Monday, May 31, 2021

Your 2021 Junesploitation Primer

 by Patrick Bromley

Getting you ready for 30 days of sickos, psychos, sequels, and sleaze!
Boy, it's been a year, hasn't it? So much has happened since the last Junesploitation that it's hard to believe it's already here again. Thankfully, people are being vaccinated and things are opening back up -- including movie theaters -- but we're still able to watch 30 days' worth of filth and nonsense from our homes, right?

This will be the ninth year we've run Junesploitation (RIP 30 Stars of Summer), and it has become an essential part of our annual calendar at F This Movie!. What started as an excuse to watch some trashy movies has expanded into a full-blown month-long party, and it's all because of your enthusiasm and participation. You all are the best.
Several of you have already made your Junesploitation viewing lists and even published them in some cases, which is awesome. The level of excitement we see online for this goofy made-up holiday is genuinely awesome and makes the whole thing so much more fun. If you aren't yet sure what you want to watch -- or you aren't sure what certain categories mean -- this primer should hopefully help you explore the weird and wonderful world of exploitation movies.

As mentioned in the original Junesploitation announcement, there are a ton of streaming services from which to choose titles: Shudder, Night FlightFull Moon Streaming, Brown Sugar, Shout! Factory TV, plus free sites that have large libraries like TubiTV, as well as the usual Netflix (which is pretty worthless for anything but Netflix-produced content these days, though some newer horror films can be found there), Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video, a true GOLD MINE with hundreds of kung fu, horror, and exploitation films available in their library. Also check out Shaw Brothers Universe, which is a great resource to tell you where hundreds of amazing kung fu films are available to stream. The Grindhouse Cinema Database offers hundreds of titles broken up by genre, so that one's good if you're ever feeling stuck on a certain category. 
As is our Junesploitation tradition, we're providing a collection of links (below) that will take you to some recommendations of titles from each day's category. If you're new to Junesploitation, please know that you do not need to watch a movie off of any of these lists (except for the ones with a finite number of titles like Jackie Chan or Lucio Fulci or Julie Strain or Henry Silva). These are just here to give you some ideas, but you're free to pick any movie you want that you feel fits into a given category. Remember, the whole point is it have an awesome time and watch a lot of movies, so be sure to make it fun for yourself and watch what you want to watch.

1. ‘80s Action!
2. Slashers!
3. Henry Silva!
4. Westerns!
5. Revenge!
6. Free Space!
7. Sword and Sorcery!
8. Blaxploitation!
9. Italian Horror!
10. Scott Adkins!
11. Vigilantes!
12. Sci Fi!
13. '80s Comedy!
14. Kung Fu!
15. Sequels!
16. Cannon!
17. Fulci!
18. Free Space!
19. Jackie Chan!
20. Musicals!
21. Julie Strain!
22. Zombies!
23. ‘90s Action!
24. Free Space!
25. Cars!
26. ‘80s Horror!
27. Cops!
28. Free Space!
29. Gangsters!
30. Vampires!

Let's do this.

19 comments:

  1. Yay! One more day.

    Does anyone have any recommendations for Westerns that are lively enough for tweens and teens? We watched 3:10 to Yuma (remake) last year, and it was a hit. Tombstone would be an obvious choice, but I rewatched it myself only a couple months ago, so looking for something new to me.

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    1. Howdy Paul...

      a couple that jump to mind: Young Guns (Estevez has alot of fun and charisma) and The Quick and The Dead (its awesome but i believe is R so maybe too much for tweens).

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    2. Thanks Mashke! I see they're both streaming for free on CTV (Canada), so that works great. Bonus: I'll get to finally listen to the "First recorded episode of Fthismovie"!

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    3. The Quick and The Dead (the most recent one) has Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, Russell Crowe and DiCaprio in it! Hollywood royalty. And directed by Raimi!

      How was I not aware this movie existed? OK, I'm officially slotting this one in.

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    4. Woot! You'll totally dig Quick and Dead. It catches Rami in between his brilliant work on the Evil Dead stuff and eventual helming of Spidey. The characters are all a hoot and a modern Western is tough to pull off. Its a great popcorn flick. Enjoy!

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    5. Maverick is a lot of fun as well, if you can get past the whole Mel Gibson thing, of course.

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    6. The Magnificent Seven remake is way better and more fun than one would assume, so that's a great choice if you all haven't seen it yet.

      One more day!!

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  2. May I add one recommendation: The Order of the Black Eagle, a James Bond knock-off/parody from 1987. It has it all: a James Bond knock-off plot, a baboon sidekick, Nazis, ninjas, a ragtag team of mercenaries, and cryonically frozen Hitler. There's no good physical release, but you can find it on YouTube here.

    It fits well with at least 80's Action and Sequels days (it's a sequel to an inferior film called Unmasking the Idol), plus obviously free spaces.

    And if you watch and like it, feel free to send a message to Vinegar Syndrome/Shout Factory/Arrow/whoever you can think of and request a Blu-ray release. I've suggested it (and Unmasking the Idol) a few times but have had no response. Maybe there's strength in numbers.

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    1. Mikko...THANK YOU for this suggestion. One of my favorite rabbit holes is looking for cheezier, off-the-beaten-path flicks on youtube. This one fits the bill and i cant believe ive not heard of it. It will DEFINITELY be one of my junesploitation viewings. Thanks bunches! Ill also hit up Vinegar.

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    2. I kicked off Junesploitation with another movie by this director, Worth Keeter - L.A. Bounty... How could I not watch an 80s action flick in which Sybil Danning plays a Bounty Hunter looking for a psychopathic Wings Hauser

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  3. If anybody is seeking some suggestions for the month, here are some ideas.

    Musicals:

    VOYAGE OF THE ROCK ALIENS (1984) on Prime is the kind of WTF experience that suits this month. Just to let you know, the strange plot begins after the music video.

    The Busby Berkeley musicals of the early 1930s are gems of pre-code Hollywood. Pre-code means they were made before Hollywood censored itself. These films can be surprisingly racy. Films like 42ND STREET, GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933, and FOOTLIGHT PARADE are highlights of Berkeley's career and the musical genre.

    Henry Silva: THE ITALIAN CONNECTION is a terrific film all around. Silva plays a hitman going after a pimp who is blamed for stealing heroin. CRY OF A PROSTITUTE is one of his best starring roles, but the film has some very uncomfortable violence directed against women. LOVE AND BULLETS is not one that I would suggest for a first watch of Silva's work. I found that film to be very dull.

    Free: If anyone enjoys hillbilly humor, PREACHERMAN (1971) is a vintage slice of drive-in hicksploitation available on Prime. Wandering preacher Amos Huxley is not quite the angel he pretends to be, and his lies only get him in worse situations. The title song is terrific, telling the story of the film as it goes along. Definitely not a film for everyone, but it is better than most films of this nature.

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  4. A few suggestions from me as well...

    Blacksploitation: If you havent seen it, i cannot give high enough praise to Black Dynamite. Full disclosure: its a parody of Blacksploitation but i think that qualifies. IT IS BRILLIANT. Seriously. That being said, if you want to stick with original flicks from the genre, i highly suggest picking from Jim Kellys films. They are great and served as inspiration for some of the humor in Black Dynamite.

    Jackie Chan: Same thing...if you havent seen it, you cannot go wrong with Drunken Master 2...aka...The Legend of the Drunken Master. As an enormous fan of his movies i can guarantee you wont be disappointed with this movie.

    Kung Fu: Seek out The Return of the Five Deadly Venoms aka Crippled Avengers...the original venoms movie is great as well but the sequel has some creative ideas with the characters. Other fun titles: Five Elements Ninja (old school fun), Iron Monkey (more modern, incredible martial arts stuff).

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  5. Awesome primer! Thanks Patrick

    Looking for a high-energy exploitation recommendation for a movie marathon for friends I'm preparing for late June.

    It'll come on at 2AM, following The Devils (the midnight movie). Anyone got any recommends for early-morning weirdness/awesomeness/energyness for that time slot? Thanks in advance!

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    1. Ninja III: The Domination immediately comes to mind. It is weird, full of energy, and has very strong 1980s vibes. Any written description of Ninja III does not do the film justice.

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    2. I'd like to direct you to my post about Order of the Black Eagle above. You can thank me later.

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    3. Seen Ninja III. It's def in the running. Order of the Black Eagle sounds bonkers! Thanks for the tip.

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  6. Anyone else not able to sign into letterboxd? lol

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  7. yo how good is Blood Games tho? So good. Too good.

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