It’s our 100th episode! And what better way to celebrate than to look back at one of the great musical flops of all time, 1980’s Xanadu. Starring Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly and a guy from The Warriors, it’s the story of a Greek Muse sent to Earth on a mission […]
Podcasts
Diana Ross & Scott Walker in Beach Ball – Pop Screen 99
After last week’s voyage into self-importance courtesy of U2, Pop Screen tackles a film that couldn’t possibly be more lightweight – the 1965 teen comedy Beach Ball. Strange, as it features one of the most tortured souls in ’60s pop – Scott Walker – and one of its defining divas, […]
U2 in Rattle and Hum – Pop Screen 98
It’s a story we keep running into here on Pop Screen: a band are so big, so acclaimed, that they think “We could make a film, how could that go wrong?” and the universe then demonstrates exactly how that could go wrong. Coming just one year after their worldwide smash […]
Martin Kemp in Embrace of the Vampire – Pop Screen 97
Vampires! Undead creatures of the night who people also find really hot! If you think fancying a walking corpse is #problematic, wait until you see the actions of Vampire, the imaginatively-named vampire played by Martin Kemp in 1995’s Embrace of the Vampire. In Anne Goursaud’s film, he’s looking to get […]
Ben Wheatley (Kill List & In the Earth) – Series 2 Finale PODCAST
And with this, Series 2 is done and dusted. To close out this sophomore series, we looked at British fan favourite, Ben Wheatley, with the debuting Caitlyn and Faye, as well as the returning Kat and Mike. For this episode we get deep into the weeds of 2011’s evergreen Hitman/Gangster/Cult/Folk Horror, Kill List. And by deep I […]
Motley Crue in the Dirt (2019) – Pop Screen 96
Pop Screen doesn’t cover much metal, and a cynical listener might counter that we’re not about to start now, as we look at the 2019 Netflix film The Dirt. A biopic of Motley Crue, it offers a visceral look at sex, drugs and rock and roll, but maybe not enough […]
Shinya Tsukamoto PART 2 (A Snake of June & Kotoko) Podcast
C/W: Self Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Invasion Thoughts, Depressive States. Yeah, the fact that I had to put one of those warnings before the episode synopsis but surely tell you that the content forthcoming hits on some very hard and heavy topics, Shinya Tsukamoto certainly goes to some exceptionally emotional places, […]
Run DMC in Tougher Than Leather – Pop Screen 95
How do you weather the changes in a genre your band helped define? It’s tricky. Run-DMC tried to rebrand with Tougher Than Leather, the title of both an album and a film directed by their producer Rick Rubin. A tough yet strangely naive premonition of the gangsta rap years to […]
Shinya Tsukamoto PART 1 (Tetsuo: Iron Man & Vital) PODCAST
This time out on Directors Uncut, we have part one of a man I’ve previously described as a body horror sweetheart – what’s more, this was the single most cursed recording we’ve ever had. Now if that’s not emblematic of the production of one of today’s featured movies I don’t […]
The Undertones in Good Vibrations (2012) – Pop Screen 94
If there’s one thing pop music needs almost as much as it needs musicians, it’s people who won’t hear the words “Actually, that’s a really bad idea”. Terri Hooley was one such man. Record shop owner, record label owner and focal point for Belfast’s punk scene, what he lacked in […]