54 avsnitt • Längd: 60 min • Månadsvis
Two friends and unabashed movie geeks, whose relationship is based almost entirely on antagonism, assign each other horrible films to watch and review. This bad-movie podcast hits you when you’re not looking right where the sun don’t shine! Learn more at the website!
The podcast Filmjitsu! The Podcast that wields films as deadly weapons is created by Jason Santo and Michael Merrigan. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
There are two guys that host Filmjitsu, and despite the fact they regularly bludgeon one another with cinematic munitions, one nearly took on so much damage with this episode that the war of the worst nearly ended. Find out how two of Steve Odekirk's "Thumbation" movies—"Thumb Wars: The Phantom Cuticle" and "Bat Thumb"—somehow managed to, despite very short runtimes, drive one host to audibly drink away his pain whilst recording (stick around for the outtake). And if that's not enough, the guys go on to list their Bottom Five Movie Gimmicks which are cinematic tricks and ideas that try to get butts in seats but instead lead to eyes rolling to the back of the head. Finally, the guys pluck two VERY random movies from the internether which they must immediately build two competing double features from in their own latest gimmick, a game called "Dueling Double Bills." All this plus one really killer intro kicks off the first regular episode of the New Year in enjoyably agonizing style!
Happy New Year, all you bad-movie enthusiasts! In celebration of the past 12-months during which the guys watched 25 mostly wretched flicks for the show, Mike and Jay are taking their second annual look back at last year's movie viewing highpoints - no matter how few and far between they may have been - and handing out the 2024 'Jitsu Awards for those moments and talents that made their main reviews bearable. Who will win the nine awards on deck, which include the usual acting and filmmaking categories as well as Best Stunt, Best Love Scene and Best Death Scene? Don't expect it to be anyone other film podcasts talk about! But before the guys debate their consensus pick for Best Picture, they provide their bottom five movies viewed over the last year, a list of ten movies that were truly deadly weapons that they ran into largely on their own! How two dudes running a podcast about terrible movies somehow manage to sit through garbage even when not watching stuff for the show remains a mystery for the ages, but hey... it makes for a heck of a fun listen!
Happy Holidays, ya bleedin' E-jits! Filmjitsu, your favorite bad movie podcast, is celebrating a few days off from work with... The Rock, Captain America, Joan Watson and J. Jonah Jameson? Yeah, while it was only in theaters for as long as if takes Santa to down a plate of cookies, Mike and Jay somehow managed to catch the Amazon Studios mega-budget action-comedy-Christmas flick, "Red One," a critically-lambasted mishmash of a "...Has Fallen" movie with, well, "Elf?" Did the guys get the coal they expected in their stockings, or was there a Christmas miracle that led to them liking the movie? Find out during their main review and then stick around while they list off their "Bottom Five Secret Organizations," a list of covert, usually massive, groups working under the radar of normal society to perform typically nefarious (and frequently absurd) agendas. After that, the guys try out a new game called "Dueling Double-Bills" which has them building competing double features out of two randomly-generated Holiday Films! Like every December, this episode is stuffed with revelations, disappointment, laughter and announced grievances, so have a listen while cozying up by the yule log this week!
When Jay unleashed 1990's much-loved "Pretty Woman" on Mike, he knew they'd be in for a discussion that might get them in hot water with the millions upon millions of viewers that label the romantic comedy a "classic." There aren't many movies that have appeared on the show that were, at the time of their release, NUMBER FIVE in the list of all-time box office earners. And yet here the guys are, checking to see if one of the most iconic love stories cinema has ever served up is actually... any good? If that's not a bold enough move, your intrepid bad movie enthusiasts next count down their Bottom Five Beloved Films, a list of popular, much-adored favorites that they personally cannot stand! As contentious and contrarian a list as could be imagined, Mike and Jay may well be daring the audience to use deadly weapons against them, but things become more threatening as each reveal a pick that's beloved by the other, resulting in some pretty hostile exchanges! Finally, the guys end the show on a happy note with some friendly messages from a few "Eejits," or fans of the show who sent in voice messages and emails, before revealing the film they're watching for this year's shared Christmas episode!
In light of this week bringing us a holiday centered around feeling grateful and counting the many blessings in life, Mike sets the Thanksgiving table for Jay with a real cinematic turkey: ThanksKilling, a festive holiday offering filled with raunchy comedy and dime-store gore! More nap-inducing than tryptophan, but infinitely worse for one's health, Jay scarfs down helping after helping of the misadventures of a reanimated killer turkey before the guys move onto an inspired second course—their bottom five High Concept Films. This list of elevator pitches gone wrong is bound to leave a bad taste behind, so Mike and Jay add a bit of dessert by pitting four dinner-themed movies against each other in the most diverse game of Kick-Two, Pick Two ever! So shut off the football and put away that pumpkin pie because Filmjitsu is bringing you some Wild Turkey for dinner!
As Filmjitsu exits the 2024 Halloween season and returns to its normal programming, Jay lands a cinematic haymaker by forcing Mike to watch 2016's "9 Lives," a dreadful children's film in which Christopher Walken turns Kevin Spacey into a cat who has to learn how to poop in a litter box or... become a better dad. Amazingly, this was made BEFORE Spacey became a Hollywood pariah, the circumstances of which the guys tackle head-on while wrestling with the age-old question "Can we separate the artist from the art?" But before everything gets too heady, they get back to business by counting down their Bottom Five "Kids Films" which include some stellar turds made for the whole family! After that, there's a quick game of Kick Two, Pick Two in which four outstanding children's classics dual to the death! Will "The Neverending Story" make it out of Filmjitsu alive? Find out now!
Filmjitsu wraps up its Halloween Season with the most Halloween of Halloween Episodes! If the past two special episodes spent interviewing Filmspotting's Josh Larsen about his new horror genre book and dissecting "Skinamarink" with filmmaker Dane Elcar weren't enough for you, the guys overdose on October vibes by tackling ALL THREE of David Gordon Green's "Halloween" movies in another super-sized episode! How does Michael Myers fare in these canon-busting sequels to John Carpenter's 1977 slasher classic? Probably better than Mike and Jay, who were so daunted by the task of watching these flicks that they enlisted another special guest: Jay's son, JT Santo. The three offer-up an in-depth look at this notorious series, then dive into their Bottom Five Slashers, a bloody array of inept, ridiculous and otherwise laughable killers littering horror movie history. Finally, the intrepid trio face off in a slasher-themed game of Kick Two, Pick Two; pitting four horror icons against each other in a battle where only two will remain standing. Collectively, Freddy, Jason, Michael and Leatherface's trademark masks and weapons have made it through 43 films, but will they make it through the podcasts that wields films as deadly weapons? Listen and find out!
Happy Spooky Season, Filmjitsu listeners! Following on the heels of the guys interviewing Filmspotting's Josh Larsen about his in-depth look at the horror genre, Mike and Jay again invited filmmaker Dane Elcar ("Brightwood") to join in on the holiday fun! The result? A super-sized discussion about the polarizing art-horror film, "Skinamarink." What will the three scary-movie enthusiasts think of this grainy, non-narrative mood-piece? Perhaps the episode's bottom five will lend a hint, as after the main review, the guys count down their Bottom Five Patience Testers- movies that have you watching the time more than the screen. Do you have Martin Scorsese listed twice on your bingo card? If you do, maybe you'll win a smashed pumpkin and a pocketful of linty candy-corn!
As it's Spooky Season, Mike and Jay recorded this bonus episode: a horror-themed interview with film critic Josh Larsen, best known as the co-host of the stellar film podcast "Filmspotting." Josh and the guys discuss his latest book, Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies, touching upon matters of faith while also considering the redemptive - and not-so-redemptive - aspects of the genre. Why would a devout Christian watch (and love) movies like "The Shining," "Us," and "The Blair Witch Project?" Josh answers this question while weighing in on what he believes are universal aspects behind the effectiveness and enduring popularity of horror flicks. And if all that isn't enough, the guys get up to their usual tricks by presenting Josh with one of the toughest rounds of Kick Two, Pick Two ever. Would you be able to choose only two of your four favorite horror films, throwing the other two forever into the Forbidden Zone? Can Josh?
On this week's episode of the podcast that wields films like deadly weapons, Mike and Jay bring a nuclear arsenal of big budget failures, first by tackling "Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever" during the main review and then tallying their bottom five Box-Office Bombs. How big of a quality-crater does the infamous Lucy Liu-Antonio Banderas actioner leave when compared to the other megaton failures the guys have suffered through? Find out by giving the show a listen, then stick around as our intrepid hosts play an inverted game of Kick-Two, Pick-Two where four terrible movies are listed and they are forced to keep two when all deserve a permanent home in the Forbidden Zone. Also, keep watching this feed as spooky season is upon us, and the guys have some excellent upcoming horror-themed shows and interviews coming up!
For this episode, things get hairy... (literally?) with Jay hurling Mike into the far-flung future of... 1991? By reviewing the Tom Selleck/Michael Crichton sci-fi team-up that is 1982's "Runaway," the guys embark on a thoughtful look back (and forward), at one point discussing how technology was predicted to have evolved and how it actually evolved. But before things get too heady, they quickly return to their usual foolishness, comparing their choices for bottom five mustaches in honor of the iconic soup-strainer Tom Selleck is best-known for. And if a list of 10 bad cinematic cookie-dusters isn't enough, Mike and Jay play an epic game of Kick Two, Pick Two that pits four famous dental drapes against one another, with only two allowed to survive on the upper lip of film history. Will Kurt Russell's "Tombstone" mouth mane make the cut? Listen now to find out!
As Filmjitsu Summer comes to an end, Mike delivers to Jay the cinematic C-4 explosive that is 2003's "From Justin to Kelly" starring Kelly Clarkson, thankfully in her first - and only - lead acting role. Stepping from the ashes of his lost summer watching horrendous dreck, Jay dutifully reviews this "musical romantic comedy" and manages to say some nice things, which is a bit like living through a blitzkrieg and complimenting the enemy for pretty-colored fireballs. Following the review, Mike and Jay offer their bottom five parties from movies and then play a popstar-filled game of Kick-Two, Pick-Two during which Jay is faced with one the most existential struggles of his life. Will he cast his beloved Madonna into the Forbidden Zone deleting her from history and future for all? Listen to find out that, and also what Jay has lying in wait for Mike's viewing displeasure on the next episode!
In this special interview episode, Mike took a journey to one of his favorite places on Earth: Lehighton, Pennsylvania, home to the much-loved Mahoning Drive-in Theatre. This last-of-its-kind, old-school site is one of the only places in the United States where you can sit under the stars, munch on a bucket of popcorn and watch 35mm prints of classic films from decade's past on a huge screen. Virgil Cardamone, the drive-in's film booker, curator and publicity director, is among a handful of employees at this blast-from-the-past, and in a soulful, wide-ranging interview with Mike, he explains the Mahoning's history, it's deep commitment to community, the reason for its dedication to 35mm in an age of all-digital projection and some of the challenges the drive-in has faced in recent years; most notably the loss of master projectionist Jeff Mattox before the start of the 2024 season. If you love film, Virgil's own passion for the medium will surely move you... perhaps to make a pilgrimage of your own to rural Pennsylvania where you can find a good spot, camp out for the night and catch some of your favorite movies the way they were intended to be seen, flickering on a big outdoor screen.
In this special episode of Filmjitsu, Jay and Mike record from the parking lot of the cinema after watching Lee Isaac Chung's "Twisters," a sequel of sorts to the much-loved popcorn flick, 1996's "Twister." Is pluralizing the original, charming, stand-alone disaster film and turning it into a franchise anything but a cash grab? The guys answer this from the confines of a 100° car and are joined by a special guest during their review! After that. grab onto something and get ready for a bumpy ride into a vortex of personal shame as your intrepid cinematic dualists return to the studio with their Bottom 5 Guilty Pleasures: personal favorite movies that are typically viewed as awful by critics and audiences alike. Finally, the guys tear through a guilt-ridden game of Kick-Two, Pick-Two before Mike unveils the next film Jay will have to suffer through. We're talking imminent rue-age!
Jay tosses Mike an unloaded pistol in a cinematic firefight with 2021's "Gunpowder Milkshake," a CGI-stuffed, Netflix-distributed, fox-force-five-riff that gathers an astonishingly great cast and wastes them on bad fight choreography and a foolish plot. As part of their discussion, they tackle the pros and cons of both the film and the genre it represents; ultra-stylized, violent, neo-noir flicks like "John Wick," "Bad Times at the El Royale" and "Atomic Blonde," which Jay calls "Neon Gun Fables." Following the theme of these types of movies, the guys list off their Bottom 5 Gun Scenes and then engage in a bullet-ridden game of Kick-Two, Pick-Two where four movies duel for continued existence. but only two will survive! Finally, the guys unveil a surprise for their next episode that promises to find them in a bigger swirl of hot bluster than usual.
If Filmjitsu is the podcast that wields movies like deadly weapons, Mike pulls out a cinematic neutron bomb when he forces Jay to watch and review, "Jaws The Revenge," the final sequel of the "Jaws" franchise that somehow manages to be simultaneously forgotten and a notorious flop. "Jaws 4" lives as a perfect example of this episode's Bottom 5 Fourth Installments list where the guys tally their least-favorite fourth movies in a variety of series. After debating the merits (and mere existence?) of the likes of "Alien: Resurrection" and "Vegas Vacation," Jay and Mike play a Summer Blockbuster-themed game of Kick Two, Pick Two wherein Jay immediately calls a much-loved 80's comic-book movie "trash." Make sure you're lathered up with plenty of sunscreen and check twice before getting into the water because when it comes to this episode of Hot Filmjitsu Summer: "This time it's personal."
Put on your life jacket because Mike and Jay continue with their summer-themed cinematic torture showcase with the 1997 debacle that is "Speed 2 - Cruise Control!" Mike weaves and bobs through his review of this sequel no one asked for with all the dexterity of an ocean liner controlled by Willem Dafoe while Jay laughs madly like the studio executive who greenlit this mess, his dreams of mad bank replaced by the reality that Jason Patric is no Keaunu Reeves. After the second-speed main review, the guys list off their bottom five "replacements," actors or characters in movies that replace originals in subsequent installments. Next, they leap through logic hoops to pick two Keanu Reeves movies out of four in a game of Kick Two, Pick Two that will make you go "WHOA!" Finally, Mike gets his revenge for having to watch the law firm of Bullock, Patric and Dafoe by giving Jay his movie for the next episode.
It's hot FIlmjitsu summer, and the guys are kicking it off with Mike making Jay watch 1980's "Blood Beach," a horror film that goes the bold route of blending the genre with... a dry police procedural? If a beach that eats people isn't your idea of a day in the sun, don't worry, the guys brought sunscreen and an umbrella as they count off their bottom five beach scenes! Finally, they chase that bit of summertime fun with a game of Kick Two, Pick Two where four classic, summer-set films go into the ring with only two allowed to survive!
Jay pummels Mike with the most painful cinematic weapon he's deployed yet: the 2019, Fred Durst written-and-directed disaster, "The Fanatic." A slog of a thriller that finds John Travolta playing an autistic man named Moose who is obsessed with a mid-tier celebrity, the guys try to understand why this thing even got made and discover... a Red Box connection? After reacting to Durst's direction and Travolta's haircut, they next count down their bottom five obsessions from movies and then play one of the most random games of Kick-Two, Pick-Two ever. where two of the four titles currently "Back at the Kiosk" at Red Boxes nation-wide get tossed into the Forbidden Zone, never to be seen again. Long live physical media (except those two!)
Well, it's happened. The listeners have spoken and for Filmjitsu's first "Sophie's Choice" poll of its modern era, the winner - which Jay had to watch and review - was Tommy Wiseau's 2003 so-bad-it's-good cult-classic, "The Room." The victor "tore apart" John Travolta's "Battlefield Earth" in its head-to-head match-up, but the bigger question is, will the guys be able to say anything that hasn't already been said about this sex-scene-filled, football-in-tuxedos, jogging-in-San-Fran affair? They try, and then follow-up the main review with their list of bottom five choices, which occur both inside and outside the world of their movies, before playing a challenging "cult-classics" edition of Kick Two, Pick Two. Be sure to keep an ear out for Jay's shocking revelation about the birth of his first son, which either left Mike impressed or deeply disturbed!
In celebration of Mother's Day, Mike and Jay launch into a full-on, earnest review of the 2008 jukebox musical "Mamma Mia!" With a star-studded cast that includes Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski and Dame Julie Walters - as well as a few dudes with the last names Firth, Skarsgard and Brosnan - the movie concerns a bride-to-be on the eve of her wedding in a stunning Greek archipelago who invites three men to her wedding, one of whom is likely her father. Hijinx ensue, all set, for reasons unknown, to toe-tapping pop classics by the Swedish super-ground, ABBA, and if you're not "having the time of your life" by the end, in the words of Mike, you may be "a f--king ghoul." After recounting the joys (and a few pains - sorry, Pierce) of "Mamma Mia!" the guys list off their Bottom Five Cringe Moments in cinema, dedicated to movie moments of vicarious embarrassment, and then play a musically-inspired game of Kick Two, Pick Two!
In this bonus interview episode, Mike and Jay jumped at the chance to speak with cult movie writer-director Richard Elfman ("Forbidden Zone") and his wife, actress and producer Anastasia Elfman, about their wacky, hilarious, gory and musical new film "Bloody Bridget." The film follows a murdered dancer who in the afterlife discovers she's a vengeful Celtic goddess with an insatiable hunger for human hearts. This leads to a gleeful murder-spree as the Valentine Vampire that's covered-up by her best friend, a gay, mute, Dominican dancer named Pepe and her lawyers. the yarmulke-wearing father-son lawyer team of Dershowitz & Dershowitz. "Bloody Bridget" is a hoot, currently showing on the festival circuit and in special burlesque screenings globally. Hear how it got made, find out what aspects of the story are allegedly true and see if Jay can go the whole episode without mentioning the word "boobs." (Spoiler: he can't.) The guys also force Richard and Anastasia to a family-themed game of "Kick-Two, Pick Two" where they must choose to keep only two of four iconic film scores by their brother, famed composer Danny Elfman.
Tonight... on a very special episode of Filmjitsu, the guys grapple with their roles in the patriarchy after being exposed to the dangers of Alex Garland's largely-acclaimed 2022 gross-out think-piece, "Men." Will Jay ever be the same? Will Mike? Fortunately, these two clowns somehow are avowed feminists so... yeah, they might get down with the messaging of the film, even while suppressing urges to barf. They follow their wide-ranging, likely way-too-serious discussion with a sloppy and gross chat about their bottom five transformations before playing an equally moist game of Kick Two, Pick Two: Body Horror edition. MOIST. Ugh. What. A. Word.
While the MonsterVerse has brought Kong back to movie screens, never was the big ape been quite as... horny... as he was in 1976's "King Kong!" And who could blame him because, well, Jessica Lange in her film debut is, as Mike puts it, "a smokeshow." But was Mike able to find anything else to like in this Dino De Laurentiis-produced big-budget epic rife with bad, yet-somehow-Oscar-winning, special effects? Or is this episode just Jay cackling whilst drinking Mike's tears, shed at the feet of another of Mike's favorite actors - Jeff Bridges - as he makes a terrible cinematic decision. Either way, the guys follow the main review by recounting their lists of Bottom Five Dangerous Animals before playing a King-flavored game of Kick Two, Pick Two.
Leave it to the guys at FIlmjitsu to celebrate Easter and the renewal of Spring by reviewing a movie about organ harvesting! Having nothing to do with bunnies, eggs, baskets, or certainly anything that Jesus Christ would have died for, 2008's "Repo! The Genetic Opera" is a cinematic weapon that delivers more pain than crucifixion! As Mike cackles at the horror wrought, Jay attempts to limit the number of expletives to describe this musical from the "Saw" franchise's MVP, Darren Lynn Bousman, but likely fails. The guys then recount their Bottom Five Musical Numbers which include entries as varied as "The Jazz Singer," "Lady and the Tramp," "The Room" and... something from the "Star Wars" universe? If that's not enough, the guys play a musically-themed game of Kick Two, Pick Two that proves to be surprisingly challenging.
Despite an 86-minute run-time, the Rotten Tomatoes 0% fresh-rated "The Disappointments Room" took so long for Mike to watch that we're pretty sure he's still locked in his own hidden loft where the only way out is to find one redeeming thing to say about the Kate Beckinsale-starring mystery-thriller. Meanwhile, Jay provides color-commentary on the career of director D.J. Caruso before the guys get into their bottom five rooms in movies, a concept that may seem less creative than it actually is, considering the directions they take their picks. After that, they keep with the theme of disappointments with a reverse game of Kick Two, Pick Two that forces the guys to choose two movies to keep out of four, all of which they'd love to send to the phantom zone so they could never be seen again!
Ever wonder what it's like to be the protagonist in a relentless, balls-to-the-wall action flick? Jay never did either! But Mike decided to make him watch "Hardcore Henry" anyhow. How did this 2015 low-budget first-person POV feature from director Ilya Naishuller ("Nobody") fare on review? Jay recounts plenty of blood, gore and exhaustion before the guys move on to their lists of Bottom Five Birthdays from movies because in "Harcore Henry," the protagonist... oh never mind. This episode's Bottom Five has nothing to do with the main review and instead everything to do with Mike who celebrates a birthday on the day of this episode's release! And if that weren't random enough, stick around as the guys play a round of Kick Two, Pick Two that's neither related to "HH" or Mike's birthday, but which may invoke a little deja-vu for frequent listeners.
Jay drops a tornado-and-hurricane-fueled nuclear weapon of a flick onto Mike with 1998's "The Avengers," a startlingly slap-dash big-budget flop starring Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and THE Sean Connery in a role that likely had a lot to do with his decision to retire from acting. The guys delve into the history of this bad-weather cinematic oddity-cum-remake-of-a-1960's British tv-show and try to unpack whether it's as bad as it's staggering number of Razzie Award nominations would suggest. After that, Mike and Jay list off their bottom five agents and play a great game for any rainy day, Kick-Two, Pick-Two!
Mike brings out the cinematic equivalent of a katana to this week's episode with "Bratz," the 2007 young-adult(?) comedy/drama/toy tie-in that cuts deep with a sugary but very conservative mix of idealized teenage life and "acceptable" "cultural" and "feminine" "individualism." Can Jay survive this wholesome, hyper-cut mess? The blood-loss is real, but the guys manage to struggle through their list of bottom five teachers before tackling a round of Kick-Two, Pick Two that's aptly connected to the main review in a rather bratty(pack) way!
Mike and Jay return to the usual Filmjitsu format with Jay hurling the grenade that is 1953's "Glen or Glena," the notorious Edward D, Wood, Jr. picture that revels in the pleasures of angora and monotonous narration. Is this a prescient look into gender identity, a lurid sensationalist cash-grab or simply inept filmmaking at its worst? The guys try to answer all this while also dealing with the presence of a seemingly stoned Bela Lugosi, whose top-billing in the film sets up the guys' bottom five misleading marquees. This list of the worst examples of cinematic bait-and-switch, where posters scream big names above the title when the talent are barely in the films, is followed by a cross-dressing-theme game of Kick Two, Pick Two that pits the likes of Robin Williams versus Tim Curry!
Looking back at their first year of watching horrible movies in this special year-end episode, Mike and Jay speak kindly(ish) about some of the 21 featured flicks wielded as deadly weapons in 2023, rewarding actors, filmmakers and artists with the inaugural "'Jitsu Awards." Who will get a case of "The 'Jits?" Well, not Mike or Jay themselves as they spend the Bottom Five segment tearing themselves to pieces while recounting their Bottom Five Filmjitsu Moments, which may or may not include a deeply passionate discourse on the physics of leprechaun penis eruption. FIinally, the guys wrap-up 2023 by awarding the Best Picture Jitsu via an epic round of Kick Three, Pick One!
Mike and Jay get into the spirit of the holiday season with Filmjitsu first: a movie both had to watch and review. That movie? "The Mean One," a 2022 horror parody of The Grin-... um... you know, who absconded with that one holiday there with the trees, gifts and, yeah, you know. After retelling their tale of yuletide suffering, the guys then list their bottom five gifts (or presents, because gifts was too hard to say) and square off an epic game of holiday Kick Two Pick Two. Will "Mupper Christmas Carol" make the cut, or will it end up in a Christmas tree bonfire on New Year's Eve? Find out now!
What happens when Mike reaches deep down into the bag of the most controversial films in cinema history and withdraws a weapon so oddly jagged and dangerous that it might kill both Jay AND Mike himself? You get a full review of Larry Clark's 1995 slice of New York City life, cinema verite, "Kids" with some very surprising conclusions drawn. And because the guys are nothing if not predictable, they follow-up with a discussion of their bottom five kids in movies before playing a lethal game of Kick-two, Pick-two involving way more than just the usual four movies. This episode flouts the rules in every respect and earns it's "explicit content" badge with honors, so those with sensitive ears need not press play.
Mike, after performing horribly in the annual bracket competition he helped create over at the Filmspotting podcast, is forced to watch "Home Team," a Happy Madison production that even Adam Sandler himself had the good sense to avoid. Jay's around to laugh at Mike's suffering, and then both share their bottom five movie teams which may or may not include flicks actually involving sports. Finally, the guys introduce a new segment to the show - "Kick Two, Pick Two," a debate where the merits of four thematically-linked films are counted out with the goal to keep only two, while the rest are sent to a cinematic phantom zone, never to be seen again!
The guys get back to business-as-usual following their three-episode trek into Halloween-season-horror, this time with Mike tasking Jay with viewing the fourth movie in the "Police Academy" saga: "Police Academy 4 - Citizens on Patrol." Plot-twist, Jay was a huge fan as a kid! Did his love of juvenile law-enforcement shenanigans carry on into adulthood? Listen for the answer, and for the guys' lists of bottom five movie cops which may or may not include a damning review of... "The Crying Game?"
The guys continue celebrating the 2023 Halloween season with the second of three special horror episodes! This week, Mike attempts to review Lucio Fulci's 1981 gore-fest, "The Beyond," which - more than any other film wielded as a deadly weapon by Jay - left a mark due to some scenes of eight-legged violence. Will Mike be able to speak intelligibly about this cinematic trauma and then go on to list of his bottom five gore effects? Or will this episode just be Jay on his own, discussing Italian film composers, bad special effects and announcing a search for a new co-host?
We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming - sorry "Police Academy" fandom! - to bring you part 1 of 3 horror-themed episodes centered around the reason for the season, Halloween! In this episode, Mike blasts Jay with 2001's "Thirteen Ghosts," the Tony Shalhoub and Matthew Lillard-starring dumpster fire that provides more headaches than scares. The guys then follow up with their bottom five ghosts list which oddly include movies by such heavy hitters as Tim Burton, John Carpenter, Mike Flanagan and Peter Jackson!
Jay forces Mike to address the elephant in the room, or more precisely the elephant in Bill Murray's career, by assigning 1996's "Larger Than Life" as this week's main review. Does Mike send this pachyderm packing, or does he have a pocketful of peanuts? (Maybe he's just happy to see us?) Regardless, the guys then argue through their list of bottom five sidekicks before offering up some questionable staff picks and revealing Mike's cinematic punishment that Jay will have to suffer through for our next episode.
Unimaginably, Mike assigned a movie so terrible that it made Jay believe he'd rather be stuck in traffic. The movie? The failed pilot for the 1991 "Knight Rider" reboot: "Knight Rider 2000." With a convoluted plotline that mixes politics and mediocre muscle car stunts, "KR2K" - which is what all the cool kids call this one - is a special version of insipid blandness chock-full of bad science and worse acting. Luckily, the guys pump the breaks to allow some good movies to cross their path and their bottom five car lists save the day, as do a solid pair of staff picks. But what evil lurks in waiting for Mike next time? Listen to find out!
Mike boldly goes where he has never gone before in the fascinatingly awful fifth installment of the original Star Trek franchise, which leads to entirely too much giggling on Trekkie/Trekker Jay's part. The guys then count off their bottom five Gods, a listing of weak-sauce, evil and egocentric deities that's sure to cause a rumble or two of thunder. Will their houses still be standing by this episode's end? The only way to find out is to listen!
While Mike takes a blissful walk down memory lane recalling his early adolescent adoration of the 1994 cinematic abomination "Brainscan," Jay blubbers his way through a review of the movie, never quite leaving the fetal position caused by Eddie Furlong's acting. Can listing off their bottom-five games played in movies rebuild the guys' friendship, or was this act of Filmjitsu simply too deadly?!
In this episode, Mike goes into the deep waters of no/low-budget cinema where Jay holds all the life-preservers. Will he sink or swim while tackling writer/director H.P. Mendoza's "I am a Ghost?" Also in the mix is David Lowry's "A Ghost Story" which was assigned by Jay as a bit of contextual extra-credit due to similarities between it and Mendoza's work. Have the guys discovered a weird case of homage or possible plagiarism? Find out the answer, as well as the guys' bottom five no/low-budget movies and a few staff picks that prove Mike and Jay don't ONLY watch garbage flicks.
Jay demonstrates the rule of diminishing returns when Mike challenges him to watch "Amityville 3-D," the tertiary installment of the enduring franchise that should have been put out of its misery after part two. The guys then go on to list their bottom five houses, a list that details cinematic homes they'd listen to when told to "GET OUT."
The guys go where no podcast should ever go, into the gaping maw of a tonally uneven whimsical-dramatic-comedy-thriller from Colin Trevorrow that may or may not have sunk the director's job as Star Wars Episode IX's director. As such, Mike and Jay produce a list of bottom five follow-ups featuring filmmakers who chased some of their greatest successes with some truly garbage next films. Coppola, Jackson, Reiner and Gilliam, we're looking at you!
Disassociated while lost in the hallucinogenic haze and violence of Nicholas Cage's 2018 flick "Mandy," Jay returns to Earth bitter, frustrated and out for vengeance himself. In turn, Mike giggles at Jay's pain like the title character at an exposed cult-leader's member. The guys then relay their bottom five freak-outs, a controversial list of filmic experimentation and intense over-emoting that includes Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch, and... Charleton Heston?
Mike goes for the jugular and instead finds one of Jay’s sweet spots when “Timecop” in brought into the ring. The 1994 sci-fi adventure starring Jean Claude Van Damme is a lame-brained time-travel fiasco, but as directed by Peter Hyams, it’s not without its charms. That said, the guys turn their clocks back to look at some even worse chronological chaos with their Bottom Five Time Travels!See show notes and more at the website!
The first proper episode of the new Filmjitsu finds Jay struggling with words and unsure of when to stop hiding from behind his couch after Mike dares him to view 2019's multi-Razzi nominated "Cats." Also, in honor of this grand cinematic achievement, Mike and Jay offer up their Bottom Five A**holes.
The truth is, we’re not sure anyone needs more opinions from two middle-aged, average white dudes, but here they are. Mike has resurrected his monster of a podcast and with the help of new co-host Jay, explains why it has returned and offers up a Bottom Five Reboots/Remakes in the process!
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.