Video Store Podcast

Hey gang, We’re hiring here at the Video Store! If you’ve got a passion for film, some podcasting experience, and a good quality microphone, the Video Store might just be the place for you. If you’re interested, please drop us a line in our direct chat box. We’re looking forward to hearing from you! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday at the Video Store The red, white, and blue decorations are up at the Video Store as America celebrates its 250th birthday. Across the country, families are gathering for fireworks, cookouts, and long holiday weekends, and there’s no better way to mark the occasion than with a great movie. For this special Fourth of July epis...

I love a good ensemble film, one where a bunch of characters some together and pool their collective talens in order to achieve a common goal. In this week’s episode I’ll be recommending a few films in which multiple characters team up and head out! Smokey and the Bandit (1977) Big Enos and his son have a taste for Coors beer, which back in the 1970s was illegal to ship east of the Mississippi. Th...

Welcome to another episode of The Video Store Podcast. This week I am recommending four movies about undercover work. That can mean a lot of things in movies. Sometimes it is a young cop trying to prove himself. Sometimes it is a guy returning to a place where everyone already knows him. Sometimes it is a job that starts out dangerous and then gets worse because the people doing it begin to lose t...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. The balloons are up. The popcorn machine is running full blast. The sno-cone machine is free today. Here at the Video Store Podcast, we’re celebrating 100 episodes! For this special anniversary, we wanted to do something worthy of the occasion. No clip-show flashbacks. No “greatest hits” countdown. Instead, we headed behind the counter and pulled out four of the...

Happy Memorial Day weekend! If you’ve got a 3-Day Weekend, we’ve got a trilogy that will fit the bill for you. Make a plate and join us for a great weekend of movie trilogies. Guardians of the Galaxy This hilarious trilogy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has something for everyone. Comedy, action, great stunts and effects, and a killer soundtrack for every single film. This film trilogy is a cong...

I love a good heist film. These films always feature a group of criminals coming together to pull off a crime none of them could do on their own. I always enjoy the interaction and banter between the members of the gang, and despite trying to figure out what the group is about to do, like the police chasing them, I’m usually one step behind. There are many classic films including the Oceans 11 fra...

On this episode of The Video Store Podcast, I am recommending four movies about the people who get called when somebody has made a mess, crossed the wrong person, or needs a situation to go away quietly. The movies this week are Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Wise Guys (1986), La Femme Nikita (1990), and Pulp Fiction (1994) . They all deal with that idea in different ways, from a press agent tryin...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. As the 1960s rolled into the 1970s, something changed in Hollywood. Movies got bigger. Louder. More chaotic. And sometimes… they were a total disaster, in the best way possible. These were practical, physical, dangerous productions, massive sets, real stunts, and ensemble casts packed with stars who weren’t guaranteed to make it to the end. The disaster movie wa...

We’re having fun with more strange and familiar things this week on the Video Store Podcast , looking at four films that the Duffer Brothers took inspiration from for the second season of Stranger Things . If you missed the first installment of this series, go check out the first part, “Things to Watch After Stranger Things I.” Ghostbusters (1984) We’re keeping it light and breezy to start this we...

Welcome back to the Video Store Podcast. It is a complete coincidence that today, on 4/20, I am taking a look at some of the best “stoner comedies” of all time. While I personally “just say no,” I like celebrating 4/20 my own way — by revisiting films that are “high”ly recommended. In Up in Smoke (1978), Cheech and Chong’s first film, Pedro (Cheech Marin) picks up a hitchhiking “Man” (Tommy Chong)...

This week on The Video Store Podcast, I am recommending four movies built around one of the simplest and most reliable science fiction ideas there is, shrinking people down. It is a strong trope because every one of these films understands that once a character gets small, nothing has to be exotic to feel dangerous. A bloodstream can look like deep space. A shopping cart can feel absurd and threat...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. The 1990s were a golden age for legal dramas and comedies. we’re stepping into the courtroom with four unforgettable films that deliver everything from shocking twists to laugh-out-loud moments. Whether you’re here for high-stakes drama or sharp-witted comedy, consider this your jury duty… and trust me, you won’t want to skip out on this one. Primal Fear (1996)...

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There are many reasons to watch movies. We watch them to learn, to laugh, to cheer, jeer, and fear. One of the most wonderful things about film is that they allow us to escape reality, if only for a couple of hours. Like many of you I have a long list of “feel good” films I put on when times are bleak and I want to escape. On this episode I am recommending four “feel good” movies maybe you haven’t...

This week I wanted to stick with movies that came out with soundtracks that felt current when the films were released. Not older songs brought in to set a mood, and not a random collection pulled together afterward, but albums that felt tied to the moment the studio was trying to sell. Fast Times at Ridgemont High , from 1982, is a good example. The soundtrack album came out that July, and Jackson...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. It’s March, the snow is slowly melting, and the world is turning green. Everywhere you look, stores are pushing the same movies about leprechauns and four-leaf clovers. I’m here to give you a break from the lucky charms and offer up four different movies for the green spring season. Soylent Green (1973) Set in a crowded, overheated dystopian future, Soylent Gree...

Welcome back to the Video Store Podcast . It’s Women’s History Month, so today, we’re honoring the life of Jane Baer, a trailblazer for women in animation. We lost Jane on February 16, 2026, and though you may not have known her name, you have seen her work. Her work has been so influential that we’ve already talked about a few of her films here on the Video Store Podcast . We’ve selected 4 films...

Greek mythology has a way of cycling back. Every generation seems to take a turn with these stories, reshaping them to fit the tools and tastes of the moment. With a new version of The Odyssey directed by Christopher Nolan on the horizon, it feels like a good time to revisit a few earlier attempts. Not the definitive versions. Just four films that each capture a different moment in how the myths w...

The XXV Winter Olympic Games are underway in Milan, Italy and I couldn’t be happier. I love the Olympics. I’ll admit, the Summer Games are my favorite, but growing up in the frozen tundra of the Midwest gave me a soft spot for nearly every Winter event. So, while Team USA fights for gold, I figured: what better way to get into the Olympic spirit than by watching some great movies inspired by the W...

Valentine’s Day is a holiday, so of course, I’m talking Valentine’s Day specials on this week’s Video Store Podcast . I’ve picked four specials for the staff picks wall this week that I think everyone should watch this time of year. These specials either make me laugh, have a different flavor than you might expect for a Valentine’s Day special, and one that actually changed popular culture. Grab t...

If you’ve been snowed in thanks to last week’s winter storm, you’re not alone. The entire parking lot of our Video Store is covered with three feet of snow. I’ve been stuck here for three days, living off of popcorn, Hot Tamales candy, and Red Bull. You and I are not the only ones completely snowed in — so were the characters in these films. I say “were” because not everyone makes it to the end of...

This week on the Video Store Podcast I am recommending four sequels that understood what they were doing. Not every follow up needs to top the original. Sometimes the smarter move is to change perspective, lean into experience, or admit that the audience already knows the rules. These films take different approaches, but all of them show intent rather than obligation. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)...

Welcome to the Video Store Podcast. I’ve been watching a lot of football lately. College bowl games are on just about every night and the NFL playoffs are in full swing. Really the only thing better than watching a football game is watching a movie about football and there are some great ones to watch. This week on the Video Store Podcast, I’m spotlighting four movies about football. These are foo...

Welcome back to the Video Store! We’re kicking off the New Year with a look at some of the films that inspired the hit television series Stranger Things . Get your Eggos, Reese’s Pieces, and settle in for some classic films that helped to give Stranger Things its strange, yet familiar aesthetic and themes. For this episode, we’re only focusing on season one, so don’t worry if you’ve not gotten to...