Stinker Madness - The Podcast for Bad Movie Lovers

Twister - We'll Miss You, Bill Paxton

We all lost a huge part of our show and entertainment in general in the passing of Bill Paxton. He was a one of a kind type of actor and while that may seem cliche to say in the wake of someone's death in Hollywood, we'll stand by it. Bill had a depth that few possess, taking roles as varied as the pyschotic Severen in Near Dark (and is the only reason to watch the movie) to the silly Matt Owens in (Slipstream) to the model for a douche in Simon from True Lies (and steals the comedic show from Arnold and Arnold) to the warm but frightened Fred Haise in Apollo 13. The guy could play anything. 
So with that in mind, we tackle the 1996 disasterooney of Twister. With all its cliches and tropes that run rampant in the disaster genre, can the immensely popular film stand up to 20 years of time since its release? Who is this Helen Hunt lady? How did Phillip Seymour Hoffman become a thing? Is that a flying cow? All this and more revealed in our podcast episode. Listen to it!
Twister is WOW stupid. It falls into that mold of "these characters should have died in multiple instances but don't thanks to ludicrous writing". And they are all pretty blatant. One does not need to be a forensic scientist to understand that these people died multiple times. Pretty awesome stupid.
The acting...wow. Bill and Helen Hunt do fine with their roles but EVERY single other actor blows at least one line, with Jami Gertz leading the crappy acting battle charge. It's hilarious.
The action is fairly stupid and nonstop. In one sequence, the find themselves being chased down by a 'nado while being stuck in a ditch at 75mph. The chase ends in a head-on collision. Then there's the Dodge Ram. The most invincible vehicle ever built. Crap is flying all over the place at all times, the 'nados are monsters with sentience and a voice, and the heavy amount of 'nados in one day would imply that the Midwest is a desolate wasteland and completely unliveable (oh wait, that's true). 
The science is bad, the physics are bad, the invulnerability of humans and trucks are a staple, plot convenience abounds (where are they getting all these Dorothys?) and it never lets up. Go ahead and take a revisit of Twister and if you haven't seen it, stop what you're doing and check it out.

Encino Man - Proof positive that weed works

We get straight to weezin' the juice as a caveman gets called out for being, well...a caveman. It's that old story of boy meets girl, boy gets frozen in a glacier and then boy meets potheads and learns the wonders of the doobage.
Encino Man is a movie that shouldn't be any fun at all. But it is. End of story. It has that strange ability to be not funny but fun throughout. It's outlandish, ridiculous, and stupid but never stops being a wild ride.
What may not be overtly stated is that the movie tells us that the only way to not get murdered by a caveman and have a smooth transition for him into modern society is marijuana. There's no onscreen use of the pot but behind the scenes it's heavily implied. If you know anything about potheads and the things that surround them, you'll spot this pretty easily. Stoney (Pauly Shore) is the easy spot but those who know what I'm talking about will also recognize Dave (Sean Astin) as that straight-laced fella whose parents don't know he's into the weed.
Need to seduce the popular girl and become prom-king? Dig a swimming pool by yourself with just a shovel. Potheads.
So you find a caveman...and you put him in a shed with heaters so that he will thaw out....while you're at school. Potheads.
Believe that the pile of melted ice in said shed means that the caveman melted along with the ice. Potheads.
Believe that being friends with a caveman will make you popular at school and get the girl. Potheads.
Even Dave's parents are potheads as evidenced by "Who is this caveman-looking-guy? And what's up with the house being trashed?" says mom. Dave's reply: "He's that exchange student I told you about." Mom: "Oh...ok I forget crap all the time!" Potheads.
So much fun and shenanigans make Encino Man a great revisit from a popular film that shouldn't stand up to time but totally does. Check it out as soon as you can.
Individual Ratings:
Over the top action:Cheesy effects:Horrendous acting:Laugh-out-loud-ability:Ridiculous stunts:Gratuitous nudity:Memorable one-liners:Riffability:
Overall Ratings:
Good Movie Quality: Bad Movie Quality:

Prelude to Encino Man

After weeks of pitching a fit, Jackie is subjected to a film she appears to be not much of a fan of. It's the story of a caveman frozen in ice for millennia only to thawed out in early 90's SoCal....what possibly horrors will he (or us) face in Encino Man?!?!
The Stinker Madness Academy Award Special!
We take a look at each of the films and share our meat and two bits with you! That makes this episode a bit on the long side but we had quite a bit to say about this years field. There will be spoilers so be careful!
The Wild Card - Good Neighbor, Bad Neighbor
Sean Astin
Brenden Fraser
Pauly Shore

2016 SMABFAs

The hottest awards for bad films in 2016 are here and the winners are all set. Listen to the 2016 SMABFA Podcast and check out all the nominees and winners below.
And the Nominees  & Winners are (winner in bold):
Best Bad Movie - The Most Enjoyable Bad Movie
London Has Fallen
Gods of Egypt
Nine Lives
Independence Day: Resurgence
Zoolander 2
Worst Bad Movie - The Least Enjoyable Bad Movie
Mother's Day
Warcraft
Suicide Squad
Xmen: Apocalypse
Allegiant
Best Bad Actor - Most Enjoyable Performance by a Male Actor
Gerard Butler - Gods of Egypt
Brent Spiner - Independence Day: Resurgence
Gerard Butler - London Has Fallen
Christopher Walken - Nine Lives
Kevin Spacey - Nine Lives
Best Bad Actress - Most Enjoyable Performance by a Female Actor
Margot Robbie - Suicide Squad
Maika Monroe - The 5th Wave
Vivica A. Fox - Independence Day: Resurgence
Emily Blunt - The Huntsman: Winter's War
Charlize Theron - The Huntsman: Winter's War
MST3K Most Riffable - The easiest and most fun to make fun of film while viewing
Gods of Egypt
The 5th Wave
Nine Lives
Ben-Hur
Independence Day: Resurgence
Worst Bad Actor - Least Enjoyable Performance by a Male Actor
Jared Leto - Suicide Squad
Jesse Eisenberg - Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice
Johnny Depp - Alice Through the Looking Glass
Daniel Radcliffe - Now You See Me 2
Jeff Goldblum - Independence Day: Resurgence
Worst Bad Actress - Least Enjoyable Performance by a Female Actor
Jennifer Garner - Nine Lives
Anne Hathaway - Alice Through the Looking Glass
Jennifer Aniston - Mother's Day
Kate Hudson - Mother's Day
Cara Delevingne - Suicide Squad

Gymkata - Don't let Trump watch this

USA Gold Medal magnet, Kurt Thomas, stars as John Cabot, a USA Gold Medal magnet/super secret agent/diplomat to strange lands. So he solo invades Parmistan, an absolutely insane country, to play "The Game" to get a satellite substation. Well that makes perfect sense!
Gymkata is serious shenanigans. It could be argued that it's the most bonkers movie we've reviewed and definitely the most poorly thought out. While most might focus on the unawesome martial art that combines gymnastics and karate (which puts it in the Streaming Do's and Don'ts realm) the country of Parmistan is our focus. Parmistan is impossible. It can't work. How does diplomacy work? Do they have foreign trade? Is their military only made of ninja or are they more like the secret police? Is there a system of government besides the Khan? I personally believe that someone, probably Pakistan, would have bombed Parmistan back into the Stone Age, but Parmistan never got out of the Stone Age so I guess bomb them back to the times of the dinosaurs (they may also have dinosaurs).
This is a really terrible movie. Sure, it's fun. But not fun in the usual manner. Take Megaforce for example. It's really bad but it's awesome. The action is awesome, the vehicles are awesome, the bad guy's awesome. It drips awesome. But Gymkata is the opposite. When Kurt Thomas fights guys using his special style it's quite not awesome. It's laughable at how dump it looks. If a child pretends to fight with Gymkata with their friends in the backyard, they are going to get beat up. It's a one way ticket to Bullytown.
This is a so bad it's amazing material. SOOOOO bad. Great time.

Prelude to Gymkata

This week on the podcast we gear up for one of the most notorious bad movies ever made and a hallmark of stupidity. When you need to invade a country that doesn't make any sense, send in an Olympic Gold Medalist!
The Wild Card - The Great Superpower Debate
Immunity to negative drug side effects - 7.75 out of 10 stars
The 2016 SMABFA Nominations
Best Bad Movie
The Huntsman: Winter’s War
London Has Fallen
Gods of Egypt
Mechanic: Resurrection
Nine Lives
Zoolander 2
The Boy
Independence Day: Resurgence
Worst Bad Movie
Mother’s Day
Alice Through the Looking Glass
Warcraft
Now You See Me 2
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Suicide Squad
X-Men: Apocalypse
Ghostbusters
Allegiant
Best Bad Actor
Gerard Butler -  Gods of Egypt
Kevin Spacey – Nine Lives
Gerard Butler - London has Fallen
Jason Statham – Mechanic: Resurrection
Brent Spiner – Independence Day: Resurgence
Bill Pullman - Independence Day: Resurgence
Chris Hemsworth -  Huntsman: Winter’s War
Christopher Walken – Nine Lives
Worst Bad Actor
Jared Leto - Suicide Squad
Tye Sheridan – Xmen: Apocalypse
Bill Murray – Ghostbusters
Daniel Radcliffe – Now You See Me 2
Jeff Goldblum – Independence Day: Resurgence
John Depp – Alice through the Looking Glass
Jesse Eisenberg – Batman V Superman
Best Bad Actress
Emily Blunt - Huntsman: Winter’s War
Charlize Theron - Huntsman: Winter’s War
Jessica Alba – Mechanic: Resurrection
Gal Gadot: Batman V Superman
Margot Robbie - Suicide Squad
Kristen Wig - Zoolander 2
Maika Monroe – 5th Wave
Vivica A. Fox – ID4; 2
Penelope Cruz – Zoolander 2
Anne Hathaway – Alice through the Looking Glass
Aubrey Plaza – Dirty Grandpa
Worst Bad Actress
Jessica Alba – Mechanic: Resurrection
Kate McKinnon – Ghostbusters
Jennifer Aniston – Mother’s Day
Lizzy Caplan – Now You See Me 2
Kate Hudson – Mother’s Day
Penelope Cruz – Zoolander 2
Cara Delevingne - Suicide Squad
Anne Hathaway – Alice through the Looking Glass
Mia Wasikowska - Alice through the Looking Glass
Jennifer Garner – Nine Lives
MST3K Riffibility 
Nine Lives
Ben-Hur
Mechanic: Resurrection
Independence Day: Resurgence
Batman V Superman
Dirty Grandpa
The 5th Wave
Gods of Egypt
Huntsman – Winter’s War

She-Devil - The 80's strike down women again!

Roseanne gets "vengeance" upon a hubby-stealing romance novelist, by destroying her own life, abandoning her children, treating other's as pawns in her master plan, and exploiting the weak and trusting women in need that the films tells you she is freeing from oppression. This thing is a mondo-turd.
I hate this movie. I'll make no apologies to start. It's not funny. It's infuriatingly preposterous and at no point can one sympathize or appreciate any of the characters. They are the "basket of deplorables" that I believe Mrs. Clinton was speaking about; politics aside, she just hated these three people. Let's start with the easy spots: Ed Begley's Bob and Meryl Streep's Mary. The viewer isn't supposed to like them. They are the antagonists with Bob being an emotionally abusive and cheating husband (with a side order of being a buffoon) and Mary, an egotistical, spoiled and sociopathic bitch (for lack of a better word). Sure, they're the bad guys. You shouldn't like them. But in a comedy, you should enjoy them. In this POS, the screen-time shared between Begley and Streep comes across as a poor impression of The Three Stooges (minus 1). "Wow, aren't they zany!?" said the producer. The audience responds by pissing on said producer's pants.
Then there's ol' Ruth (Barr). Now she's had a rough go, right? Her husband's a twat, society told her that she's growdy and that darn Mary is just everywhere reminding her how inferior she is. So instead of taking a stand and defending herself against the offenses of her environment she plays along. She takes these punches and even stands by her cheating husband saying "He'll get bored of Mary and come back to me. I just need to be the good, dutiful wife until then." I'm sorry, you want him back? Strike one. Strike two is that you've let this happen before. The film subtly states that this isn't Bob's first escapade in cheating. Strike three, he's verbally abusive to you. I'm sorry but I feel that in even in sexist 1989, any woman that we should view as an inspiration should probably have told Bob at some point to eat shit. Yes I understand that abused women sometimes get a version of Stockholm Syndrome, but I'm not trying to make a point about reality. I'm making a point about a film that says that women shouldn't take no shit from no asshole, even if they are their husbands (and that is correct) but the film also states that hey, if you get lonely after you do, why not take him back? Screw this.
Then there's the worst part of Ruth's "journey": her exploitation of the women around her. Her character starts as an abused and low self-esteemed housewife with no chance at anything because of what society and her husband has told her. Ok...then she starts an employment agency that specializes in finding placement for women that are exactly like she was. Ok.....but then she uses them, ruining their lives, as part of her revenge plot against Bob and Mary. She doesn't help these women. She exploits their weaknesses just as had been done upon her. Fuck this person and fuck this movie.
In the end, take away these massively unlikable and unenjoyable characters and your left with a film with a poor story, little to none quality humor, absent directing, and too many cooks trying to pull the film into different directions of a women's empowerment piece and a screwball comedy and accomplishes neither of them. Avoid at all costs.

Prelude to She-Devil

Roseanne Barr and Meryll Streep join up to deliver the yucks and yuck is what they deliver in a tale about a scorned middle-American housewife revengifying the atrocities committed upon her person and also liberating womankind from oppressions. She just makes things worse....
Listener Feedback
@StinkerMadness Inappreciate you guys redoing a whole show to get it on the air. Technical difficulties suck. It happens. Still funny ?
— Ry (@ryanmoralesaz) January 9, 2017
Brad Slager AKA @martinishark
You guys can NOT deprive us of SMABFAS! Gut it out!!!! (he says from the frigid climes of So. Florida)
Take a look at Brad's Worst of 2016 list!
http://www.misfitspolitics.com/misfitmigrants/the-worst-films-of-2016-a-viewers-guide
Streaming Do's and Don'ts
Tenement - YouTube
Demolition Man - HBO Now
Dreamcatcher - Netflix
The Wild Card - The Great Superpower Debate
Gun Butt - 3/10 Stars

Odds and Evens - Legit Comedy Shenanigans

Terrence Hill and Bud Spencer put on their best Abbott & Costello hats and deliver the hijinxs en masse. It's a banana show of endless goofs and shenanigans that never lets off the gas.
The problem with this movie is....nothing. This is just a great legitimate comedy. We didn't laugh AT this movie, we laughed with it. The jokes are timed impeccably. They are new and fresh and unique. While completely outlandish and bonkers, this film never gets into that dangerous 70's live-action cartoon territory (we're talking to you C.H.O.M.P.S.). It's brilliant and a model for classic slap-stick that put the Zucker brothers in such high standing.
Bud and Terrance are, as they should be, your classic comedy duo. They are complete opposites and tie right into the ol' straight-man/goof-ball model. But the unique thing is that the giant beast man that bares an uncanny semblance to Andre The Giant is the straight man, while the handsome, charming and snappy guy is the Daffy Duck. It's fantastic and works so well for these two.
While the plot may be a bit dubious (the Navy wants to secure their hold on the Florida gaming market from the mob?) and some of the character motivations are...unexpected, this film delivers something that most modern comedy can't - legitimate laughs mixed with over-the-top shenanigans. We applaud this film and should be a much bigger deal.

Prelude to Odds and Evens

For 22 pictures, Terrance Hill and Bud Spencer played the ultimate in comedic buddy-cop movies and this week on the podcast, Sam brings in one of their best in Odds and Evens.
Streaming Do's and Don'ts
Icebreaker w/ Rifftrax - Amazon Prime
Vehicle 19 - Netflix
Gor II (Outlaw of Gor) - MST3K YouTube
The Wild Card - Good Neighbor, Bad Neighbor (Buddy Cops)
Riggs & Murtaugh - Lethal Weapon
Cates & Hammond - 48 Hrs.