[Photo credit: www.nicolassolop.com]

I love listening to podcasts, specifically those that discuss movies.

A few years ago, I created a list of the top ten movie podcasts that I listened to at the time. Since then, several of the podcasts have ceased recording new episodes so I thought it was time to come up with an updated list. 

Some of the selections on the list are holdovers from my previous one. They're in no particular order.

1. Film Junk

Toronto, ON. Canada 

• Started: 2005
• Format: review of a current movie; other stuff watched; junk mail (listeners' questions)
• Schedule: weekly (usually recorded on a Monday and released on Tuesday)
• Hosts: Sean Dwyer, Jay Cheel & Frank Knezic
• Length (approx.): 2-3 hrs 
• Profanity: a lot

Merch: Film Junk Swag Bag

Note:  In addition to the free, weekly episodes, Film Junk occasionally releases premium episodes discussing several movies with a theme.

Film Junk features three co-hosts who are friends and enjoy discussing movies. Dwyer and Knezic are involved in the video game industry while Cheel is a documentary film director (Beauty Day and How to Build a Time Machine).  

One of the most enjoyable parts of the podcast is the first 10 to 15 minutes when the three guys talk about a topic other than movies, usually something that has happened to one of them since the last episode.  

The three co-hosts have very distinct personalities that mesh well together. Cheel is the cynic, Knezic is the contrarian with OCD and Dwyer is the affable every-man. Together they put out an entertaining show that is filled with thoughtful reviews and crude humour. Over the years, the guys have developed a short-hand language that may leave newer listeners confused. Fortunately they have a glossary to guide novice listeners through their archive of over 600 episodes.  

Example: TimBurculosis (TB) – An unhealthy obsession with the films of Tim Burton, to the point where the afflicted person may even try to defend his recent output.   

Fun Fact: Most of the Film Junk crew, including former co-host Greg Gaspari and occasional co-host Reed Farrington, appear in The  Running Tunnel, an entertaining short film about an urban legend, written and directed by Jay Cheel.  

 

2. The Projection Booth

Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. 

• Started: 2011
• Format: in-depth discussion of a chosen movie with guests and interviews
• Schedule: weekly (every Wednesday)
• Host: Mike White
• Length (approx.): 1-7 hrs 
• Profanity: mild if any

If you're looking for a podcast that discusses a wide range of movies with in depth, critical analysis, this is the one for you. It's a little more than whether a movie is good or bad. If you need an example of that, I would say that episode 207 (Conan the Barbarian) fits the bill. It's over 7 hours long! You might want to save that one for a very, very, very long road trip.  

As host, Mike White is a great interviewer when it comes to posing questions to some of the well-known guests he invites to speak about the movies with which they were involved.  

Fun Fact: Robohost has been on two episodes, one being American Mary. Robohost is a computer program that repeats anything written about or said about the show on other podcasts, in a belligerent, robotic voice.

3. RCMPodcast

Toronto, ON. Canada 

• Started: 2016
• Format: review of a Canadian film chosen by the guest
• Schedule: weekly
• Hosts: Cam Maitland & Becky Shrimpton
• Length (approx.): 1 hr.
• Profanity: mild

[image source]  

I was happy to discover this show not too long ago. As a Canadian myself, I was surprised to learn that some of the movies discussed are in fact, Canadian productions. Each episode, a Canadian film is chosen by an invited guest and discussed for about an hour with the co-hosts.  

Of course, highlights for me are episodes that feature a few of my cult-favourite films such as Meatballs, Turbo Kid, Strange Brew, The Gate and Pontypool.  

Fun Fact: Becky Shrimpton ends each episode by asking the guest, "You wanna go get a Moosehead?"

4. We Hate Movies

New York, NY. U.S.A. 

• Started: 2015
• Format: comedy: poking fun at bad movies
• Schedule: weekly (every Tuesday with occasional bonus episodes)
• Hosts: Andrew Jupin, Stephen Sajdak, Eric Szyszka & Chris Cabin
• Length (approx.): 2 hrs 
• Profanity: a lot

WHM Video: Gary Busey Wants Corey Haim Dead

The format is simple. The hosts pick a bad movie to pick on and do so in hilarious fashion often employing some dead-on impressions of celebrities. These guys are good and funny at what they do. Don't look for any deep meaning here. This is pure entertainment.  

Highlight episodes include Foodfight!, Abraxas, Guardian of the  Universe, Captain America and any of their live episodes. Also, their Mail Bag episodes are equally funny, in which they answer listeners' questions.  

Fun Fact: All the celebrity impressions

5. How Did This Get Made

Parts Unknown 

• Started: 2010
• Format: comedy review of a bad movie
• Schedule: every two weeks
• Hosts: Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael & Jason Mantzoukas
• Length (approx.): 1-2 hrs 
• Profanity: a lot

Similar to We Hate Movies, HDTGM is heavy on laughs, ridiculing some awful movies. The best episodes are the ones recorded in front of an audience. One of my favourite episodes is Garbage Pail Kids, which repulsed Jason Mantzoukas and that's not an easy thing to do.  

A lot of the sayings the co-hosts come up with during an episode catch on and become very popular, often being printed and sold on t-shirts.

 

Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! HDTGM t-shirt inspired by episode #138 - *Bloodsport:  LIVE!* 

HDTGM  T-shirts  

Fun Fact: All three co-hosts have roles in The Disaster Artist which is based on the making of The Room, which HDTGM talked about in  episode #23.    

6. Mark and Me

In your ears 

• Started: 2016
• Format: interviews with moviemakers
• Schedule: sporadic
• Host: Mark
• Length (approx.): 30 minutes to 1 hour
• Profanity: not a lot

 

Mark interviews actors and filmmakers in a very casual and soothing manner about the movies in which they were involved. Originally there was a co-host who was the "Me" part of the name.  

The highlight episode would definitely be Mark landing an interview with the mysterious Tommy Wiseau of The Room.  

Fun Fact: Mark and Me is named in tribute to the awesomely awful E.T. ripoff, Mac and Me. 

7. Large Marge Sent Us

Boston, MA. U.S.A 

• Started: 2016
• Format: nostalgia ( 80's and 90's movies)
• Schedule: weekly
• Hosts: Emily Dumas & Andre Dumas
• Length (approx.): 1 hr.
• Profanity: some

 

Emily and Andre are sisters who apparently both had hopes of becoming radio DJs. The jobs in radio never materialized but they decided to try the next best thing. That's when the Large Marge Sent Us podcast was created. They revisit movies they watched as kids and discuss them now as adults.  

I like this show for a few reasons. One is it's fun listening to the sisters reminisce about movies that I myself watched, growing up. Another is the fact that there aren't a lot of women hosting movie podcasts and it's a nice change to get women's perspectives about movies. Another is, they both refer to each other as "Sweetie". Finally, they named their podcast after a line in PeeWee's Big Adventure.  

Fun Fact: Emily was recently a contestant on Jeopardy in which she competed against Austin Rogers, the contestant who went on to become the 5th highest winner in Jeopardy's history. 

Thanks for cheering on @ekdumas19 with us last night on @Jeopardy ! We're doing a special bonus ep tonight about it. Send us your questions! pic.twitter.com/iKo0o6u3IK— LargeMargeSentUs (@TheSweetieClub) September 29, 2017

8. The Retro Cinema

Australia 

• Started: 2005
• Format: All 80's movies. All the time!
• Schedule: weekly
• Hosts: Gidgit Von LaRue & Angryman
• Length (approx.): 1 hr.
• Profanity: very little

Another nostalgia movie podcast that is in my wheelhouse because it covers a lot of 80's movies I watched, growing up.   

The Retro Cinema is hosted by the Australian male and female duo going by the monikers of Angryman and Gidgit. It's always nice to have a female voice to balance things out. I love Australian accents also, so that is a bonus when listening to the show. Any podcast that devotes episodes to The 'Burbs (episode 8) and Creepshow (episode 23) is a podcast after my own heart. Who could forget The Klopeks and The Crate?  

Fun Fact: Hosts have Aussie accents

   

The Retro Cinema store

9. Film Sack

Mining the depths of film entertainment for all mankind 

• Started: 2009
• Format: Roundtable discussions of strange movies from the bowels of Netflix streaming
• Schedule: weekly (every Monday but sometimes released late Sunday night)
• Hosts: Scott Johnson, Brian Ibbott, Brian Dunaway & Randy Jordan
• Length (approx.): 60-75 min.
• Profanity: not much

This might be my favourite movie podcast.  

The guys discuss a movie that they've all watched beforehand on Netflix. Sometimes it's a movie they've all watched before but sometimes it's the first time some of them will have watched it. The movies are usually known for being bad but there are times when it's a good movie that has not gotten a lot of exposure.  

This is another podcast that is heavy on humour. All four co-hosts are pretty good at coming up with some good jabs when "sacking" a movie.  I like all four co-hosts but my favourite is Brian Dunaway. I enjoy his subtle humour which he will often slip in under his breath unnoticed by the other three. 

Here he is doing his intro for Strange Brew.  

 

A trademark of Film Sack is the "Trope Alert". That is when one of them (often Randy Jordan) points out a trope in the movie being discussed, upon which Scott Johnson plays an audio sound effect of a siren, taken from Star Trek (TOS). The co-hosts will also look for a "Star Trek Connection" noting which actors in the movie have appeared in any Star Trek TV episodes or movies, which turns out to be a surprising amount. Johnson will also play isolated audio clips from the movie that he found amusing, for comedic effect.  

Ibbott, Dunaway and Jordan will also try to guess which moment in the movie grossed out Johnson, as there is usually one in each movie he watches.  

To end the show, Johnson asks each co-host to sum up the movie by reading their own 140-character Twitter post that humourously describes their feelings about it.  

Fun Fact: Scott Johnson and Brian Ibbott also host a daily show called The Morning Stream     

10. Grindbin

California, USA 

• Started: 2016
• Format: grindhouse & exploitation
• Schedule: weekly (usually recorded on a Monday and released on Tuesday)
• Hosts: Mike Wood & Chris Mann
• Length (approx.): 1 hr.
• Profanity: a lot

The Grindbin is a weekly podcast that has fun discussing the plots of exploitation and Grindhouse films. Some examples include  Stewardess School, The Human Tornado and Gator Bait. 

Occasionally, the hosts will do a special theme month devoted to the films of a particular actor. For example, for the second consecutive year they have done Blairvember, which is an entire month of Linda Blair movies. This year, they have started Deezember, which is movies featuring Eddie Deezen during the month of December.  

They have a recurring comedy bit in which they talk to movie mogul, "Mr. Crown", which is always funny.  

At the end of each episode, the hosts try to find a common link to the movie they discussed in their first episode, which is The Van  

Fun Fact: The logo for The Grindbin Podcast is based on the paint  scheme of the "Straight Arrow" van in The Van.  

The Straight Arrow van on display

 

What are your favourite podcasts?

Let us know in the comments below what your favourite podcasts are.   It doesn't have to be only those about movies. It can be comedy, tech, educational, etc.