The CineClub Podcast

This week we break new CineClub ground with an episode which was recorded live at Diegos rather than in Studio 4. The team of Rhys, Dion, Billy and Connell discuss the Knives Out series and interact with a live audience. The chat begins by examining performances and storylines in Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022) and teases the forthcoming Wake Up Dead Man (2025). Our presenters are Rhys, D...

This week we introduce two new presenters Adam and Joseph who join Elliott and Matthew to shine the desk lamp on to Pixar films. With a focus on the Pixar franchises of Monsters, Inc , and Incredibles , and then the Oscar winning Up (2009) and Cars 2 (2011), the discussion considers the darker and often scarier themes and scenes which seem to characterise Pixar films.  Inevitably, the discuss...

Aaaand we’re back and shining a spotlight on the talent of British filmmaker Edgar Wright. The team of Connell, Matthew, Jake and Billy take a filmic tour through Wright’s catalogue of film fabulosity from The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy to Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), Baby Driver (2017) and Last Night in Soho (2021). The team highlight some Wright signatures such as his stylistic nods t...

What better way to end the Halloween series of episodes than a gorefest of slasher films? The team of Matthew, Elliott, Billy and Jake start by dissecting the Evil Dead Trilogy then move on to cut through the big slasher franchises of Saw and Hellraiser . Finally, the discussion tears into the more modern slasher series of Terrifier films and the Blumhouse horrors with the team asking is there a s...

The Halloween season continues this week with a deep dive into the work of the acclaimed and quirky director, Tim Burton. The spotlight falls on Beetlejuice (1988), Alice in Wonderful (2010), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Corpse Bride (2005). This weeks Four Horsemen, Jake, Dion, Rhys and new presenter Elliott, debate the typical features of Burton films such as the spooky, dark vibe, t...

Continuing the Halloween series, the team of Matthew, Billy, Jake, and Dion discuss underrated horror sequels. Everyone picks their favourite under-appreciated horror and there’s a lot of love and laughs in the episode while the team chat about Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990), Halloween 2 (1981), Blade II (2002) and Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986). It’s a great episode to get into the Halloween...

In the second episode of the Halloween series the team discuss the filmography of John Carpenter. As a director, writer and composer, Carpenter deserves his reputation as a filmmaking genius. His back catalogue includes Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980) and The Thing (1982).    Billy, Rhys, Dion and Jake have a lot of fun chatting about ‘Carpenter energy’ and the typical motifs that he em...

This week the team begin a short series of podcasts in the run up to Halloween. Kicking off the season, Rhys, Jake, Dion and Billy decide to focus upon the often-overlooked artistry of horror film make up and special effects. The discussion centres upon the work of Stan Winston, Jack Pierce, Rick Baker and Chris Walas. The team wax lyrical about the crucial impact of special effects for the horror...

This week the team grapple with the boundaries of filmic inspiration vs filmic remake. At the centre of discussions are Satoshi Kon’s anime Perfect Blue (1997) and Aronofsky’s live action Black Swan (2010). There is a detailed comparison of storylines, endings and themes, and at times the chat becomes quite heated…. Our presenters are Rhys, Billy, and Jake. The episode was engineered and edited by...

This week Jake, Billy, Matthew and Rhys ponder the genius of Stephen Spielberg. Can you believe he made   Jaws (1975) when he was only 28 years old? The team choose their personal favourites and mark out some repeating patterns in the films and what makes a Spielberg classic! It’s a long one this week – but how could it not be, have you seen Spielberg’s filmography?   Our presenters are...

This week the team of Jake, Dion, Billy and Rhys discuss the Nintendo’s and Nintendon’t of video games films. One of the first issues is that describing games based films is a challenge. Nevertheless, our intrepid arcade dwellers forge on through Super Mario Bros (1992), Mortal Kombat (1995) and through to Minecraft (2025) and Five Nights at Freddys (2023) taking in many other games films along th...

It’s double the Drebin this week on The CineClub Podcast with the team comparing the brand new The Naked Gun (2025) starring Liam Neeson and the iconic Leslie Neilson The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988). Despite being a short episode the team find lots to discuss from laughs per minute, legacy sequels, musical montages, Seth MacFarlane’s influence and end credit scenes. They’ve p...

This week the CineClub team of Matthew, Rhys, Jake and Billy, fondly discuss the Muppets and their creator, Jim Henson. They start with The Muppet Movie (1979), but with 8 Muppet films, 3 Television Films, a television series and television Specials, there’s plenty of Muppet content to talk about. Not content with Muppets, the team then move on to Jim Henson’s non Muppet films, The Dark Crystal (1...

It’s been an awesome summer for cinema and the team of Rhys, Matthew, Dion and Billy discuss two of the biggest films of the season - Superman (2025) and Fantastic Four (2025). It’s the equivalent of an on-screen battle between DC and MCU. As ever, there’s in-depth analysis of these two megahit movies. Spoiler alert! DC wins this clash according to CineClub. Tune in to find out why… Our presenters...

This week we’re in the weird world of Al Yankovic. The team of Jake, Matthew, Billy and Rhys discuss the bizarre comedy, the songs and outstanding filmic parodies of UHF (1989) and the more recent Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022). It’s clear there’s a whole lotta love for Weird Al and his brand of fantastical comedy.   Our presenters are Jake, Matthew, Billy, and Rhys. The episode was engi...

This week the Team share their Letterboxd favourite films. What’s interesting is that each of the four choices share some common themes: the films are all quite stylized (albeit in different ways), they all contain outstanding acting performances, and they all have stood the test of time. Tune in to find out which movies they selected and whether you agree with their picks… Our presenters are Dion...

The team of Jake, Billy, Rhys and Matthew are on a magical mystery tour of The Beatles’ animated film Yellow Submarine (1968). There’s clearly some evidence of Beatlemania in the episode, but there’s also the usual ‘intelligent readings’ of the film, some Beatles history trivia and some talk about the way the music, dialogue and animation come together. Our presenters are Jake, Billy, Rhys and Mat...

This week Lupin aficionados Dion and Jake enthuse about the Japanese animated action films Castle of Cagliostro (1979), Mystery of Mamo (1978) and Lupin III: The First (2019). These cult films focus upon the character of gentleman thief, Lupin III, which was originally developed in a manga series by Monkey Punch. The team ruminate fondly about the filmic art and music and the influence of these ac...

Lock the door and leave the light on – this episode explores horror films based on or around television shows. The team of Matthew, Connell, Jake and Bebe discuss the iconic BBC television film Ghostwatch from 1992 and the more recent independent film, Late Night with the Devil (2023). The whole team agree that Ghostwatch stands out as a genuinely creepy, innovative and well written piece of work....

This week sees the release of the new Superman film starring David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan and directed by James Gunn. The team of Rhys, Billy, Jake and Matthew discuss the range of Superman films from George Reeves version of the 1950’s to Christopher Reeve through to Brandon Routh and lately Henry Cavill, as well as a handful of small screen adaptations. The chat covers the Superman story...

To coincide with the recent release of 28 Years Later , the Team discuss the merits and demerits of the ‘28’ film series. 28 Days Later is accepted by the whole team as a film which ‘loves to have the zombies on screen’ and is characterised by the magnetic performances of its actors and the visual language created by the writer (Alex Garland) and director (Danny Boyle). 28 Weeks Later proves more...

There’s a difference of opinion in the team this week when Matthew, Rhys and Billy ruminate on Keanu’s back catalogue of work. Matthew wonders about Keanu’s line delivery and mannequin-like face, Rhys thinks he’s a star vessel, whilst Billy is prepared to defend Keanu to the hilt on the grounds that Reeves is self-aware and plays to his strengths. From some dodgy casting (‘what was Coppola thinkin...

This week Rhys, Billy, Connell and Jake consider monsters from the Universal Studios. The team chat about early monster films such as Bride of Frankenstein and Creature from the Black Lagoon amongst others from the 1920’s through to the 1950’s. The CineClubbers discuss the development of the genre, and wonder why the early monster films have stood the test of time. Our ‘Monster Man’ Billy comments...

In this episode the team discuss their guilty pleasures – those films so bad they’re good! First in the frame in the horror category are Jason X and Freddy vs Jason, then there’s disagreement about The Toxic Avenger series! Tempers and voices are raised when onto the comedy section with Cat in The Hat and Sharkboy and Lavagirl! It was nearly a punch up in the studio! Things calmed down when the te...

In this episode the team of Connell, Billy, Matthew and Jake chat about the very first CineClub Film Festival which was sponsored by Sunderland Culture. The festival included screenings of Police Story, Purple Rain, Nosferatu, Creature from the Black Lagoon and American Werewolf in London . Strangely, Rhys was MIA this week – no one has seen him since he went to the Slaughtered Lamb.... Our presen...