The Flick Lab

The famous Russian director’s son, Sergei Bodrov Jr, became a beloved actor in the country, and even a role model for the youth, after ‘Brother’ (1997). In this neo-noir gangster film, Danila joins his brother’s business as a paid assassin. ‘Brother’ became the huge unexpected smash-hit of the 90’s in the country.

Our guest is Tom Frankland.

Brother / Brat / Брат (1997). Directed by Aleksei Balabanov. Starring Sergei Bodrov Jr., Viktor Sukhorukov, Yury Kuznetsov, Vyacheslav Butusov.

This show can be listened to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. You can find us also on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and www.theflicklab.com

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Guest Tom Frankland. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

What is the appeal of the French New Wave cinema? What are its origins? What is the Auteur Theory? A thief tries to persuade a girl to elope with him. The Flick Lab investigates Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard.

Breathless / À bout de souffle (1960). Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. Starring Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Daniel Boulanger, Henri-Jacques Huet, Roger Hanin.

The show is also on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and www.theflicklab.com

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Podcast recommendations of the week:
– Indie Film Hustle

Cosy Dens, internationally the most successful film from Czech Republic, throws some dark humor on the daily lives under communism around the time of Prague Spring. Our Czech guest Ondřej Sedlář kindly came to help us analyse the film.

Pelíšky (1999). Directed by Jan Hřebejk. Starring Miroslav Donutil, Jiří Kodet, Michael Beran, Kristýna Nováková, Simona Stašová.

The show is also on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, and www.theflicklab.com

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Guest Jan Hřebejk. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

This week in the podcast, a film inspired by the Sugamo child abandonment case, where a mother abandoned her five children in a flat in Tokyo and never returned. Among the many topics discussed are the real-life case, child social services, human disregard as well as Hirokazu Kore-eda’s film Nobody Knows and how it differs from the actual events. Our guest is Sho Watanabe from Japan.

Dare mo shiranai / 誰も知らない (Japan, 2004). Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Starring Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu, You.

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Guest Sho Watanabe (渡邊翔). Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Podcast recommendations of the week:
– The Movie Journey
– For Your Consideration

“Tremendous, stupendous, gargantuan bedazzlement, a sensual ravishment!” Moulin Rouge as described by Moulin Rouge. The first musical of this podcast. The story of a cabaret courtesan (Nicole Kidman) who falls in love with a penniless play-writer (Ewan McGregor). Is there enough “sensual ravishment” to recommend the film? Do the characters and story only serve to support the music and not vice versa?

Moulin Rouge! (2001). Directed by Baz Luhrmann. Starring Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Richard Roxburgh, Jim Broadbent, John Leguizamo.

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

We kick off the podcast recommendations section of the show! Recommendations included in this episode: Russophiles Unite Movie Podcast, Movie Muggin.

Will you choose your artistic passion or love? Is there a heart-breaking dichotomy between things that matter? Are we to evoke cheerful nostalgia or painful memories of lost time?
Cinema Paradiso, an ode to cinema. Score by Ennio Morricone, directed by Italy’s visionary auteur Giuseppe Tornatore.

Cinema Paradiso / Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988). Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Starring Philippe Noiret, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Jacques Perrin, Isa Danieli.

A communist politician and a conservative priest hate each other’s world views in a small town in post-World War II Italy. Will they be able to co-exist? The first film adaptation of the Don Camillo stories by Giovannino Guareschi is now under The Lab’s intense scrutiny.

Don Camillo (1952). Directed by Julien Duvivier. Starring Fernandel, Gino Cervi, Vera Talchi, Franco Interlenghi, Sylvie.

Violin Concerto in E major, RV 269 ‘Spring’ – I. Allegro by John Harrison or “John Harrison – Violin”; used as per its license Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) ; sourced from https://musopen.org/music/14910-the-four-seasons-op-8/ . The original work has been modified (derivative) for this audio podcast. 

Jeepers Creepers is a horror film that back in the day made an impression on the critics with its 80’s vibes and simplicity. It also did make an impression on the hosts Karri and Henrik, and our guest Aku. But almost 20 years on, is the appeal of the monster and the plot still holding up?

Jeepers Creepers (2001). Directed by Victor Salva. Starring Justin Long, Gina Philips, Jonathan Breck, Patricia Belcher, Brandon Smith.

Karri and Henrik investigate what went wrong with Spectre. It is often seen as a troubled product, and there is no shortage of discussion points. Why does the 3rd act collapse in on itself? What is up with the dialogue? Why these color grading choices? Is Dave Bautista’s Hinx part of Spectre, or just a very random gate crasher? This and more, much more in this week’s episode.