The Videostore Junkies

If you're a movie fan of a certain age, you probably remember a time when watching a movie at home involved a lot more effort than it does now: driving to a videostore, hoping that the movie you wanted to watch was actually in stock, and then remembering to actually return your tape on time before you got sent to video-jail. As with many experiences which technology has rendered practically obsole...

For the weekend of 5/21/21, Renee, Zachary, Bill, and Paul offer up 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring an animated apocalypse, geriatric werewolves, and Rodney Dangerfield (not all in one movie, though). The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local...

For the weekend of 5/14/21, Renee, Zachary, Bill, and Paul offer up 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, featuring creeps, hobos, and...Menudo?! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to...

The year was 1993 and the day when big-budget video-game-to-film adaptations were a proven draw at the box office were far in the future. But surely the biggest video game in the world would translate into an equally huge success on the silver screen...right? Almost 30 years after the Super Mario Bros. movie premiered - and promptly bombed - movie fans are reassessing this trailblazing film. Is it...

For the weekend of 5/7/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill offer up 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, including wrestling docs, Nic Cage, and some films you do NOT want to watch on a full stomach. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was),...

For the weekend of 4/30/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and Bill offer up 8 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from Korean horror, to a documentary series from one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, to possibly the most memorable spaghetti western ever made. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options...

It's been 24 years since a Mortal Kombat film graced cinemas - and 26 years since they were graced by a GOOD one. After a wait of over two decades by fans across the world, 2021's Mortal Kombat has finally arrived - is it another klassic entry into the series like the original, or another misbegotten dud like its sequel? Listen to our SPOILER-RICH review where Renee, Bill, Paul, and Zachary discus...

If you're a fan of horror, cult, or niche films, you've probably experienced the frustration of trying to find titles to satisfy your appetites on mainstream streaming services, only to come up empty-handed. Enter the new wave of niche services, of which several have launched in recent years to satisfy the desire of serious movie fans to seek out and enjoy films which may not be widely available o...

If you love movies, you probably love talking about movies. And if you love talking about movies, you probably love arguing about movies. Or maybe that's just us. Either way, the hosts of the Videostore Junkies podcast don't always see eye to eye - or sometimes, if we do, it's only because we're staring each other down in a fit of rage over a film about which we disagree. This week, instead of kee...

For the weekend of 4/23/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul offer up 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from religious horror, to….even more religious horror, to….even MORE religious horror, to…..Waterworld. Yes, that’s right, IT’S A GOOD MOVIE. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in histo...

For the weekend of 4/16/21, Renee, Zachary, Paul, and VERY SPECIAL GUEST BILL offer up 9 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from lockdown horror, to foreign dramas, to claustrophobic found footage. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore...

Is doing a review of Netflix, literally the most popular streaming service on the planet, a bit redundant? Probably, but a collection of reviews covering every streaming service in existence wouldn't be complete without talking about the 800 pound gorilla of streaming, so that's exactly what we do in this episode! Join Paul, Renee, and Zachary as we discuss the functionality and content of Netflix...

In a decade that saw the release of such science fiction blockbusters as Terminator 2, The Matrix, and Independence Day, The Fifth Element stood out as something completely different: a film with so much style that it made it easy to excuse its relative lack of substance, and which wasn't afraid to be as funny as it was cool. Science Fiction cinema has changed a lot in the intervening years - it's...

For the weekend of 4/9/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul offer up 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from a creature features, to classic documentaries, to zombie cops - there's something for everyone (assuming everyone likes at least one of those things)! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any...

The advent of seemingly limitless new streaming services has given rise to a number of new niche services devoted to genre-specific content. If you're a horror fan, you've probably at least heard of Shudder, the largest horror-centric streaming service currently available. In this episode, we take a look at the functionality and content of Shudder, discuss some of our favorite offerings on the pla...

2017 saw the release of what should have been one of the biggest films of the decade - Justice League. Featuring some of the most well known characters in popular culture - Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman - it was the film that comic fans had been waiting for - except it wasn't. Meeting with tepid reviews from even hardcore fans, Justice League was doomed to go down in history as an expensive remin...

In our second (and final, we promise) episode on Mad Max: Fury Road, the Videstore Junkies dissect the last half of the film and then give their final ratings and thoughts on this installment - and the franchise as a whole. If you haven’t already listened to it, go back and check out Episode 006, where we kick off our coverage on Fury Road with background information on the film and our thoughts o...

When it comes to unique monsters, killer pants are are pretty high on the novelty scale. Director Elza Kephart's Slaxx has one of the most original premises in recent memory, but does the final film belong in a boutique - or in the bargain bin? Renee, Paul, and Zachary take a spoiler-free look at the latest Shudder exclusive and give their thoughts on the highs and lows of this fashion-horror film...

Much like podcasts about movies, it seems like streaming services are a dime-a-dozen these days. Except most of them cost way more than a dime (the streaming services, not the podcasts), so we're here to tell you which ones are actually worth your hard-earned cheddar and which ones should go the way of actual videostores. In this episode, Paul, Renee, and Zachary discuss the newly launched Paramou...

George Miller began his life as a filmmaker with the release of Mad Max in 1979, and throughout a long and varied career as the director of such films as The Witches of Eastwick, Babe: Pig in the City, and Happy Feet, it seems that the world of Mad Max is one that he’s never entirely left. 30 years after the release of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - and almost 20 years after originally conceiving of...

For the weekend of 3/19/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul offer up 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from an animated classic, to psychopathic babysitters, to vintage 70s rock romps. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but someti...

For the weekend of 3/12/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul offer up 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from a classic sci-fi revenge saga, to the futuristic wasteland of 1990, to...Shrek?! The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but so...

Several installments of the Mad Max series are generally considered to be among the best action films of all time. And then there's Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - a film beloved by some and derided by others. It's understandable that this is the most divisive sequel in the series: much to the chagrin of many fans, the brooding Max from The Road Warrior is replaced with a slightly softer, more human...

For the weekend of 3/5/21, Renee, Zachary, and Paul offer up 6 recommendations for your weekend viewing pleasure, ranging from British comedy to 70s exploitation to one of the greatest horror comedies of the 80s. The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), bu...

The advent of online streaming services has given the average film fan instant access to more viewing options than at any time in history (no matter how big your local videostore was), but sometimes it can be hard to settle on something to watch. But fear not, the Videostore Junkies have you covered, offering up a fresh batch of picks every week that you can add to your queue on almost every major...