The Flick Lab

On December 6th every year, during Finnish Independence Day, hundreds of thousands of Finns gather around the telly to catch the movie they’ve seen countless times – The Unknown Soldier – in one of its three incarnations. The Winter War, however, is the lesser known Finnish war film, crushed under the fame of the aforementioned giants. Does The Winter War deserve its share of the limelight, however?

Films covered in this episode:

The Winter War (1989) (Talvisota)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

Cancer. It’s a universal concept that we all have heard about or know about. Despite all of our differences, there’s more in life that connects us than divides us, and sometimes those shared experiences may veer to the unpleasant, such as cancer and death. Does even cinema fear cancer? Do any films about cancer exist, or is the concept being actively avoided, even in movies that are supposedly cancer movies? Also, can cancer be funny? Join The Flick Lab for another round of movies as we delve on these topics and discuss 4 movies about cancer.

Films covered in this episode:
Wit (2001)
Tig (2015)
Ikiru (1952)
Cries & Whispers (1972)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

In this episode of the podcast, the two Finns Karri and Henrik discuss Paraguayan cinema. The film industry in this beautiful and proud South American land-locked nation has remained tiny, but it has finally garnered some due attention. The duo comes across elements of creative film-making, American influences, themes of poverty, affluence and integrity. Karri and Henrik analyse the Top 3 films from Paraguay, as determined by IMDb with the following formula: must be (mainly) filmed and produced in Paraguay, acted by Paraguayans, with over 100 ratings on IMDb.

7 Boxes and The Gold Seekers (Paraguayan selection to the Academy Awards, unnominated) are two action and adventure oriented films from the directing duo Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schémbori. The Heiresses is an award-winning drama film about a prestigious but troubled female couple running out of money.

Films covered in this episode:
7 Boxes (7 Cajas, 2012)
The Gold Seekers (Los Buscadores, 2017)
The Heiresses (Las herederas, 2018)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

Geoffrey Firmin is a British consul in Mexico in the 1930’s. He is drunk. Is that it, or is there more under the hood here? Karri and Henrik look into a movie that Karri hated as a kid. Now as highly sophisticated and intelligent adults, the duo tries to find out if there’s anything worthwhile to be found here. What does the film want to say and can it communicate it effectively? Is following an intoxicated man interesting? Can it be interesting? Are we to feel empathy for the character? Is it hard to feel empathy when one is three sheets to the wind, and if so, what could change that? Is the film about something else than being smashed? This is Under the Volcano, the film vs the book.

Films covered in this episode:
Under the Volcano (1984)
Directed by John Huston. Starring Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bisset🍻, Anthony Andrews, Ignacio Lopez Tarso, Katy Jurado.
Based on the original novel by Malcom Lowry.

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

Apologies for the sound quality in this episode on Karri’s side, caused by a glitch.

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Take a listen to some other great podcasts that we mentioned in this episode:

The Elite Pod
Want to start working out but don’t know where to start? Then let the trainers at Elite Fitness help guide you to be your ultimate best! Each week our trainers will give you key tips and guidance to help you on your fitness journey. Join us every Monday at the Elite Pod!

With A Gay Twist
With A Gay Twist- it’s the podcast where two homos discuss the news and politics of the day, including LGBT news. From Congress to Drag Race, we’ve got you covered. It’s news and politics, but with a gay twist.

What’s This Place?
How do we shop now the world is burning? What’s this place? podcast goes behind the bricks and mortar of sustainable businesses: how they do it, tricks we can all use to shop more sustainably, what sustainability even means! What is this place? Let’s go inside to find out.

Capes on the Couch
We analyze the psychiatric & mental health issues of superheroes. Sometimes funny, sometimes emotional, always insightful & entertaining. We’re Capes on the Couch!

Fine Time
Fine Time is a weird and snappy video game podcast! We talk about games new and old, give hot takes on industry news, and do extremely silly quiz segments in order to embarrass each other.

Funky Eskimo – thats all funny
Everyday I release a short episode of me telling awkward stories from my life or angry rants of current events.

In this episode of the podcast, Halloween Ends – ostensibly, anyway. In this oddball and radically different Halloween franchise entry, director David Gordon Green ventures into the experimental. In principle, injecting new blood into the exhausted franchise may be welcome, but does this attempt deliver? Karri and Henrik are joined by the returning Halloween guests. Allison Kilkenny is an American comedy writer and performer, former journalist, and host of the political podcast Light Treason News. We are also joined by The Flick Lab ex-co-host Zachary Byrd, currently the co-host of the politics & news podcast from a queer looking glass, With a Gay Twist.

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Guests Allison Kilkenny and Zachary Byrd. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

Bedtime Stories is a Youtube channel that tells spooky tales of the paranormal and supernatural – popular and unknown stories. Their videos consists of beautiful and haunting hand-drawn artwork, accompanied by a wonderful narrator. But how true are the stories, or more importantly, are there some concerns with dramatization of real-life-based events? Or are these simply fun stories which ought to be treated as quality entertainment? Listen here if the player applet above is not working

Bedtime Stories episodes covered in this episode:
The Mysterious Pentyrch Incident
There is Something in the Forest
The Curse of the Dab Tsog
The Lost Girls of Panama
Secrets of Celle Neues Rathaus; A Nazi Occult Tale?

This episode contains music by:
Billy Murray (Take Your Girlie to the Movies, 1919; public domain)
Kevin MacLeod (Creative Commons)
Marc van der Meulen 

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

What really happened at Camp 14 in North Korea to prisoner Shin Dong-Hyuk? Camp 14 is the hermit nation’s most notorious concentration camp. We have a documentary and a book to tell the story of his escape into freedom, but Shin later changed some details of his story, surely much to the chagrin of the book’s author, Blaine Harden, and to Shin’s fellow North Korean escapees. Why did Shin change details of his story? What is the truth and do the details matter? And finally, which one is a better product, the film or the book?

Films covered in this episode:
Camp 14: Total Control Zone (2012)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

In this episode of the podcast, Karri and Henrik analyze 8 creepy stories of the horror anthology film The Field Guide to Evil. Each film is from a different country and is supposed to tell a tale of dark folklore. Is that true though and how well do the films gel together in this anthology?

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

The title ‘Robocop’ may sound cheesy, but is descriptive. The first movie is often celebrated by critics and mortals alike, but the sequels are in a downward spiral. Here’s why.

Films covered in this episode:
Robocop (1987)
Robocop 2 (1990)
Robocop 3 (1993)
Robocop (2014)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.

Wong Kar-wai, the pivotal Hong Kong -based film director is known around the world for his distinct non-linear storytelling, gangster films and artistic love stories. We now venture into his love trilogy, a film recommendation by podcast listener Kimmo. We have previously looked at the director’s other work Chungking Express (1994) with guest Mitch Tam, which can be listened here.

Films covered in this episode:
Days of Being Wild (1990)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
2046 (2004)

Hosted by Karri Ojala and Henrik Telkki. Edited by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune written and performed by Nick Grivell.