The Flick Lab

Cary Joji Fukunaga’s debut feature Sin Nombre tells of Mexican gangs and the perilous journey to the US border in hopes of making the cross. Heard this somewhere before? Probably. Is the Mexican border the final frontier for Americans? Why are so many films made from the subject? Does anything enable Sin Nombre rise up above similar films? What is Fukunaga’s goal?

Sin Nombre (2009). Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga. Starring Edgar Flores, Paulina Gaitan, Kristyan Ferrer, Tenoch Huerta, Giovani Florido.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Horror remakes may rarely be worth your time, but what happens when Luca Guadagnino reimagines Dario Argento’s Suspiria? Instead of deep reds, it’s now coldness and realism. Topics also include feminism, German Autumn, the Third Reich analogies and the relevance of the several subplots to the story.

Suspiria (2018). Directed by Luca Guadagnino. Starring Dakota Johnson, Tilda Swinton, Angela Winkler, Mia Goth, Chloë Grace Moretz.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

The horror classic ‘Suspiria’ splits opinions. Is it failed feminism or is it misogynistic? Is it giallo or not? Is it a good film? Is it a happy accident? What is the Suspiria trilogy, and are the followups in the same league? What about the rest of the Dario Argento resume? This and more within.

Suspiria (1977). Directed by Dario Argento. Starring Jessica Harper, Stefania Casini, Alida Valli, Joan Bennett, Barbara Magnolfi.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Episode image “Haus zum Walfisch” by Joergens.mi, used under CC BY-SA 3.0.

HANN is an Icelandic LGBT short film that took the Youtube by storm and has affected and helped the minority youth around the world. Director Runar Þór Sigurbjörnsson and lead actor Ásgeir Sigurðsson (Andri) kindly joined us to discuss the film in detail, the effect it has had, as well as their future projects.

Watch ‘HANN’ on Youtube: https://bit.ly/3k2fIbV

Follow Runar Thor on Instagram: @runarthors
Follow Ásgeir on Instagram: @asgeirsigurds

Special thanks to Hannu Björkbacka for source materials and making this episode happen. Follow Hannu on Twitter @BjorkbackaHannu

HANN (2018). Directed by Runar Þór Sigurbjörnsson. Starring Ásgeir Sigurðsson, David Gudbrandsson, Bryndís Ásmundsdóttir, Ágúst Beinteinn Árnason, Eiríkur Kúld Viktorsson.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. Guest Runar Þór Sigurbjörnsson and Ásgeir Sigurðsson. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

There is a huge public outcry to even ban the Netflix film ‘Cuties’. There are claims that the film is child sexual exploitation. Has the American cancel culture gone too far?

Cuties (2020). Directed by Maïmouna Doucouré. Starring Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Myriam Hamma.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

In anticipation of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, Karri and Henrik look at David Lynch’s Dune. The director has himself disowned the film and blamed studio meddling for the shape it took.

Dune (1984). Directed by David Lynch. Starring Kyle MacLachlan, Brad Dourif, José Ferrer, Kenneth McMillan, Sting.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

A ‘staggering’ stream of consciousness hits you in the short film ‘The Staggering Girl’ from director Luca Guadagnino (Suspiria, Call Me By Your Name). Where goes the fine line between narrative cohesion and artistic stream of consciousness, before the audience will raise their grievances? As usual, there is no straight answer. You can watch the film on Mubi.com.

The Staggering Girl (2019). Starring Julianne Moore, Kyle MacLachlan, Marthe Keller, Kiki Layne, Alba Rohrwacher.

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

Peninsula, the long-awaited zombie sequel to the ‘Train to Busan’ hit film is here. Can it possibly live up to its predecessor? How does an entire city work in lieu of a train? Does ‘Peninsula’ have anything worthwhile left to say, politically or otherwise? Either way, does it matter, and what does?

Peninsula (2020) (반도). Directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Starring Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Re, Kwon Hae-hyo, Kim Min-jae.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Zombie cinema has historically been societally poignant commentary. So is Train to Busan. But is the film ground-breaking or simply old tricks with a solid execution? The real-life roots of the film, such as the sinking of MV Sewol are discussed.

Train to Busan (부산행 / Busanhaeng) (2016). Directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Starring Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-seok, Jung Yu-mi, Kim Su-an, Choi Woo-shik.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.

Karri and Henrik start the ‘Train to Busan’ zombie series with Seoul Station, which leads to the roots of the Yeon Sang-ho as an anime director. Is this ‘Train’ prequel of sorts worth of ones non-zombified time? Answers here within.

Seoul Station (2016) (서울역). Directed by Yeon Sang-ho. Starring Ryu Seung-ryong, Shim Eun-kyung, Lee Joon.

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. Edit by Karri Ojala. The Flick Lab theme tune by Nick Grivell.