Gartbage Film

Malkovich to you and welcome to the second set of Bong June-ho! This pair of episodes is all about thinking about the concept of a Guy. What if several guys became one guy? What if one guy was several guys? We're here to answer these questions and more, starting with Spike Jonze's 1999 dark comedy headtrip, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH. We get into Spike Jonze's BMX and MTV lifestyle, Charlie Kaufman's sketch comedy origins, our feelings on John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener. And of course the question everyone wants the answer to: why Malkovich? This movie's prescience lies in its surreal prediction of fan culture, and we are forced to invoke the dreaded phrase: "you couldn't make this today", while dredging up our corporate job histories. We're also drawing parallels between Bong Joon-ho's filmography and why he lists this as one of his favourites! Next time we wrap up our set of Guys by hanging out with several Robert Pattinsons in MICKEY 17!

Bong June-ho enters its second second week, and its first from our mini-series' namesake. It's time to discuss Bong Joon-ho's THE HOST from 2006 to complete our set of screw ups in the backdrop of failed American imperialisms with REPO MAN. One of Bong's trademarks is his depiction of class in his films, and while this isn't the first example in his repertoire, it's his first film expressly focused on class. We love our family of screw up underdogs led by Song Kang-ho, and we're doing our best to determine an Official THE HOST Sibling Order. Alarmingly, this movie's premise is based on a true life incident, the McFarland Incident! Somehow, this film is a less ridiculous version of the real story, and we're discussing this and the political fallout that chased Bong upon this film's release. Next time on the pod: what if a guy was multiple guys? And what if you were all those guys? It's the first part of our next pairing, Spike Jonze's BEING JOHN MALKOVICH 1999!

It's time for another mini-series: it's Bong June-ho! We're taking some of Bong' Joon-ho's favourite films and pairing them with his own and first up: fuck ups trying to survive against the backdrop of failing American imperialism. Today we start things off with Alex Cox's 1984 debut, REPO MAN! We're discussing our journey with this movie as we went from mild haters to powerful lovers, unfiltered punk worldviews, and how the soundtrack to REPO MAN changed America's punk landscape forever thanks in large part to Iggy Pop. We're trashing Reagan and car culture while praising Cox's beautiful ode to character through its casting choices. Plus, Nick tells Erin about the Brat Pack and we commit to at least 200 episodes for a Jazz Punk Teen surprise! Next time, we complete the pairing with Bong Joon-ho's monster movie with a fuck up at its centre: THE HOST.

Grab your sheer wrap and leather kneepads, we're heading to Hong Kong to hang with Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui in Johnnie To's 1993 cult classic THE HEROIC TRIO! How many baby thefts is too many? We're here to answer this, how it fuses Tim Burton and James Cameron with wuxia, the mind-boggling star power on screen, and how Hong Kong's trademark tonal juggling act is pushed to the extreme. Nick is here to impart the good word of Anita Mui's life, and Erin gives us the lowdown on what makes a wuxia and how the Heroic Trio fits into its thousands-of-years long tradition. Content warning: as with the movie, there is discussion of infanticide

We're back! After our Guillermo Del Toro mini-series we're returning with the polar opposite of GDT's hopeful, community-driven cinema -- we're going sleazy, conspiratorial, and cynical (but still anti-American)! It's time for Brian De Palma's 1981 thriller, BLOW OUT! It's our first time talking De Palma, so we're breaking down his general cinematic approach and style before diving into where exactly BLOW OUT came from, and the power of a downer ending. It'd be impossible not to delve into voyeurism, Hitchcock, John Travolta's singing career, Nancy Allen & De Palma's marriage, and our complicated feelings on John "Mr Entertainment" Lithgow. Plus we're here to answer the age old question: is there a better cinematic setup scene than putting John Travolta on a bridge with an owl? Next time: back to Hong Kong for Johnnie To's gonzo superhero antics in THE HEROIC TRIO (1993)