Pass the Golden Popcorn - Friendly Mushroom Productions

Best Villain 2007: This. Is. PRADA!!! w/ Cullen Atchley

Pass the Golden Popcorn

Best Villain 2007: This. Is. PRADA!!! w/ Cullen Atchley

00:00 / 2:00:38

Kenny and Ben are joined by their friend Cullen for a spirited look at Best Villain 2007! Jack Nicholson proved he still had it with his role in The Departed but was he better than the villains of Saw III, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, 300, and The Devil Wears Prada. The gang gets to the bottom of it while also discussing multiple Wahlbergs and Wahlberg-adjacent figures, the only Best Villain performance delivered entirely while lying down, the effectiveness of our first all-CGI villain, the South Park 300 spoof, Ben’s disappointment that Meryl Streep wasn’t playing the literal devil, and more! It’s an episode that Miranda Priestly herself would approve of!

October 27, 2022October 13, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Kiss 2022: Love Bites

Pass the Golden Popcorn

Best Kiss 2022: Love Bites

00:00 / 1:42:18

Kenny and Ben take a break from Best Villain to return to the world of kissing and this year’s Best Kiss nominees. Jackass Forever had a surprise victory with their interspecies kiss between man and snake but was that really better than kisses from Euphoria, Emily in Paris, The Batman, and Spider-Man: No Way Home? Kenny and Ben get to the bottom of it while also discussing the even better snake kiss that happened during Poopies’ acceptance speech, what Euphoria gets right about the teenage experience, knockoff Peloton bikes, the increasing prominence of Catwoman in recent comics, Spider-Man fanservice, and much more. Kissing is back and you won’t want to miss it!

October 20, 2022October 12, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2006: Not Enough Finger Stuff w/ Ethan Brundeen

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Best Villain 2006: Not Enough Finger Stuff w/ Ethan Brundeen

00:00 / 2:13:19

It’s been a long hiatus but the wait is finally over. Kenny and Ben are back and they’ve brought their pal Ethan with them for a rousing discussion of Best Villain 2006! Hayden Christiansen won that year for his turn as Anakin “Darth Vader” Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith, but was he really better than the villains of Saw II, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Batman Begins, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe?! The boys get to the bottom of it while also discussing if anyone could have given a good Anakin performance, needle pits, a blow by blow description of Kenny’s favourite Goblet of Fire scene, the Nickelback TV spot for Batman Begins, the craziness of the Narnia franchise, and more! We’ve been gone a long time but we haven’t missed a beat (arguably!)

October 12, 2022October 12, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2005: Worst Possible Winner w/ Maggie Grossman

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Best Villain 2005: Worst Possible Winner w/ Maggie Grossman

00:00 / 3:18:46

Almost two months ago, Kenny and Ben recorded their longest episode ever with their pal Maggie. Now, due to a multitude of issues (Kenny’s laptop breaking) that episode went unreleased and the show went on hiatus much earlier than scheduled. But no longer. Presenting now, our biggest episode ever. Ben Stiller won Best Villain for his turn in Dodgeball but when the competition is A Series of Unfortunate Events, Collateral, Mean Girls, and Spider-Man 2, was he really the best choice? Spoiler alert: no he was not. Our trio breaks down why plus talks a lot about stuff I no longer remember because this was recorded months ago. Enjoy! The pod returns in September.

July 14, 2022July 14, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2004: Ken Ben: Volume 46

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Best Villain 2004: Ken Ben: Volume 46

00:00 / 2:06:41

Kenny and Ben are on an epic mission of revenge. Whoops did we say revenge? We meant “ranking another year of Best Villain nominees.” Lucy Liu won for her turn as O-Ren in Kill Bill: Volume 1, but is she really a better villain than the villains of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003), Charlie Angels: Full Throttle, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, and Phone Booth? Kenny and Ben get into it while also talking about their limitations in finding interesting things to say about great movies, how one of them didn’t realize that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a remake, the mesmerizing weirdness of Full Throttle, if Barbossa is too boring compared to the other larger than life characters in Pirates 1, the long development cycle of Phone Booth, and more. It’s as much as fun as being a pirate probably.

June 1, 2022June 1, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2003: Bonesaw Was Ready, 1862 New York Was Not

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Best Villain 2003: Bonesaw Was Ready, 1862 New York Was Not

00:00 / 2:09:48

Kenny and Ben are back with takes so fresh it’s almost like this episode was recorded two days before it released. Best Villain 2003 went to Daveigh Chase’s memorable turn in The Ring, but was she really better than the villains of Spider-Man, Gangs of New York, Daredevil, and Austin Powers in Goldmember?! Kenny and Ben get into it while also getting into if movies should account for the fact that they might be watched at 2x speed, the career of Superhero Movie director Craig Mazin, the only other Daniel Day-Lewis movie Ben has seen, a plea for an upbeat take on Daredevil, Seth Green’s NFT woes, and more! Plus a preview of some of the 2022 Best Villain and Best Kiss nominees and a very good impression of everyone’s favourite Spider-Man character Bonesaw!

May 26, 2022May 25, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2002: I Understand This Robot Chicken Sketch Now

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Best Villain 2002: I Understand This Robot Chicken Sketch Now

00:00 / 1:55:35

Kenny and Ben are back and King Kong ain’t got nothing on them when they tackle Best Villain 2002. Denzel Washington wins for Training Day in a rare villianous role but is he better than the villains of Queen of the Damned, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Planet of the Apes (2001), and Rush Hour 2? Kenny and Ben get to the bottom of it while also talking about a deep dive on one obscure Robot Chicken sketch, the weirdness of Queen of the Damned technically being an Interview With the Vampire sequel, their relative unfamiliarity with one of the biggest Fantasy franchises of all time, complicated twist endings, blooper reels, and more! It’s another good one so be sure to listen.

May 19, 2022May 19, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2001: Whoville is Like Sodom and Gomorrah w/ Shane Cannon

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Best Villain 2001: Whoville is Like Sodom and Gomorrah w/ Shane Cannon

00:00 / 1:59:03

Kenny and Ben are rejoined by their friend Shane who did entirely too much prep work for this episode. Jim Carrey won Best Villain for How the Grinch Stole Christmas but should he really have won over the villains Hollow Man, The Cell, Hannibal, and Gladiator? Should he even have been nominated? The gang gets into it while also discussing Kenny’s very specific hang-ups about the live-action Dr. Seuss adaptations, the rules of being partially visible, bad direct to video sequels, skin hooks, putting too much effort into silly bits, how Ridley Scott came to direct Hannibal, Oliver Reed, and more. All this plus someone dies?! You won’t want to miss this one.

May 12, 2022May 11, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 2000: Bittersweet SITH-phony w/ Emilio Diaz

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Best Villain 2000: Bittersweet SITH-phony w/ Emilio Diaz

00:00 / 2:16:35

Kenny and Ben are once again joined by their friend Emilio for a lively discussion on Best Villain 2000. Mike Meyers wins again for his performance as Dr. Evil in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, but how does he stack up to the villains of The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cruel Intentions, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, and Sleepy Hollow? The gang tries to get to the bottom of it, while also discussing Mini-Me, the tragic dimensions of the Tom Ripley Characters, Ben’s experience watching both sequels to Cruel Intentions, Kenny’s experience watching The Phantom Menace as a 6-year-old, the weirdness of nominating Christopher Walken for a performance that’s mostly Ray Park, and much more! This contains maybe the highest quality of movie conversations yet so get listening!

May 4, 2022May 4, 2022Leave a Comment

Best Villain 1999: To Untie a Tie

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Best Villain 1999: To Untie a Tie

00:00 / 1:46:56

Kenny and Ben face an unprecedented situation as they dive into the only tie result in MTV Movie Awards History! Audiences couldn’t decide between Matt Dillon in There’s Something About Mary and Stephen Dorff in Blade but our intrepid hosts try to as they weight them against the villains of Bride of Chucky, Lethal Weapon 4, and Jawbreaker. Who will come up on top? The boys talk it out while also discussing jokes that drag on too long, how Morbius almost appeared in Blade, disappointing revivals of beloved franchises, how Mel Gibson should absolutely not direct a 5th Lethal Weapon, the pronounciation of the word progenitor and much more! The podcast is taking a week break after this so we made sure this episode was packed with good stuff to tide you over.

April 21, 2022April 20, 2022Leave a Comment

Podcast: Pass the Golden Popcorn