After helping him get out of his previous contract (and some messy business with some Triads) Jackie Chan owed martial arts superstar Jimmy Wang Yu some big favors, and he started paying up by appearing briefly in the truly bizarre 1983 action/comedy FANTASY MISSION FORCE. Despite a plot structure that (loosely) copies The Dirty Dozen, FANTASY MISSION FORCE throws in amazons, Nazis, vampires, ghosts, Brigitte Lin, musical numbers, Mad Max-style cars and lots and lots of explosions. There's even a few kung fu fights for good measure, It's far from boring, but is it any good? Let's find out!

The post Episode 222 – We Do Our Own Stunts – Fantasy Mission Force (1983) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

On this very special episode of GEORGE KENNEDY IS MY COPILOT we're joined by the Swedish writer and George Kennedy-enthusiast Anders Landby to discuss his work covering the career of George Kennedy, his Instagram page devoted to George Kennedy, and the proper way to pronounce "Smorgasbord"! Luckily he also joins us to discuss a rare 1980s PSA featuring George Kennedy as well as the totally bizarre sasquatch/alien/zombie sci-fi/horror film DEMONWARP from 1984. It's a whole lot of fun, so stop what you're doing and LISTEN!

The post Episode 221 – George Kennedy is My Copilot – Demonwarp (1988) (/w Anders Landby) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.

On this episode of BARTEL ME SOMETHING GOOD (the world's finest Paul Bartel-themed podcast) we're tackling Paul Bartel's final directorial feature, the sadly abused (and semi-unavailable) bunker comedy SHELF LIFE from 1993! Born out of a stage-play by stars O-Lan Jones, Andrea Stein, and Jim Turner, Bartel turns it into a wildly visual phantasmagoria of rituals, re-enactments and hormonally confusing games, with a typically wicked sense of humor. Check it out!

The post Episode 220 – Bartel Me Something Good – Shelf Life (1993) first appeared on Cinema Smorgasbord.