F This Movie!

Junesploitation 2026 Day 28: PM Entertainment!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Junesploitation 2026 Day 27: Italian Cinema!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 27 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Review: SUPERGIRL

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

Girls get it done. Well, if they feel like it.

“He sees the good in everyone, but I see the truth,” Kara Zor-El (Milly Alcock) says about her cousin, Superman (David Corenswet). It’s true that the Man of Steel takes a considerably more generous view of humanity — of terrestrial and extraterrestrial beings alike, actually — than she does, but perhaps that’s because the famed Last Son of Krypton never really felt the loss of their home planet. Kara did. Well, sort of: In the years after Kal-El’s parents shot his toddling ass into the far reaches of space, Kara grew up on a Kryptonian colony designed by her father (David Krumholtz as Zor-El), where she lived in peace until a fatal strain of radiation poisoning laid waste to what remained of their population. Hoping to ensure his daughter a prosperous future — and perhaps hoping to undermine the whole “my son will rule the Earth as an uncompromising God” plan hatched by his brother — Zor-El sent his only child to a place where she could have an impact. Where she could find her path. Where, alongside Kal-El and Earth’s other metahumans, she could be a hero.

But again, Kara has elected a slightly different response to this particular call to adventure. While Big Blue busies himself defending truth, justice, and the American way, she and her trusty super dog, Krypto, treat the universe like one giant pub crawl (specifically those planets orbiting red suns, where her powers don’t activate and she can get a proper buzz on). It’s not that Kara is unfeeling — as I said, she favors places where she can actually feel things — it’s that she’s too resentful to lift a finger for anyone else. Despite Kal’s invitations back to Earth, she’s perfectly content riding the Hot Mess Express until a space pirate called Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts) steals her ship and poisons her dog. As it turns out, this is the same Krem who recently murdered swordsmith Elias Knoll (Ferdinand Kingsley) and his family, leaving behind only pint-sized Ruthye (Eve Ridley) — for reasons that will become more inexplicable as the film goes on — to take revenge. So yeah, it’s True Grit in space, plus Jason Momoa as an immortal, motorbike-riding surf vampire called Lobo.

Adapted from Supergirl: The Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King and Bilquis Evely, Craig Gillespie’s Supergirl is a considerably lighter and lower-stakes adventure than its almost fatally-overstuffed DC Universe predecessor, Superman. Australian newcomer Milly Alcock — who already made a splash in said predecessor and has been firming-up her badass bonafides on HBO’s House of the Dragon — is immediately captivating in the title role, carrying herself with a devil-may-care energy that never bleeds into haughty ignorance. Kara knows that the universe is made of hard-boiled ass fat. She knows scumbags like Krem and his band of child bride-kidnapping Brigands terrorize the innocent with impunity. She respects Ruthye’s whole Inigo Montoya bit, and she will definitely be thinking of her when she beats Krem senseless and steals Krypto’s antidote. But revenge, she says, is a fool’s errand. It doesn’t make anything better. Hurting those who hurt you doesn’t make your pain go away. It’s nothing more than a slippery slope towards self-medication and misery.

The trouble with Supergirl — which is otherwise lean, funny, and entertaining — is that we never understand the source of Kara’s antipathy. When did she exact revenge? On whom? Kryptonian plate tectonics? Why does she resist Kal’s optimism? Why don’t we develop their dynamic? Why wasn’t Zor-El a eugenicist like his brother? Why did Krem leave Kara on a poisonous, green-sunned planet if he knew that the sun was going to set? Oh, and why in the intergalactic fuck would a child trafficker let Ruthye escape if her whole family is dead? There’s no one to come after her! These may seem like irrelevant, Cinema Sins quibbles, but after an electric opening act that blends Star Wars, Hitchhiker’s Guide, and Guardians of the Galaxy, Supergirl collapses into a maddening collection of movements that fail to develop — let alone resolve — any of the major character threads established early on. Ana Nogueira’s screenplay feels like it’s been chopped down to the bone, especially in a disastrous climactic action sequence that reeks of reshoots and rearrangements.

What’s worse is that, at 108 minutes soaking wet, Supergirl is endearing enough to have earned an extra few minutes for character and theme. Perhaps James Gunn overreacted to complaints about his Superman’s clunky storytelling and crowded roster — by the way, I hope none of you are Krypto fans, because that little guy spends 95% of this movie unconscious — and had Craig Gillespie remove everything that seemed like extraneous filler? Brevity is certainly a virtue in these blockbusters, but they forgot to replace the bloat with, you know, interesting things that make the movie coherent and exciting! Ruthye has zero emotional latitude, Lobo is a complete afterthought — which is especially upsetting because Momoa iterates on his Beer-Chugging Gym Bro just differently enough to be worthwhile — and what passes for Kara’s emotional catharsis feels completely unearned. So while Supergirl succeeds in adding another dynamic character to Gunn’s universe, it — and see if you can find the irony here — utterly fails to give us a reason to care about her.

Supergirl hits U.S. theaters on Friday, June 26th.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 26: Heroes and Villains!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Heavy Action: RUMBLE IN THE BRONX (FTM Rewind)

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Patrick Bromley

Welcome to America, Jackie! We're sorry.

Rumble in the Bronx was not Jackie Chan's first American movie. He was showing up in the Cannonball Run movies as far back as the early '80s. In fact, Rumble in the Bronx is not even an American movie, despite purporting to take place in New York (it does not) and featuring an almost all non-Asian cast. It's actually a Chinese film released in its native country as Hong faan kui, but was picked up by New Line, trimmed down slightly and given a new English language dub in order to be Chan's "breakthrough" American movie. Amazingly, it worked; the movie was a hit and Chan became a star in the U.S. (The original Hong Kong version is finally being made available in the U.S. as part of Arrow Video's new and prohibitively expensive "Jackie Chan's Breakout Hits" 4K box set.)

I get it, too. As an introduction to Jackie Chan, the movie is effective. He gets to play the best kind of Jackie Chan character (almost the only kind): the decent guy trying to do good, fighting only in self defense. More than that, though, it was the way he fought that made the movie a success in America. This was 1994, and not every single movie featured kung-fu. It was before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Before The Matrix. Before fucking Charlie's Angels. Mainstream audiences who took a chance and went out to see Rumble in the Bronx in 1994 had likely never seen anyone move or fight the way Jackie Chan does. It's breathtaking. It's awesome. And he deserved to become a star because of it.

That's good, because as a movie, Rumble in the Bronx is...not great

Jackie plays Keung, a Hong Kong cop who comes to New York for the wedding of his uncle Bill, a shop owner who has recently sold his grocery store. When a street gang begins terrorizing the new owner, Keung steps in and stops them, essentially painting a target on his back. To make matters worse, one of the gang members has gotten wrapped up in some diamond smuggling with the mob; when the diamonds wind up in the seat cushion of wheelchair-bound kid Danny (Morgan Lam), Leung has to protect both him and his sister, Nancy (Françoise Yip), a model and sometimes stripper who just happens to be part of the street gang, too.

I'm sure there are a lot of people who love Rumble in the Bronx. Some of them are probably fans of Jackie Chan and are predisposed to like anything he's in (anything not called The Tuxedo, that is). Some dig its goofy charm. Then there are those -- and you know they exist -- who like the movie not in spite of its badness, but because of it: they enjoy the bad dubbing and over-the-top performances in an ironic way. And while I would typically be inclined to call those people assholes (people who like things ironically usually are), in this case I kind of get it. If you're going to like Rumble in the Bronx, you have to be willing to accept all of these things as parts of the whole. For better or worse (it's worse), it's this stuff that gives the movie its personality.

Not one thing is convincing about the New York of Rumble in the Bronx. The movie was shot in Vancouver, and it shows. The set decorators appear to have learned everything they know about cities from watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoons. The gang members look and act like extras from Tromaville. It is one of the ugliest, tackiest movies ever made that wasn't really trying to deliberately be ugly and tacky. The dubbing, apparently commissioned by New Line before releasing the movie in the States, is downright weird; here you have English-speaking actors saying their lines in English, but all of their voices have been dubbed by some truly awful voiceover actors (at least Jackie Chan gets to do his own lines). Danny, the kid in the wheelchair, is dubbed in a way that makes him sound like either a little girl or Bob from Lucio Fulci's The House by the Cemetery. If you've seen that movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about. No one forgets Bob. At any rate, all of these weird choices give the whole thing a weird, alien quality in which we recognize all of the pieces but none of them add up.

Though he had been playing a version of the same character for years in his Chinese films, Rumble in the Bronx pretty much cemented the "Jackie Chan" persona for American audiences. He gets compared to silent comedians like Buster Keaton a lot, and with good reason: his appeal is all about physical grace and his ability to wow audiences with his ability to perform amazing stunts inside of rapidly escalating situations. And, like Keaton, he wears one face through these physical feats -- only instead of the Keaton stoneface, it's a look of worry. That expression has always been my favorite thing about Jackie Chan; even when he's hitting someone, his face is preemptively apologizing for it. Some of the best scenes in his American output don't even involve fighting, like the sequence in the first Rush Hour where he's trying to catch all of the priceless vases before they smash on the floor. That's pure Keaton/Chaplin, and his trademark look of worry has never been put to better use. There's nothing in Rumble in the Bronx that overtly comic, even though there are comedic overtones to the whole movie. In fact, it's jarring to realize that the movie is rated R, something I only remember when we get to the scene in which a gang member is stuffed into a wood chipper; otherwise, it's pretty tame.

There are three or four big action set pieces in the movie, and most of them are amazing. That's expected. I don't think there are any that are quite up to the level of the big warehouse fight in Mr. Nice Guy, another Hong Kong import that New Line redubbed and released in the U.S. in the wake of Rumble's success, but that's ok. They still put any of the fight scenes released in any American movie in the first half of the '90s to shame. Part of what makes them so enjoyable is that Keung doesn't want to fight the gang members, primarily because he never really wants to fight but also because he knows they're just misguided and need to straighten up and fly right. This leads to my favorite line in the movie, in which Jackie Chan pleads in his clipped English, "Don't you know? You are the scum of society!"

It's unfortunate that instead of ending with another big fight scene, the movie climaxes with Keung and Nancy driving a hovercraft and chasing down mobsters across a golf course. It results in one of the strangest endings to any movie ever, when (SPOILERS FOR THE LAST SECONDS OF THE MOVIE) they finally run over the big bad guy, who is left face down on the ground, stripped naked with a chapped ass. Everyone cheers. Jackie smiles. The movie FREEZES MID-CHEER and goes to credits. But don't take my word for it:

Where the clip freezes at the end? That's where the credits start. It's fucking crazy.

There are still a ton of Jackie Chan movies I have never seen, so I wouldn't dream of judging his body of work on the basis of Rumble in the Bronx. Both the character and the action do a good job of introducing what's great about him as an action star to American audiences. I just wish it did those things inside of a much better movie.

This article originally appeared in 2012. I've seen a lot more Jackie Chan movies and like this movie a long more now.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 25: Jackie Chan!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

FTM 826: PROM NIGHT

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Patrick and Mike disco dance their way through this 1980 slasher.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: The Furious (2026), Black Caesar (1973), Highlander (1986), Disclosure Day (2026), A Rage in Harlem (1991), Voicemails for Isabelle (2026), Tiger on the Beat (1988)

Junesploitation 2026 Day 24: Slashers!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Johnny Showtime: Russ Meyer and FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by JB

In which we near the end of our yearly exploitation journey, race around the desert in our hot jalopies, and attempt to kill some innocent lovebirds and a family of three...

Russ Meyer is one of the original exploitation auteurs. He predates Joe Sarno, Jess Franco, Larry Cohen, Jack Hill, Doris Wishman, and Fred Olen Ray. Meyer was a contemporary of Jack Arnold, Roger Corman, Herschell Gordon Lewis, and William Castle. Only Dan Sonney and Kroger Babb pre-date him.

According to Nathan Rabin of The AV Club, “Meyer [...] got his start making films while serving in the US Army's 166th Signal Photographic Company during WWII. He had a reputation for running strictly regimented film shoots with a small crew composed largely of former army buddies. Charles Napier, who appeared in five of Meyer's films, said that ‘working with Russ Meyer was like being in the first wave landing in Normandy during World War II.’ Meyer considered the Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! shoot no different, saying ‘It was the usual thing with me. It's like being in the military. Everybody has to get up and do their jobs to get things together, and that's it.’"

It certainly helped Meyers’ eventual career as a filmmaker that his army experience turned him into an ace cinematographer. Say what you want about the content of his exploitation pictures, they all look magnificent.

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Go-Go dancers Varla, Rosie, and Billie (Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams) finish their shifts at the club and go riding off into the desert in their souped-up roadsters. Eventually, they come upon Tommy (Ray Barlow) doing a time trial of his racecar with girlfriend Linda (Susan Bernard). Varla kills Tommy; the three of them drug and kidnap Linda.

Our homicidal trio (with comatose Linda in tow) chance upon an old man (Stuart Lancaster) living like a hermit on the edge of the desert. He lives there with his two sons, Kirk (Paul Trinka) and The Vegetable (Dennis Busch). Rumor has it that the old man is hiding a fortune in cash somewhere on his property. Our three go-go protagonists vow to find it and take it from him.

Like many eventual cult classics, Faster, Pussycat! was not a success upon its original release. It took many years of reparatory screenings and eventual home video releases to garner the film its current reputation as an exploitation masterpiece. In this, the film shares a demented point of pride with many other beloved films: The Wizard of Oz, Blade Runner, and The Big Lebowski spring to mind. These films were considered financial failures in their first release, and only garnered praise and esteem over time; The Big Lebowski even spawned a religion.

The film has also influenced other filmmakers. Writer-director John Waters stated in his book Shock Value that "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is, beyond a doubt, the best movie ever made. It is possibly better than any film that will be made in the future."

Like the films of fellow exploitation auteur Ed Wood, Russ Meyer’s Faster, Pussycat! contains ENDLESSLY QUOTABLE DIALOGUE:

Narrator

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to violence: the word and the act!

While violence cloaks itself in a plethora of disguises, its favorite mantle still remains... SEX! Violence devours all it touches, its voracious appetite rarely fulfilled. Yet violence doesn't only destroy, it creates and molds as well. Let's examine closely then this dangerously evil creation, this new breed encased and contained within the supple skin of woman. The softness is there, the unmistakable smell of female, the surface shiny and silken, the body yielding yet wanton. But a word of caution: handle with care and don't drop your guard. This rapacious new breed prowls both alone and in packs, operating at any level, anytime, anywhere, and with anybody. Who are they? One might be your secretary, your doctor's receptionist... or a dancer in a go-go club!

And...

Verbose Gas Station Attendant

(staring at Varla's chest as he pumps gas)

Just passing through, huh? Boy, that motor's sure hot!

You gals really must have been moving on these little machines.

Yessir, the thrill of the open road. New places, new people,

new sights of interest. Now that's what I believe in, seeing America first!

Varla

You won't find it down there, Columbus!

And...

Billie

I'm of legal age for whiskey, voting, and loving.

Now the next election is two years away, and my love life

ain't getting much better, so how about some of that 100 percent?

And...

The Old Man

They let 'em vote, smoke and drive — even put 'em in pants! So whaddya get?

A Democrat for President! A lotta smoke up your chimney,

Russian roulette on the highway! You can't even tell brother from sister...

'less you meet 'em head on.

Though it does not contain the copious nudity that fills Meyer’s other films, Faster, Pussycat! might just be the ideal Meyer “starter film,” a chance to stick your... um... toe in the water... so to speak. In this film, we enter a fictional world that would stay pretty consistent throughout Meyer’s oeuvre—a sweaty, white trash, oversexed backwoods Anytown of the mind. A small hamlet south of the Mason-Dixon line that hides many secrets. Meyer’s created genre seems to channel Erskine Caldwell’s God’s Little Acre, Grace Metalious’s Peyton Place, and Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Let’s call it Southern Horny Noir. The men are compromised and cuckolded; the women possess heavy bosoms and insatiable sex drives. The stifling heat and lack of any abiding moral code eventually drives everyone crazy. Many of Meyer’s films end with a long speech by an unseen narrator, exhorting us to live a better life. The following screed from the conclusion of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is representative of all of these:

Narrator

The act of death has caused another life to be reborn. Together we share the wonder of human existence, and let there be no doubt that all of us are brothers. There can be no beginning or ending that does not in some way touch another, for our actions affect the lives and destinies of many. Z-Man, he forgot that life has many levels, and by choosing to live on only one, lost sight of reality [....] Kelly, with her selfish involvement, was so ready to turn her back on friendship. The road back is painful, but by her pain, she will never again forget.

YOU must each decide what your life will be. YOU must always know that a hand extended to your fellow man is a gesture of love; love that asks nothing, expects nothing, yet is simply there. And if love is in YOU, then gentle will be all your steps as YOU walk beyond this valley.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 23: Exploitation Auteurs!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

2K Replay: V FOR VENDETTA

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Worst On-Screen Hairstyle” (Natalie Portman) at the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. She lost to Tom Hanks for The Da Vinci Code. I agree with this win.

• Best Scene/Moment: The two scenes where someone makes Natalie Portman “Egg in a Basket,” which consists of a slice of bread with a hole cut in the center, placed in a buttered skillet, with a fried egg in the hole. It looks delicious. I love breakfast more than most things.

• Best Song (tie): “Street Fighting Man” by The Rolling Stones and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture (Finale)”

• Best Merch: A “V For Vendetta Movie Promo Mask 2006 Cardboard Flat” for $34.99. I mean, seriously, what other merch from this movie would you possibly want over your own Guy Fawkes mask? The only problem with this is the stick makes it look like an ice cream bar so now I just want to eat this, which I won’t, but the fact that crossed my mind bothers me. On the other hand, what better way to remember remember the 5th of November than eating cardboard?

• Director Grade: V for Vendetta was directed by James McTeigue.
Great Movies: N/A
Good Movies: N/A
OK Movies: V for Vendetta, The Raven (2012)
Bad Movies: Ninja Assassin
Unseen By Me: Survivor, Breaking In
Overall Grade: C

• Double It with This 2006 Movie: Children of Men

• Year 2006 Movies to Trailer Before Them: A Scanner Darkly, Superman Returns, X-Men: The Last Stand

• Ella McCay or V for Vendetta? Tie. V for Vendetta is “better” but I enjoy watching Ella McCay more.

• Mall Movie? Borderline yes. V for Vendetta feels more elevated than the usual comic book movie but it’s still a comic book movie and those just feel right playing at the mall.

• Only in 2006: I thought Natalie Portman looked better with a shaved head.

• Scene Stealer (tie): Roger Allam (who looks like Sam Neill and Tim Curry had a baby with a punchable face) and Stephen Fry.

• I Miss: Movies where people wear Guy Fawkes masks onscreen. It’s amazing how emotive that mask is even though it’s stationary. I would’ve loved to have seen a person in Guy Fawkes mask in other movies (like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Love and Other Drugs) and everyone just go with it and pretend like it’s a normal dude.

• I Don’t Miss: The scenes with Stephen Rea. I have nothing against Stephen Rea, but his scenes are such a drag and primarily there to provide plot details.

• 2006 Crush: Natalie Portman.

• 2026 Crush: Natalie Portman.

• What I Thought in 2006: I don’t remember really except I saw it in IMAX and that I must have been impressed with it since I’ve owned the DVD since 2006.

• What I Think in 2026: I liked it in fits and starts. The chemistry between Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving (who’s terrific here) is what works best. There’s too much cutting to cops figuring it out and it screws up the movie’s momentum for me. I’m not a big fan of dystopia movies either, so V for Vendetta holds me at arm’s length a bit but it’s decent.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 22: Revenge!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Junesploitation 2026 Day 21: Free Space!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Junesploitation 2026 Day 20: '80s Sci-Fi!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sat, 20 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Review: TOY STORY 5

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

by Rob DiCristino

It’s toys vs. tech.

In last week’s review, I remarked that one of the most powerful things about Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day is its unwavering belief in the human family. It’s a belief born not from naivety — contrary to what many of Spielberg’s most insufferable detractors would argue — but from experience. Cynicism is a lame excuse. A quick escape. It’s fleeting and immature. It’s easy to say that everything is fucked and that everyone is terrible. It takes nothing to believe in nothing. It’s a lot more difficult to look around at how bad things have gotten and actually argue that they can be good again. That there’s hope. Hope, after all, is like the sun: If you only believe in it when you see it, then you’ll never make it through the night. Why am I blathering on about hope and family (not to mention quoting Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which on its own is enough for some of you to close this browser window)? Because Andrew Stanton’s Toy Story 5 is another argument for the power of genuine human connection, another argument for unity in the face of all that conspires to separate us.

While all the other eight-year-olds in the neighborhood — who am I kidding? All the other people in the neighborhood — spend hours bent over smartphones, tablets, and computer monitors, our young friend Bonnie (Scarlett Spears) is still imagineering globetrotting adventures with the help of her trusty toys. But for as much as Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the others love the attention, they have to admit that Bonnie’s affinity for solo play is starting to affect her social life. Hoping to help her make friends, Bonnie’s parents purchase Lilypad (Greta Lee), a chipper learning tablet who immediately sets about turning her new charge into a screen-tapping, group-chatting child of the future. Jessie, terrified of losing Bonnie the way she lost so many other kids, recruits her old partner, Woody (Tom Hanks), and hatches a plan to eliminate Lilypad before they’re all relegated to the trash heap. Meanwhile, a group of new, wifi-enabled Buzz Lightyears escapes a crashed shipping container and searches for a way to return to Star Command headquarters.

Written and co-directed by Stanton and storyboard artist Kenna Harris, Toy Story 5 presents the beloved characters from Pixar’s most celebrated franchise with a timely new adversary: Technology. Nearly every human character in the film is utterly consumed by their devices, and some of the best jokes play on their subsequent ignorance to the Conspicuous Sentient Plaything Shenanigans (which are even more conspicuous than usual) happening around them. Even a creative wunderkind like Bonnie is quickly sucked in, abandoning Jessie and the gang after a single invitation to a dance class sleepover. Woody — who’s been living the free toy lifestyle with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and Duke Kaboom (Keanu Reeves) — confirms that screen zombies are popping up everywhere, and when Bonnie becomes the victim of some brutal group chat bullying, Jessie resolves to find her a real-world friend worthy of her kindness and imagination. Her best bet? Blaze Manoukian (Mykal-Michelle Harris), a precocious animal lover who lives on a nearby farm.

And while Toy Story 5 takes all the predictable shots at our 5G touchscreen fuckosphere, it’s far less interested in demonizing technology out of hand than it is in advocating for the ineffable power of playtime. It’s not that Lilypad is evil — she says she’s simply trying to help Bonnie reach age-appropriate developmental benchmarks, which is both totally true and totally gross — it’s that there’s a huge difference between playing “next to” your friends and playing “with” them. Why go to a sleepover if you’re just going to stare at separate tablets? Why have friends at all if they only exist as bubbles of text on a screen? At its core, Toy Story 5 is about the headstrong Jessie — this is a Jessie movie, by the way; Woody and Buzz are totally incidental — learning to accept that tech toys like Atlas (Craig Robinson), Snappy (Shelby Rabara), and Mr. Smarty Pants (Conan O’Brien) not only have something to offer kids like Bonnie and Blaze, but that they also have a right to experience the true joy of imaginative play. We are all part of the same family, after all. We all have value and worth.

As for everything else? Well, it’s another Toy Story movie! Our friends are back and up to their usual tricks. There are some fun bits and some sweet moments. Jessie has some more abandonment baggage to unpack. There are a few good jokes about Woody’s age — you’ve probably seen the “bald spot” thing in the trailer, but there’s also a charming runner about him trying to reinvent his look with a poncho — and a cute conclusion to the Buzz/Jessie love story. There’s also a C+ Taylor Swift song and a completely superfluous B plot about that army of Buzz Lightyears I mentioned — notice how I haven’t brought them up again until now? — that exists only to facilitate a third act action sequence that could have been handled a thousand other ways. It’s a little messy! But it’s also smart, endearing, and worthy of its place in a series that continues to evolve in unexpected ways. There probably shouldn’t be a Toy Story 5, but as long as the batting average stays this high, it’s hard to argue that Woody and his friends shouldn’t keep playtime alive and kicking forever.

Toy Story 5 hits U.S. theaters on Friday, June 19th.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 19: Black Filmmakers!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

Talking Movies With My Dad

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0500

by Adam Riske

In honor of Father’s Day coming up this week, I caught up with my Dad to talk about movies covering James Bond, Jason Statham, Westerns, and more!

Adam: Hi Dad!

Adam’s Dad: Hi Adam!

Adam: So, when we did this column years ago, you mentioned that Exodus (1960) was your favorite movie. What are some of your other favorite movies?

Adam’s Dad: The Magnificent Seven (1960), Die Hard, and From Russia with Love.

Adam: Great picks. I still need to see Exodus. Speaking of Bond, rank the actors who have played James Bond.

Adam’s Dad: 1) Sean Connery, 2) Daniel Craig, 3) George Lazenby, 4) Roger Moore, 5) Pierce Brosnan, and 6) Timothy Dalton.

Adam: Who do you think should play the next James Bond?

Adam’s Dad: Keanu Reeves.

Adam (in Neo voice): Woah! That’s a bold choice. How come?

Adam’s Dad: He has personality, he’s good at action, he’s not a pretty boy, and he’s a good actor who can do a British accent.

Adam: I usually stick up for Reeves’ British accent in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, but I dunno…this is a really fun pick. I’d like to go back to Westerns since I know that’s one of your (if not your) favorite genres. What are some other Westerns you’d recommend that you haven’t mentioned?

Adam’s Dad: Rio Bravo, Silverado, Tombstone, Winchester ’73, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

Adam: What are some of your favorite recent movies?

Adam’s Dad: One Battle After Another, Project Hail Mary, September 5.

Adam: I forgot about September 5. I’m currently watching Project Hail Mary. It’s taking me a long time. I like Rocky though. You’re really into sports. What are some of your favorite sports movies?

Adam’s Dad: Miracle, Pride of the Yankees, The Sandlot, Field of Dreams, and Bull Durham.

Adam: Do you have any guilty pleasure movies that you can think of?

Adam’s Dad: Mamma Mia!, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Air Force One.

Adam: You know…the trilogy. Just kidding. Are there any current events that you could see making a good movie or a movie you would want to see?

Adam’s Dad: With what’s been going on the last couple years, I wouldn’t want to see any of those events depicted or dramatized in a movie.

Adam: I feel that way too. Are there any recent movies you felt were overrated? Underrated?

Adam’s Dad: September 5 for underrated. A Complete Unknown and Marty Supreme for overrated.

Adam: Haha. It’s becoming a tradition for us to see Timothée Chalamet be an asshole in a movie on Christmas. We should probably see the new Dune this year on Christmas to keep the streak going.

So, Robert Duvall sadly passed away recently. What’s your opinion of him as an actor and do you have any recommendations of his movies outside of the obvious ones?

Adam’s Dad: You would never see him in a bad role, and he always added something to a movie. He was memorable in Open Range and The Great Santini.

Adam: Yeah, he’s an actor like Gene Hackman or Tom Berenger who learned to really like even more as an adult. Who is an actor or actress you’d like to have lunch with and why?

Adam’s Dad: John Travolta. He seems like a guy you could have an interesting conversation with and not be intimidated by the way he acts.

Adam: We’re a very pro-Travolta family, which is awesome. Ok, let’s go negative for a second. Reel talk: what’s a franchise they need to stop?

Adam’s Dad: Scream, Halloween…it seems like even horror fans don’t care for the latest ones. Oh, and they’ve run dry on Star Wars.

Adam: Definitely. I don’t even know what the hell Star Wars is anymore. What movie would you like to see a sequel to?

Adam’s Dad: I’m not a fan of sequels. It’s rare to find one that’s worth watching.

Adam: I dunno…Predator 2 is pretty good. Ok, I’m going to name a bunch of actors and you tell me your quick opinion of them. Ready?

Pedro Pascal
Adam’s Dad: Overexposed

Brendan Fraser
Adam’s Dad: Underrated

Paul Rudd
Adam’s Dad: Overrated

Dustin Hoffman
Adam’s Dad: Classic example of a serious actor

Jared Leto
Adam’s Dad: Apparently likes weird roles

Ryan Gosling
Adam’s Dad: Overall a good actor

Jake Gyllenhaal
Adam’s Dad: Very hit or miss in his performances

Anne Hathaway
Adam’s Dad: Always seems upbeat no matter what the movie

Emily Blunt
Adam’s Dad: I really liked her in Disclosure Day.

Julia Roberts
Adam’s Dad: A really good actor that can handle a variety of genres

Zendaya
Adam’s Dad: Puts herself out there in all her roles

Milla Jovovich
Adam’s Dad: Not a whole lot of roles I’m familiar with her in

Charlize Theron
Adam’s Dad: Liked her better before she started doing Fast and the Furious movies. That franchise has really diminished the perception of actors' abilities just in general.

Adam: But Kurt Russell IS Mr. Nobody. Ok, next question. What was a movie I liked as a kid that you didn’t get at all??

Adam’s Dad: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Adam: “An MTV, Disco Dancing Fight” – Gene Siskel

If you could do one thing to fix the movie industry right now, what would it be?

Adam’s Dad: Go back to movies for adults instead of for people under the age of 25. I hope that writers and industry also stop taking the easy way out and write scripts with real dialogue, stories, character development, less CGI, and fewer sequels and adaptations.

Adam: Do you prefer streaming or going to the movies? Do you think movie theaters will still be around in, say, 20 years?

Adam’s Dad: Movie theaters for the experience. I think they’ll still be around. You can’t duplicate the experience of the big screen at home.

Adam: Ok, last but certainly not least, you told me you love Jason Statham movies. What about him do you like so much?

Adam’s Dad: He’s an action actor but has some personality. He can inject dry humor and I prefer him to some '80s and '90s action stars.

Adam: Like whom?

Adam’s Dad: I like Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis more, but prefer Statham to Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme, and Seagal.

Adam: I mean…wow. I can’t go with you there but I love that you love Statham that much. Ok, to wrap up, F Marry Kill these two sets of Statham movies.

The Bank Job, The Mechanic, The Transporter, and The Beekeeper, A Working Man, and Wrath of Man.

Adam’s Dad:
F-The Bank Job
M-The Transporter
K-The Mechanic

F-A Working Man
M-Wrath of Man
K-The Beekeeper, though that’s not fair because it’s really good too.

Adam: It’s no War or Homefront. Thanks for letting me interview you Dad! Happy Father’s Day! I love you very much.

Adam’s Dad: Love you too! This was fun. 😊

Junesploitation 2026 Day 18: Franco Nero!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 02:00:00 -0500

FTM 825: HARD BOILED with Michael Scott

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 05:00:00 -0500

Action for Everyone host Michael Scott returns to talk with Patrick about a Hong Kong action masterpiece.

Download this episode here.

Listen to F This Movie! on Apple Podcasts.

Also discussed this episode: Fight Against Evil 3, One Spoon of Chocolate (2026), Masters of the Universe (2026), Is God Is (2026), China O'Brien II (1990)

Listen to Action for Everyone here!

Junesploitation 2026 Day 17: Hong Kong Action!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Johnny Showtime: Free Space Double Feature: FIEND OF DOPE ISLAND and HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0500

by JB

Another free space day can only mean one thing: dope fiends and monster makers!

Lately, I have been reorganizing the physical media wing of the JB Film Research Library West. Am I ever NOT reorganizing the physical media wing of the JB Film Research Library West? I am sad that Something Weird Video closed with the passing of founder Mike Vraney, but I am happy that I managed to amass a collection of their amazing Double Feature Exploitation discs. (Gosh, that last sentence was a mouthful.) I’m not sure how many in total (as opposed to “in half”) were released.

COLUMNUS INTERUPTUS: I couldn’t help myself; I looked it up on the Google. When Something Weird was still a going concern, they released about 120 of these very special discs through Image Entertainment. The invisible brain in my laptop machine informs me that, “The highly successful partnership lasted for years, pairing obscure exploitation, nudie-cutie, and sexploitation films with a robust collection of bonus trailers, burlesque shorts, and vintage B-movie oddities.” I number my personal stash at about a hundred. Because each one is a double feature, that’s some two hundred sleazy, cheesy gems that I can WATCH WHENEVER I WANT. (Take that, Netflix!) Some of those titles are slowly being released for the Blu-ray machine, courtesy of companies like AGFA and Film Masters. Thank goodness for that.

As I was reorganizing (Checking to make sure that all the Something Weird discs were correctly alphabetized because if they weren’t, how could I sleep?) I came upon a disc that I had never ever watched. It’s intriguing title, Fiend of Dope Island. This caught my attention. I have been described as both a “fiend” and a “dope.” I would like to one day live on an island. I had found my entertainment for the evening.

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Whipmaster/taskmaster Charlie Davis (Bruce Bennet) owns an island in the Caribbean. Running an island and acting the despot are not inexpensive hobbies. How does Charlie earn his living? Simple. He grows and sells weed. He runs illegal guns to the mainland. He owns a sleazy bar and overcharges for drinks. He hires comely “female entertainer” Gloria La Verne (Tania Velia) to amuse his rum-soaked clients by dancing the hootchie-coo while he plays the bongo drums. It’s a gas, man.

Charlie doesn’t know that one of his hired thugs is actually an undercover narcotics agent (Robert Bray). Say... what’s that killer shark doing out there, swimming in the shallows? Some wag on the YouTube machine described Fiend of Dope Island as “Gilligan’s Island Meets Jaws.”

FILM TRIVIA: American rock band The Cramps named their 2003 album Fiends of Dope Island as an homage to this unique film.

Co-star Tania Velia was billed as the "Yugoslavian Bombshell" and appeared in the July, 1959 issue of Playboy magazine. Several of her scenes were censored in the United States. I’m sure her literal two seconds of nudity really helped sell the film overseas.

NO WORRIES IF YOU’RE NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN THE DISC:
If you’re willing to ignore copyright, a fine-looking print rests here:

Enjoy. It’s 75 minutes long. If you don’t get to it today, there are two more free space days on the 21st and 29th.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Back in April, National treasure Svengoolie showed How to Make a Monster on his Saturday night program, and I was reminded of how much I love that little movie. It was made as something of a cash grab after Herman Cohen’s previous films, I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein became unexpected drive-in hits. How to Make a Monster allows us to see just what happened to those two teenaged monster boys. It makes me sad that we are all precluded from legally viewing the first two films because they are part of the “Susan Hart Eleven.”

What are the "Susan Hart Eleven?" Why, thank you for asking! The "Susan Hart Eleven" is a group of AIP drive-in pictures that are no longer legitimately available on home video because the rights belong to Susan Hart... and she refuses to license them. How did the rights to these eleven films fall into the hands of Susan Hart? Simple—she was married to AIP co-founder James H. Nicholson. When he died, the rights reverted to her. I am not making this up.

I wish some enterprising boutique video label would put out a 4K Blu-ray boxset titled “The Susan Hart Eleven.” It would contain: It Conquered the World (1956) and its 1966 remake, Zontar; The Thing from Venus; Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) and its 1965 remake The Eye Creatures; I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957); I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957); The Amazing Colossal Man (1957); Terror from the Year 5000 (1958); Apache Woman (1955); The Oklahoma Woman (1956); and Naked Paradise (1957). My God, Apache Woman was the second film Roger Corman ever directed! These films are history! Are you listening, Vinegar Syndrome? Imprint? Shout Factory? Miss Hart?!

ANYONE? Hello?

THE PLOT IN BRIEF: Pete Dumond (Robert H. Harris), head make-up artist and chief weirdo at American International Studios, faces a bit of a bind. Though his monster creations have made the studio big profits, a new regime of studio executives wants to phase out horror movies and throw Pete out on his ass. What can Pete do? File a grievance with his local union representative? Try to find employment at another studio? Retire peacefully, mentor young make-up artists, and perhaps write a book?

No, Pete decides on something much simpler. He mixes a “numbing agent” into the foundation cream of the last two actors to play monsters at the studio. With their minds sufficiently numbed, he persuades them that they will never act in the movies again unless they do exactly what he says. The “numbing agent” deadens the willpower of the hapless two, and they kill studio executives at Pete’s behest.

Silly Pete! He should have just waited eight months for the new studio executives to be fired and replaced. In Hollywood, this happens like clockwork.

In How to Make a Monster, not only do we get to see American International Pictures poking good-natured fun at its own expense, but we also get to see: 1) a full-length musical number featuring John Ashley that has nothing whatsoever to do with the rest of the film; 2) Gary Conway reprising his role in I Was a Teenage Frankenstein. Michael Landon could not be lured back after I Was a Teenage Werewolf. He is replaced by Gary Clarke; 3) Though the film is in black and white, the last ten minutes are in full fiery color. Turns out, producer Cohen had a theory that if the end of the picture were in color, the audience would think the whole thing was in color. I’m not quite sure if this worked.

NO WORRIES IF YOU’RE NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO OWN THE DISC:
If you’re willing to ignore copyright, a fine-looking print rests here:

Enjoy. This is one of the best-looking prints of the film I have ever seen. It looks better than my Shout Factory Blu-ray disc. It’s 70 minutes long. This film would also work for “Revenge Day” on June 22nd, given our main protagonist’s motive, or really any day that you are looking for some cheap thrills.

Junesploitation 2026 Day 16: Free Space!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500

FTM Rewind: George Romero's Dead Series

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 04:00:00 -0500

Travel back to 2015 when Patrick and Mike closed out that year's Scary Movie Month with a discussion of one of their favorite filmmakers and his series of six zombie movies.

Download this episode here.

Also discussed this episode: Unfriended (2015); The Fly (1986); Pieces (1982); No Telling (1991); Goodnight Mommy (2015)

Junesploitation 2026 Day 15: George Romero!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500

Junesploitation 2026 Day 14: Cannon!

fthismoviepodcast@gmail.com (fthismovie.com) — Sun, 14 Jun 2026 01:00:00 -0500