From million-dollar flops to trending indie movies, for every classic cinematic achievement, there have been hundreds of failures. Be honest, how many of those flops are your favs? And have you ever wondered whether those infamous “bottom shelf” movies are as bad as their reputations suggest? Dallas Mora, John Harju, and their team sure have! That’s exactly what The Bottom Shelf podcast – our October Podcast of the Month – explores.
Hosted by an energetic and engaging crew of amateur movie critics, this podcast dives deep into the worst-rated films to decide whether they truly deserve their spot at the bottom of the “five for $2 bin.” More importantly, they might have found a quiet space that offers happiness to your heart. With a unique blend of illogical reasoning and quirky humor, this team is dedicated to saving you from regrettable movie choices – or maybe even finding a hidden gem.
Part of the Geek Devotions Network, in addition to their cinematic sleuthing, The Bottom Shelf podcast reminds listeners that no matter how bad a movie (or day) might be, you’re loved and there’s a purpose for your life. Whether you’re here for the film fun or just stumbled across their content, you’re in for a delightful and heartfelt experience.
The production of The Bottom Shelf is friendly yet professional. What allows you to create that balance?
- At the root of it, we are a bunch of goofballs who are friends in real life. At the same time, we all have a passion for giving our best at whatever we do. It may not be perfect, but excellence and perfection are two different things. So with this grace, we allow each other to run with things and have fun.
The Bottom Shelf and Devoted Geeks Network are committed to letting people know, “You are loved. You are cared for. There is a plan and a purpose for your life. Don’t give up.” Can you give us some background on what inspired this mantra/philosophy?
- The Network philosophy goes back to our overarching ministry, Geek Devotions. Geek Devotions is an internet ministry that takes geek culture and uses it to let people know that they are Loved. It’s a philosophy developed by our founders who are very geeky themselves and saw a world of people who genuinely needed to know there was hope and that someone cared for them. There’s a much longer story to this, however.
Was there anything in particular that spawned the idea for The Bottom Shelf Podcast?
- As friends, we often talked about terrible movies and how some were so bad that we had fun with them. This is likely because we are all Elder Millennials and Gen Xers who grew up on Mystery Science Theater 3000. One day, John posed the question of if we could possibly turn our natural conversations into a podcast and it evolved from there.
What is your favorite ‘bottom shelf’ movie?
- For John it’s likely Battlefield Earth, a movie that he came in disliking, but grew to like it so much that he actually went out and bought a special edition Bluray.
- For Dallas, it’s likely a movie called G-Saviour, which is a live-action adaptation of the long-running franchise, Mobile Suit Gundam.
Have there been any movies that were once on the list, but were removed for some reason?
- Several, but for personal reasons and convictions. Saving Christmas was one of them. It was removed because we didn’t want to put too much of a focus on Christian media that is notoriously not good, thus giving just more opportunity to attack something that is generally made with good intentions.
Has any crew member bailed on reviewing a movie because they thought it was too bad?
- Yes, one person bailed on Velocipastor. For him, the premise of the movie was just too much and he couldn’t do it.
Has any crew member changed their opinion due to being swayed during a recording?
- One of our crew members has changed his mind several times. One notable film was Surf Ninjas. He had not grown up with it and was apprehensive about it. But through the course of the team talking about it his mind was changed.
In a recent episode, How Bad is Batman the Movie – 1966, you mention it was a rare moment when you’re all in the studio together. Where are you all based and how do you coordinate to record your episodes?
- Our team is pretty spread out across the country. We have folks in Washington and Louisiana and have had previous hosts in Florida, and Illinois. We essentially sit down and try to pick a day or two to batch record and coordinate schedules and then use ZenCaster to record.
What other projects are the Devoted Geeks Network affiliated with?
- Geek Devotions > Main Geek Devotions Show where we take geek culture and create weekly devotionals > https://www.youtube.com/geekdevotions
- Comm Talk by Geek Devotions > General geeky conversation with occasional guests >
Branson Boykin - We Read Allegedly > a kind of book club-styled podcast > https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/wereadallegedly
- The Gundam Watch > A Podcast that discusses the Mobile Suite Gundam franchise > https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thegundamwatch
- Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Fan Podcast > Podcast journeying through Spider-Man comic book history > https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/spiderfanpodcast
If you could have a celebrity guest on the show, who would it be?
With the rise of video-first podcasts, would The Bottom Shelf consider moving in that direction?
- Likely not ATM simply because of the work it takes to edit video podcasts. Our team is all made up of volunteers who work full-time jobs.
Looking ahead five years, how would you and the crew at The Bottom Shelf and Devoted Geeks like to evolve?
- Have someone do video edits!
- Do live recordings at various events.
- Find a way to turn the idea of podcasting into a sustainable career.