Cinepunked

Kicking off the first in our In Dreams series of the CinePunked Podcast, a semi-regular exploration of dreams on screen is our exploration into Frederico Fellini's 1963 surrealist classic Otto E Mezzo (aka 8 1/2). A film within a film, an exploration of creativity, mental health crisis and hedonism, an Academy Award winner, a hugely influential work, and a discourse on the line between dreams, memory and reality. With Robert JE Simpson and Neil Sedgewick

CinePunked returns to the Gremlins franchise with Gremlins 2: The New Batch. Sequels are often seen as the poorer siblings, does Gremlins 2 follow that trend, or does it do something else? How did merchandising impact the film? And do we need or want a Gremlins 3? With Robert JE Simpson and Neil Sedgewick

Its the CinePunked Christmas special, and this time we're celebrating the 40th anniversary of Joe Dante's cute-but-terrifying Gremlins. Is it a Christmas film? Is it for children? Just what is the magic that has made this a perennial classic? With Robert J.E. Simpson and Neil Sedgewick

Marking the centenary of writer/director/actor Edward D Wood Jr, CinePunked examine his reputation as the 'worst filmmaker of all time' via his iconic sci-fi horror Plan 9 From Outer Space. Will they survive unchanged by the experience? With Robert JE Simpson and Neil Sedgewick

Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the CinePunked team casting their eyes over a festive film. This time out the 2010 Finnish horror/comedy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale. Fusing traditional tales of Santa Claus, with a sci-fi monster twist - the perfect antidote to the usual saccharine fare. With Robert JE Simpson and Dr Rachael Kelly.

CinePunked goes rummaging through the film archives via acclaimed Cold War documentary The Atomic Cafe, revealing a frightening concoction of propaganda, deception, delusion, and fear linked by America's presentation of the perceived benefits and risks of the atomic bomb and a nuclear war. With memories of the cold war stirred up in 2022 by recent action in eastern Europe we find ourselves wondering if anything has really changed in the last eight decades... With Robert JE Simpson, Dr Rachael Kelly, Neil Sedgewick and Ben 'Blademan' Simpson.

Marking the 110th anniversary of the Titanic disaster, the CinePunked team assemble to discuss the definitive screen version of the incident - Roy Ward Baker's 1958 film A Night to Remember. Gathering just outside of Belfast, where the ship was built, Robert, Rachael and Neil consider the legacy of the night, Belfast's relationship with the story, generational trauma and just what we'd do if faced with the same situation.

Segei Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin is often hailed as one of the best films ever made. It tells the story (based on a real-life incident) of the crew of a Russian battleship mutinying in 1905, leading to a bloody confrontation in the streets of Odessa. CinePunked gather to assess its value to a modern audience and pick apart the propeganda from the truth.

Prompted by a screening of Eric Steel's 2006 documentary The Bridge, about those who choose to end their lives at San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, the CinePunked team engage in a frank and sensitive panel discussion examining the issues raised by the film, in particular the wider topic of suicide and mental health struggles. For the conversation, Robert JE Simpson and Dr Rachael Kelly are joined by Stuart McChesney - a volunteer with the Community Rescue Service in NI. Listener discretion is advised.

Via everything from The X Files to Welsh rugby, 'Fanomenal' sees CinePunked's Robert JE Simpson and special guest Dr Bethan Jones discuss the wide world of fandom including academic fandom studies, anti-fandom, gatekeeping and more.

CinePunked's Robert JE Simpson is joined by Dr Paula Blair for a conversation around their responses to the experience of influential, Ukranian-born, avant garde filmmaker Maya Deren, with particular attention to her debut Meshes of the Afternoon, and At Land.

Concluding their Orphic journey, Robert and Neil follow Jean Cocteau into the underworld for his cinematic farewell Testament d'Orphée - a complex, meta-layered film mixing poetry, time-travel, fact and fiction and the complexities of legacy. Will Neil make it through? Does any of it make sense? And how will the experience change the CinePunked team?

CinePunked continue their exploration of Jean Cocteau's sublime Orphic Trilogy of films with a study of Orphée, in a conversation steering through love, legacy, sleep and death.

Have you ever stayed awake for three days and start hallucinating? If you have, you might just tap into the mindset behind Jean Cocteau's influential avant-garde film Le Sang d'un Poète (aka. The Blood of a Poet). CinePunked look to the stars for guidance as they step through Cocteau's mirror...

CinePunked's Robert and Neil take a trip to Free City to explore the themes of free will and social revolution that lie hidden in the code of Ryan Reynolds vehicle Free Guy.

CinePunked's Robert and Rachael fight against the distorted reality of their own sleep deprivation for a conversation exploring the 1920 German Expressionist film classic The Cabinet of Dr Caligari - and its lasting impact on contemporary cinema and goth culture.

CinePunked break rules 1 and 2 as they talk about David Fincher's 1999 film Fight Club - an iconic piece that challenged our ideas of masculinity and perceptions of reality. Robert and Rachael meander through its imagery, meaning and legacy.

Marking two decades of The Matrix franchise and the release of the fourth film in the series - The Matrix Resurrections, CinePunked ponder the deeper meanings of Lana Wachowski's new film, including its religious and binary symbolism, and the blurring of lines between what's real and constructed.

Paying their respects to critic, actor and filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich, CinePunked explores his debut feature - Targets (1968) - a bold and arresting story that combines the stories of a mass shooting with the retirement of a cinematic legend, played by Boris Karloff

Marking what would have been David Bowie's 75th birthday the CinePunked team delve into a world of predators, childlike innocence and Muppets as they revisit Jim Henson's Labyrinth (1986)