The Top Shelf Video Podcast

This week, the summer of action continues with a foundational genre film that defined both the video store and the desire for a martial arts video store section: Enter the Ninja (1981). This film was the start of the holy trinity of Ninja films with Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja 3: The Domination.  Jaime and Eli discuss how ninja movies weaved into their youth as young Gen-Xers....

This week, the boys kick off the tournament of martial arts films at Top Shelf Video, starting with a video store champion in 1988's Bloodsport in honor of Donald Gibb. This was the first starring role for Jean-Claude Van Damme, who would go on to start the fighting tournament genre, which led to many more films and video games.    Join us for this summer event of high kicks, low kicks, and kicks...

Mistaken identities! Revenge plots! Drunken boxing! Puns about pig trotters! The 1979 film Magnificent Butcher has it all. When Butcher Wing inadvertently starts a feud between his kung fu faction and another, fists fly until one man is left standing. Roundhouse kick your way to Film to Table with Eli and Denise for this kung fu classic! Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X  ...

Agent X is on a mission to find the secrets to making the best Top Shelf Video choice. With the help of Jaime and Eli, who have the experience and skills to assist in this top-secret operation, can they complete their mission to find the films that make up the Top Shelf Video? Tune in and find out Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X Please rate and review us! You can also ema...

This week the Top Shelf Video boys go beyond the video store to look for help in fighting off the evil streaming companies to keep the ways of physical media alive in this Roger Corman take on Seven Samurai with Battle Beyond the Stars. One part Kurosawa, one part Star Wars, and a lot of cheese sum up this classic 80's hidden gem. Will this ragtag team fight off the powers of evil and make the Top...

The “Hooker with a Heart of Gold” trope gets a murder mystery treatment in Brian de Palma’s “Dressed to Kill!” Will the victim’s nerdy son find the clues? Who is behind the straight razor slashing through the city? Help Eli and Denise find the killer in this week’s Film to Table! This podcast has some spoilers, but we have a callout before then, so listener discretion is advised    Top Shelf Video...

This week, the boys of Top Shelf Video go on an adventure to find what has been missing in adventure movies and turn to their childhood foundational film, Time Bandits. Terry Gilliam makes a true childhood adventure movie, even if it was ahead of its time and not something most current generation parents would allow their children to watch. Will the time map lead this film to the top shelf, or wil...

Film to Table is back for Season 3, and we kick off with a hidden gem of 2026, Gore Verbinski's sci-fi film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die. Set in a fictional (how fictional is sadly very questionable) time period, sets off Denise and Eli to go off on their thoughts on what this movie is wanting to say. With a bearded Sam Rockwell and a rag tag team on a mission to save the world this sci-fi film...

The boys at Top Shelf Video kick off season 3 with the iconic video store poster, Cobra. This poster set the foundation of the seminal 80’s action movie. With scissors in hand to slice our pizza will Cobra make the Top Shelf or will we just end up with cold pizza Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X Please rate and review us! You can also email us at topshelfvideopodcast@gmail...

Film to Table is back to talk about their favorite movies of 2025! .....only 4 months late. Denise and Eli go back to last year's menu to see what made their top 5 and what  films made an impact on their tastes Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X Please rate and review us! You can also email us at  topshelfvideopodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram  Top Shelf Video on Inst...

The gang is back from a break to take care of the video store and talk about their favorites of Season 2. Get your tapes ready to return and start making your list for season 3 of Top Shelf Video.    Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X Please rate and review us! You can also email us at  topshelfvideopodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram  Top Shelf Video on Instagram Follo...

How about some holiday leftovers? When daddy issues meet unbridled hubris, what we get is a curiously gorgeous monster from the mind of Guillermo del Toro. Eli and Denise examine this new vision of Mary Shelley’s classic, asking all the important questions like, is del Toro a monster smut girly? Dissect this movie with us right here on Film to Table! This podcast has some spoilers, but we have a c...

Till death do us part… but what if the point was to NEVER be apart? This week, Eli and Denise watch Together, starring Allison Brie and Dave Franco, a couple that’s about to find out exactly how much they want to be together. Tune in as they talk about the fine line between being romantic soulmates and codependent weirdos, right here on Film to Table. This podcast has some spoilers, but we have a...

It is almost time, kids! Time to put on your masks and listen to the final episode of October with the boys at Top Shelf Video, and what better way to end the month than with Halloween 3: Season of the Witch. This polarizing movie in the Halloween franchise has a bit of a backstory and a theme song you won't soon forget. It sticks in your ear but is it worth of sticking on the Top Shelf Video? Tun...

Jaws made the water unsafe, but Poltergeist made the suburbs very unsafe, and this week, Jaime and Eli talk about their experiences with this classic. This influential film in creating urban legends from sacred burial grounds to killer clowns under beds, this film was more impactful on horror than many people give it credit for. Will this film make the Top Shelf, or will it be buried with the othe...

How much tugging, pulling, stretching, and cutting will you do to get the Happily Ever After you deserve? Emilie Blichfeldt’s dark version of the Cinderella story explores the pain and the sacrifices we take to become lovable. Once upon a time, Eli and Denise didn’t have to think about such… drastic… measures to beauty! Don’t be a pumpkin and meet us at the stroke of midnight at Film to Table! Top...

The BOOOOYYYYYYYs this week pull out another tape from the Don A. Coscarelli film library with the sci-fi horror film that gave him a seat at the table of the Masters of Horror, Phantasm. This far-out '70s film is one of the most bizarre films you'll see, but it also has a style and story that helped build a five-film franchise that continues to grow its fanbase every year. From the flying chrome...

This week, Jaime and Eli stay the course of October and revisit the iconic 1987 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street: Dream Warriors. The film that launched Fred Krueger into the stratosphere of pop culture, this film would define a new horror genre that would find its audience in the video store. If you're ready or not, it's time for Prime Time Bitch!! Will Krueger slash his way to the Top Shelf, or...

Director Francis Lawrence gives us a dystopia from the mind of Stephen King where a group of young men march through a wasteland to win a shot at survival. Isn’t the real prize the friends we made along the way? When the American Dream becomes a nightmare, Eli and Denise wonder how their own journeys will fare, right here on Film to Table!   Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen...

Top Shelf Video kicks off the spooky season, along with the start of the Video Crypt at the Texas Theater as they review the video store classic, Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night 2. This quirky Canadian film was shot during the height of the video store era and went on to become a cult classic. Join the boys as they discuss the opening night of the Video Crypt and find out if Hello Lou Mary: Prom Night...

The boys at Top Shelf Video give a quick update on the Fall season and discuss their favorite time of year and the start of The Video Crypt down at the Texas Theatre for the entire month of October Top Shelf Video – Reliving the Video Store Era with Gen X Please rate and review us! You can also email us at topshelfvideopodcast@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram  Top Shelf Video on Instagram Follow u...

This week, the boys at Top Shelf Video close out their Summer of D&D with the 1981 groundbreaking spectacular, Dragonslayer. This film touches on all the highlights of the prior movies, Jaime and Eli discussed in this trifecta, but with the high-end production value, the guys discuss some of the elements that make this film special. From the acting to the art direction, this movie has it all,...

Where have all the children gone?? Won’t anyone think of the children?!  Eli and Denise search for answers in this week’s Film to Table as they watch Zach Cregger’s Weapons. A small community is rocked by a devastating mystery with no discernible logic. What kind of monster prowls the neighborhood? Find out in this week’s newest episode!   This podcast has some spoilers, but we have a callout befo...

This week, the boys at the Top Shelf Video store continue their campaign of watching sword and sorcery movies with the 1982 Don Coscarelli classic The Beastmaster. Continuing the Dungeons and Dragons theme from Krull, Jaime and Eli discuss the things that drew them to making this a high rental for them and many Gen X kids, and where it stands in the long line of sword and sandal movies of the 80's...

Join us for the quest of a lifetime or for the two-hour run time of this swashbuckling adventure called Krull. This week, Jaime and Eli dust off their old Dungeons and Dragons playbooks and revisit this cult classic.  This 1983 movie was a major influence on our video store boys, and they discuss some of their favorite aspects of Krull, along with some flashback memories that include one of the mo...