film violence

In this bonus episode we welcome special guests Aaron and Uncle of Uncle the Podcast, a new real-life comedy podcast which is one of my favourite shows. We chat about Uncle and Aaron's hopes and dreams for the show and why they started the Uncle the Podcast. We take a look at two spy films - XXX starring Vin Diesel and The Accidental Spy starring Jackie Chan - before wrapping up looking at Aaron and Uncle's social media experiments and what the future has in store.

Wild Things is a 1998 erotic thriller which is usually seen as a tacky, trashy sex movie set in the glossy upper class world of Blue Bay, Florida. This week we take a closer look at this film, examining its complex plot as a clue to what lies beneath the bikini-clad surface. We examine various aspects of the film that are hallmarks of classical theatre, from the soundtrack as a Greek chorus to the theme of water as a form of catharsis that runs throughout the film.

Tom Clancy was one of the best selling spy authors of all time, known not only for his technical accuracy - gleaned through extensive government contacts - but also for an uncanny ability to predict the future. Part of his FBI file was released in 2014 but in recent weeks another section has been made available.

Kingsman is perhaps the most intriguing film of the year - on the face of it a cartoonish action comedy set in the world of gentlemen spies, but underneath it is an ultra-violent, racist, eugenicist film of dubious sexual virtue. No government agencies were listed in the credits for the film but at least two were involved in the movie.

This review of the finale of Homeland discusses not just the final episode but the entire season. We reflect on what is new and different about this fifth season, from the religious dimensions being crow-barred into the show to the use of Russians as the enemy image and hackers as second-level terrorists.

ISIS are a terrifying, devastating Sunni militia that emerged out of the Iraqi insurgency and the anti-Assad jihad … except they aren't particularly religious! And their origin story makes no sense. And militarily speaking they are a joke who could be wiped out within weeks if NATO wanted that. In this episode I take a sideways look at the Islamic State, which isn't very Islamic and isn't a state, and ask what they really are, if anything.

Today I am joined by good friend Adam of Themes & Memes to discuss the movie Kingsman. This is an action comedy set in the world of gentleman spies but beneath that exterior there is ultra-violence, a range of elitist, eugenicist philosophies, a rather sickening approach to sex, love and relationships and a whole lot more. So much, in fact, that even in this in-depth conversation we failed to cover it all.