're storming Stalingrad.

"Dragon Ball Z"'s first movie in like 15 years prompted me to go to the theater purely out of nostalgia, but made laugh out loud more than any other movie this year. There's something inherently funny about the God of Destruction politely asking for a second helping of pudding. Also, that animation was intense on a big screen.

9. "Nightcrawler"
Jake Gyllenhaal gives a career-defining performance that, sadly, probably won't win any Oscars because it's in a really dark movie where he doesn't help a white authority figure get over a speech impediment or whatever dumb horseshit the Oscars care about. This movie is about the dark side of ambition and the violent side of Aspergers (maybe). It also makes Los Angeles seem like a real place where real people live (and die horrifically) and not just a series of beaches and palm trees surrounded by Heather Locklears.

8. "Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo"
I don't even particularly like anime, but I have two anime movies on this list, so maybe I should become a redditor or something, I guess. We talked about The first movie in this series a while back on the show and Mark and I both loved it, which is such a rare thing that that in itself should sell you on how awesome these movies are. A young boy and his school-age chums pilot monster robots to save Tokyo from Kaiju monsters that are also Christian angels. It's pretty weird and intense and nihilistic and depressing and the animation is top-notch. This third film jumps ahead a few years to a time when everyone failed and the world has basically ended. It's the most intimate and character-driven of the three and without a doubt the most ghoulish.

7. "Blue Ruin"
Like I said on the new episode, Revenge movies have been around awhile and it's pretty fashionable nowadays for the revenge-getter to have a particular set of skills that make them the Superman of Revenge. And that's fine. I like those movies. But Blue Ruin takes revenge back to the days of "Death Wish" or "I Spit on Your Grave," where the revenge-getter is just some schlub with nothing left to lose and is fueled by anger and a (perhaps misguided) desire to settle a score. This movie is anchored by an awesome performance by Macon Blair and a deliberate pace that never rushes anything.

6. "The Guest"

We talked about this on the show recently, too, on Episode 241 and I think, somehow, I liked it more than any of us. I went into the film curious, but with my grumpy arms folded because I don't like Adam Wingard's previous "You're Next" and I downright HATE his "A Horrible Way to Die." But I think I was sold on this movie no more than 12 minutes in. It's got a beautiful early Carpenter/Neo Noir feel to it, an insane soundtrack and the best dangerous sociopath performance since "American Psycho." The character of David is complex, scary, warm, funny and intimidating, often all at the same time. The end gets a little wonky and maybe there's a missed note here or there, but it doesn't really hinder my actual enjoyment of the movie.

5. "Cheap Thrills"

Yet another movie we did on the show and we talked about our Top 5 on this week's episode, so I'll keep these short. This movie bends and breaks genre boundaries and is brought to life perfectly by great direction from a first-timer and a cast at the top of their game. Who would have thought 2014 would belong to Pat Healy and Ethan Embry? Healy stars in this, possible best true horror movie of the year — "Starry Eyes," and has a role in "Captain America: Winter Soldier," while Embry's in this, "The Guest" and the under-the radar werewolf flick "Late Phases."

4. "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Everybody loves this. It is perfect.

3. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
A perfect yin to the Guardians' yang. Despite certainly being a fun summer blockbuster, there are no fuzzy stuffed animals in this movie. Guardians is a escape from reality and Captain America shoves the reality of war, spying, Big Brother, global terrorism and Chris Evans' perfectly constructed jawline right into your face. (Although, sure, in a blockbuster kind of way, it's not The Hurtlocker or whatever). Captain America is my favorite superhero and I'm certain this movie led him to being a lot of other peoples' too.

2. Boyhood
As a Richard Linklater fan, I was genetically predisposed to like this. Although, I assume everyone who has ever lived a day on Earth is probably going to like this, too.

1. Gone Girl

David Fincher makes the tiniest things look like atomic bombs. There's a scene in this movie where a cop sticks a post-it note on something and it made me sweat like that Key & Peele sketch. I was jumping in my seat when Ben Affleck would get text messages like they were cats on the Nostromo. Affleck preparing to talk to a Nancy Grace clone shook me to my core like I was watching Sarah Connor preparing to fight the T-800.

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Well, that's my Top 10. Through the year, I was ranking all the movies I like on Letterboxd because my love of movies is only exceeded by my love of making lists. So if you're interested in my Top 50, it exists.

Sci Fi Ebruary's Movie Schedule!

Hey, Junkies! It's that time of year again: Sci Fi Ebruary! So grab your Gene Roddenberry-autographed pocket protector and get ready to philosophize about aliens and robots and outer space. We'll also be celebrating our 250th episode this month, so we made sure to pack a doozy of a theme show in for that.

Give us a nice rating or review on iTunes if you like what you see here, or just tell one of your friends who works at NASA to give us a listen!

JFD247: Body Snatchers Week

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
• Body Snatchers (1993)

JFD248: Aliens Week

• The Queen of Outer Space (1958)
• Xtro (1983)
• The Hidden (1987)

JFD249: Time Travel Week

• The Time Machine (1960)
• Timemaster (1995)
• Timecrimes (2007)

JFD250: Planet of the Apes Week

• Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
• Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
• Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

JFD244: New Wave Hookers, In Search of the Perfect 10, Driller

Happy New Year, Junkies! Or should we say Happy NUDE Year!

To ring in 2015, we take a look at our top 5 favorite (and our least favorite) films of 2014. Did your favorite movie of the past year make the cut? Tune in to find out.

Then we get pervy with three retro skin flicks! Up first, we take a look at one of the most popular and controversial porno movies of the 80's as we examine Gregory Dark's New Wave Hookers from 1985. This adult feature showcases the talents of Ginger Lynn, Desiree Lane, Jamie Gillis, Jack Baker and in the original version an underage Traci Lords.

Then, we take a softer look at the nubile females of Hollywood with another Gregory Dark flick, In Search of the Perfect 10 from 1986. In this late-nite cable romp Andy Nichols travels around L.A. looking for the perfect set of boobs and encounters the likes of Michelle Bauer, Terri Lynn Peake. Venus DeLight and once again, the very funny Jack Baker.

Finally, what happens when you combine the music and special effects of Michael Jackson's Thriller music video with hardcore sex and terrible ADR? You get Driller from 1984, directed by Joyce James and starring Taija Rae, Mr. J and Dick Howard.

All this plus witty banter between friends, masturbation talk, wrestling chat, weird Junk Mail, bad jokes about Ichi The Killer and so much more! 

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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line atJFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865).

Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We gain boner powers from your love and support.

JFD Rewind Episode #1 - Evil Dead (2013), The Men Behind the Sun, The Oogieloves

With the world deeply entrenched in what can only be described as a severe outbreak of Holiday Fever, it makes sense that other podcasters haven't had the time or fortitude to produce a new episode on this New Year's Week. And while it is true that your charming hosts are currently enjoying the holidays in a serene, secluded, secretive island retreat with absolutely no cannibals and/or zombies, unable to record a new show - they've also devised a clever approach to maintain a steady output of Junk Food Dinner branded content for your listening enjoyment. This episode has been carefully tailored to suit the discriminating tastes of the most refined JFD connoisseurs.

So it's come to this: a Junk Food Dinner clip show. This week on Junk Food Dinner Rewind: a carefully curated collection of the finest Face to Face chats, and three classic JFD reviews culled from the vaults. Rumor has it this episode makes excellent background noise for your New Year's Eve parties, kids.

First up! Fresh from the movie theater, we discuss the Fede Alvarez directed remake/reboot Evil Dead from 2013. This new version gained a lot of buzz before its release for promising to remain true to the spirit of the original and deliver an onslaught of practical gore effects. Does it live up to the hype? You'll have to tune in to find out, unless you've heard this one before.

Up next, while the Nazis get all the ghoulish attention, The Men Behind the Sun from 1988 shows that the Japanese were up to some serious ghoulish shit during World War II as well.. This Chinese film tells the tale of Squadron 731, a prison camp where Japanese soldiers and scientists commit gruesome atrocities against prisoners. This flick also earns bonus ghoul points for using real cadavers and animal cruelty. And this review earns double bonus ghoul points for featuring guest reviewer The Memphis Maniac!

Finally, puppet creatures throw a birthday party for their pillow in the 2012 kids flick The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure. Despite hot stars like Christopher Lloyd and Cloris Leachman, this movie broke the record for biggest financial bomb in history. It's a film that creates wounds that may never heal in some men.

All this plus witty banter between friends, witty banter between Freados, zero Nerd Newsies, no week's DVD & blu-ray releases, absolute confidentiality, continued lack of police involvement, robot voices, musical interludes, sneezes, belches, gleeks and a little bit more!


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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865).

Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We'll rewind the earth's rotation for your love and support.

JFD218: Kingdom of the Spiders, Curse of the Blue Lights, 3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain

This is it! The fabled "lost episode" of Junk Food Dinner!

First up, it's up to William Shatner to stop tarantulas from taking over a small Arizona town in 1977's "Kingdom of the Spiders."This flick was made before cgi or PETA, so be prepared for lots of people crushing lots of real ass spiders.

Next, a group of teens goes out to a local make-out spot that may or may not be haunted. Spoiler alert: It's haunted. "Curse of the Blue Lights," from 1988.

Finally, we take on bizarre late 90s nostalgia as we watch the fourth 3 Ninjas movie: "3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain." The kid ninjas get Die Harded at an amusement, where they join up with Hulk Hogan to take out dominatrix Lonnie Anderson and a sword-fighting Jim Varney.

All this plus witty banter between friends, out-dated Nerd News, the Sweetman, our Junky DVD picks for the week, Kevin Smith musings, previews of episodes that happened a long time ago, turning down TV offers and so much more!

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Got a movie suggestion for the show, want to give your opinion on a movie we talked about or just want to tell us we suck? Drop us a line at JFDPodcast@gmail.com. Or leave us a voicemail: 347-746-JUNK (5865).

Also, if you like the show, please take a minute and subscribe and/or comment on us on iTunes, Stitcher, Blubrry or Podfeed.net. We'll play erotic games for your love and support.