The Cineskinny – Details, episodes & analysis

We're talking about obsession on this week's podcast after falling for the curious Quebecois courtroom drama/tech thriller Red Rooms. We also delve into a film that crosses two circles on The CineSkinny's Venn diagram of interests: folk horror and creepy puppets. That film is the 70s-set British horror film Starve Acre.

We also receive a missive from Anahit, who's attending Venice Film Festival, where the weather is hot. Will that be the same case for the films, though?

Note: this episode has a post-credits scene.

TIMESTAMPS:

Venice Film Festival: Babygirl, Queer and The Brutalist (2:38) Starve Acre review (7:27) Red Rooms review (24:23) Films about obsession: American Psycho, Peeping Tom and The Vanishing (41:49)

Recorded at EHFM's Ground Floor HQ in Leith. Go there, get a coffee and see radio/audio in action, @groundfloor__

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk

Intro/outro music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

On the latest episode of The CineSkinny, we take a look at the blistering Kneecap, an irresistible piece of myth-making from the firebrand Belfast rap trio of the same name.

The film follows best friends, drug dealers and wannabe rappers Liam and Naoise (also known as Mo Chara and Móglaí Bap) as they avoid the Belfast ‘peelers’ and a group of ex-paramilitaries out to get them before teaming up with local music teacher JJ, who helps hone their sound as their producer, DJ Próvai. The film’s got wildly inventive visuals, a razor-sharp political message and enough drug-fulled energy to power the sun. 

Elsewhere on the show, we hear about Alien: Romulus, the 79th film in the Alien franchise (at least it feels like it), which helped kick off this year’s Edinburgh Film Festival. And inspired by the rebellious antics of Kneecap, we discuss our favourite rebels in cinema, from Nae Pasaran to the hot fox in Disney’s Robin Hood.

TIMESTAMPS:

What we've been watching: Longlegs and lots of Fringe shows (1:57) Alien: Romulus review (12:00) Kneecap review (19:41) Our favourite rebellions in film: Nae Pasaran, School of Rock, A Fistful of Dynamite, Robin Hood and Andor (45:55)

Recorded at EHFM's Ground Floor HQ in Leith. Go there, get a coffee and see radio/audio in action, @groundfloor__

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk

Intro/outro music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

It's been sunny in Edinburgh for the first time in weeks. We recorded two hours later than usual. Challengers is a very hot film.

One or more of these may explain the slightly feral nature of this week's podcast, in which we review freewheeling US 'satire' The Sweet East and Luca Guadagnino's latest, as well as playing the film nerd equivalent of Fantasy Football in honour of the Glasgow Film Festival's 50th anniversary (fans of Kurosawa, Panahi and Rex the Dinosaur, we will programme your cinema, speak soon xx). 

TIMESTAMPS: What We've Been Watching: Next Goal Wins, Civil War, Men In Black (2:00) The Sweet East review (16:20) Challengers review (29:10) GFT at 50, Filmhouse, and our perfect day at the cinema (38:40)

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk; recorded at EHFM, Summerhall – ehfm.live

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

This week we dive into the hallucinogenic world of Disco Boy, which stars European arthouse cinema's current It boy Franz Rogowski as an undocumented Belarusian immigrant who joins the French Foreign Legion.

We also take a look at Evil Does Not Exist, the latest from Ryusuke Hamaguchi. This Japanese filmmaker has amassed a cult following but he's still to convince some of our hosts on the pod. Will Evil Does Not Exist change their minds?

And with Lynne Ramsay's Ratcatcher getting a 25th-anniversary rerelease this month, we look back at the four feature films to date from this visionary Scottish filmmaker.

TIMESTAMPS: Monster, Mr and Mrs Smith (2024), Sex, Lies & Videotapes and Irish Wish (1:50) Disco Boy review (10:55) Evil Does Not Exist review (23:54) The films of Lynne Ramsay (37:30)

CINESKINNY FILM CLUB TICKETS: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/tickets

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk; recorded at EHFM, Summerhall – ehfm.live

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

In honour of Hayao Miyazaki bagging his second Oscar, Peter, Ellie and Jamie take a speedrun through the Ghibli back catalogue.

Come with us and we'll meet some magical woodland creatures, smash the fash, do a whole load of flying and catch up with some hot boys along the way. We also look ahead to Glasgow Short Film Festival and HippFest which begin... oh crikey... now. Go to them! Listen to this episode on the way!

TIMESTAMPS:

Jamie's GSFF and Hippfest previews (1:15) Studio Ghibli pt 1: The Wonder Years (Castle In The Sky, My Neighbour Totoro etc) (6:40) Studio Ghibli pt 2: Let's Get Weird (Porco Rosso, PomPoko and more) (28:30) Studio Ghibli pt 3: More Wonder Years (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) (45:45) Studio Ghibli pt 4: Late Stage Ghiblism and The Boy and The Heron (1:00:15)

CINESKINNY FILM CLUB TICKETS: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/tickets

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk; recorded at EHFM, Summerhall – ehfm.live

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

With the 20th edition of Glasgow Film Festival nearing its close, we sat down with two of our favourite critics, Carmen Paddock and Rory Doherty, to discuss this year's proceedings

We also review GFF's blistering opener Love Lies Bleeding, share our Viggo Mortensen stories and review the mind-bending new film from Bertrand Bonello, The Beast. Plus Rory and Carmen pick out some of their GFF highlights.

Glasgow Film Festival runs 28 Feb-10 March, get full details at glasgowfilm.org

TIMESTAMPS:

Self-care, After Hours and retrospectives (1:15)

Love Lies Bleeding review (9:37)

Viggo Mortensen loves Glasgow and The Dead Don't Hurt review (18:55)

The Beast review (29:34)

Rory and Carmen's favourite films of GFF 2024 (39:21)

If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials!

Follow Rory and Carmen on Twitter @CarmenChloie and @roryhasopinions, get us on TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk

Recorded at Upload Studios, uploadstudios.co.uk

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Another missive from the Glasgow Film Festival. On this one, we chat with the mighty Viggo Mortensen. Yes, Aragorn himself!

The Lord of the Rings and A History of Violence star was in town for the UK premiere of The Dead Don't Hurt, a sinewy western that Mortensen wrote, directed, composed the music for and starred in. 

Set in the 1860s in a small Nevada outpost, The Dead Don't Hurt is both a beautiful homage to the great westerns of the past and a subversion of this most macho of film genres. It centres on the romance between Mortensen’s character Olsen, a Danish carpenter, and Vivienne, a fiercely independent French-Canadian woman who grew up dreaming of being Joan of Arc, played by Vicky Krieps.

Mortensen and Krieps are an acting match made in heaven. They’re ably supported by a cast that includes Danny Huston, Garret Dillahunt, and the young Scottish actor Solly McLeod, who plays a brutish psychopath who will change Vivianne and Olsen’s lives forever. 

The day after The Dead Don’t Hurt’s UK Premiere, we sat down with Viggo Mortensen and his young co-star Solly McLeod to discuss the film. 

TIMESTAMPS:

Jamie introduces The Dead Don't Hurt (0:05) Viggo and Solly's first impressions of Glasgow (1:40) Viggo's love of classic westerns (3:00) How Solly got cast (4:30) The film's non-linear structure (7:30) Working with Vicky Krieps (12:10) What Viggo learned from observing other directors (16:10) Sparks of inspiration on set (18:20) What Viggo and Solly are doing next (20:30)

If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials!

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk

Recorded on location at Glasgow Film Festival

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

We're back at Glasgow Film Festival for some special episodes made on the ground at the festival. First up, we have a chat with Saint Maud director Rose Glass, whose blistering second feature, Love Lies Bleeding, opened the festival. 

Love Lies Bleeding is a wonderfully lurid neo-noir thriller starring Kristen Stewart as Lou, the owner of a grimy gym in Nowheresville New Mexico, who begins a passionate romance with Jackie, an itinerant wannabe bodybuilder who walks into Lou's gym one day, played by Katy O’Brian.

Lou and Jackie’s whirlwind romance is short-lived though, as Lou's dysfunctional family, murky past and some roid rage combine to send the couple's life into a tailspin.

Before Love Lies Bleeding's UK Premiere, we sat down with Glass to discuss this hugely entertaining 80s noir throwback. Take a listen.

TIMESTAMP

The initial idea for Love Lies Bleeding (2:07) Films that influenced on Love Lies Bleeding (5:24) Glass's obsession with the body and body horror (8:45) The writing process with co-writer Weronika Tofilska (10:42) Why Kristen Stewart was perfect for the role of Lou (12:05) Finding an actress who could play an 80s bodybuilder (13:26) Making a film that's unabashedly queer (17:25) How Glass likes to surprise her audience (20:12)

If you like The Cineskinny, tell your pals! Leave us a five-star review! Share the episode on socials!

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk

Recorded on location at Glasgow Film Festival.

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod  (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

The gang's all back, and this week we're talking all things Glasgow Film Festival. We've got vampires! Gunfights! Drag queens! Orthodox monks doing kung-fu! Other stuff!

Ellie, Jamie, Anahit and Peter also have a chat about upstart film competition 'The Oscars', aka 'The Academy Awards'. See, they haven't even settled on a title yet, amateurs.

Peter has a coughing fit, Anahit is jet-lagged and buzzed on Red Bull so won't stop playing with the sound effects, Ellie talks us through the finer points of animation studio politics, and Jamie tells us all about why Bradley Cooper shouldn't win an Oscar. It's The Cineskinny.

TIMESTAMPS: The Oscars, aka 'How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Just Slag Off Maestro' (2:50) Glasgow Film Festival overview (12:35) The Vourdalak review (15:15) Jericho Ridge review (24:15) Solo review (30:50) The Invisible Fight review (43:00) Additional GFF picks (49:35)

CINESKINNY FILM CLUB TICKETS: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/tickets

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk; recorded at EHFM, Summerhall – ehfm.live

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

This week, we take a long hard look at Jonathan Glazer's excellent new film The Zone of Interest, then have a chat about some of the more unsettling films we've watched.

In the middle, we talk through literary/race/politics satire American Fiction, and up top there's a bit of The News to shout out Glasgow Film Festival and Manipulate Festival.

TIMESTAMPS: Manipulate, GFF and the Cineskinny Film Club (1:45) The Zone of Interest review (10:25) American Fiction review (25:45) Unsettling Cinema: Henry Portrait of a Serial Killer, Mad God, Titane (41:20)

CINESKINNY FILM CLUB TICKETS: https://www.theskinny.co.uk/tickets

Follow the team on Twitter @ptrsmpsn @anahitrooz @jamiedunnesq @lew_rob_, get us on Twitter, Instagram, Letterboxd and TikTok @thecineskinny, email us at cineskinny@theskinny.co.uk; recorded at EHFM, Summerhall – ehfm.live

Music: Too Cool by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4534-too-cool) License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license