Film Utopia

75. Stuart Gordon Part 2 - 1995 to 2007

Steven, Benjamin & Sean conclude their deep-dive of iconic cult movie director Stuart Gordon with a thorough chin-wag about his latter filmography.

From Castle Freak (1995) to Stuck (2007). The FU trio discover some hidden gems among these lesser known films and find themselves with differing opinions on others!

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74. Stuart Gordon Part 1 - 1985 to 1992

Between 1985 and 2007, a former theatre director named Stuart Gordon embarked on an iconic movie directing career which, in later years, catapulted his filmography to cult status. With the help of producer, Brian Yuzna – himself a H.P. Lovecraft and Edgar Allan Poe enthusiast – he directed the notorious, independently-produced ‘Re-Animator’ in 1985 which led to a three picture deal with the now defunct Empire Pictures International, resulting in From Beyond (1986), Dolls (1987) and Robot Jox (1990) – all becoming cult faves, both at the time and in later years.

In part one of our Stuart Gordon retrospective review series, Steven, Benjamin and Sean – resident Gordon fanatic - share their *slightly* divided opinion on these early films, as well as The Pit and the Pendulum (1991) and Fortress (1992) (-  or 1994 if you live in the UK like us!)

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73. Boutique Disc Labels

Steven & Sean discuss their way through the many UK, USA and Australian boutique DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD disc distributors out there; going A-Z from Arrow to Vinegar Syndrome. We chat about our own collecting habits, our experiences and opinions of each label as well as some of our favourite discs we've owned over the years!

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72. Disc Special Features

Special features, commentary tracks, cast & crew interviews and other bonus disc content have historically been a real selling point for movie fans. Nowadays, physical media collectors are even hungrier for additional material for their favourite films of yesteryear.

On this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean recall some of their favourite physical media releases both in terms of additional disc material as well as overall presentation and visual/audio quality.

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71. Denis Villeneuve Part 3 - 2021 to 2024

On the third and final episode of our Denis Villeneuve retospective movie review series, Steven, Benjamin and Sean conclude their journey with a detailed look at Dune (2021) and the recently released Dune Part 2 (2024). Benjamin arrives with a solid knowledge of the Frank Herbert books and a fondness for the David Lynch movie from 1984, Sean is as enamoured with all things sci-fi and high-concept as usual, and Steven isn't quite sure what all the fuss is about!

Stay tuned till the end where we summarize our thoughts on Villeneuve's movies and give our rankings for the entire filmography, where we all agree on at least one film. No prizes for guessing which one!

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70. Denis Villeneuve Part 2 - 2016 to 2017

With the release of Dune Part Two in theatres now, this is the second episode of our Denis Villeneuve retospective movie review series. In this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean continue discussing the Canadian director's filmography, from Arrival (2016) to Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

Having not participated in previous coverage of Blade Runner 2049 on our former podcast, Benjamin and Sean take full advantage of the fact and hijack almost three quarters of this episode's runtime to wax lyrical about Villeneuve's 2017 follow up to Ridley Scott's 1982 masterpiece, Blade Runner. Much to Steven's chagrin!

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69. Denis Villeneuve Part 1 - 1998 to 2015

Steven, Benjamin and Sean begin a detailed retrospective review series on the directorial filmography of French-Canadian filmmaker; Denis Villeneuve. 

In this episode, we cover August 32nd on Earth (1998), Maelström (2000), Polytechnique (2009), Incendies (2010), Prisoners (2013), Enemy (2013), and Sicario (2015).

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68. Physical Media Formats

Physical Media is in danger of going extinct, thanks in no small part to streaming. But do we also have an issue with the buyers themselves? Have people become complacent with digital products, and are they aware of what is being sacrificed as a result?

In this episode, Steven and Sean rope Benjamin in for a long discussion about their journey with Physical Media Formats in their lives and talk about their experiences as consumers of multiple mediums, from Betamax and VHS all the way through to Blu-ray 4K UHD.

67. 1989 in Film

1989! A year of many team-ups, buddy comedies, underwater sci-fi fiascos, and of course; the summer show-down of the mega blockbuster!

What with Batman, Lethal Weapon 2, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, License to Kill, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, Back to the Future Part II, Dead Poets Society, Look Who's Talking and Ghostbusters II, the Hollywood machine was in full force this year!

Join us as we discuss the highs and lows of 1989 in cinema, where we were, what we saw, what we loved and what we loathed!

66. Friday the 13th Part 3 - 1993 to 2009

Sadly, the franchise that made Jason Voorhees famous couldn't quite live up to its name; both by losing the 'Friday 13th' moniker of the series, and also not making it to a 13th movie entry! The good news is that not all of the movies at the tail-end of the long running horror series are that bad, so it'd be unfair to title this episode "The Arse-End of Friday the 13th"!

On this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean unpack Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993), Jason X (2001), Freddy vs Jason (2003), and the 12th movie (to date), Friday the 13th (2009).

65. Friday the 13th Part 2 - 1985 to 1989

We are back for our second instalment of our Friday the 13th saga (Huh? huh? Saga?!) coverage to discuss Friday the 13th Pat V: A New Beginning (1985), Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988) and Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989).

The three of us are pretty shocked by the extreme highs and lows on offer among this selection, including many fans' favourite and least favourite entries to the series. Enjoy! (We largely didn’t! (Especially Ben) (who chose to do this series) (Thanks Ben!)).

64. Friday the 13th Part 1 - 1980 to 1984

It's Ben's turn to choose our Halloween special this year, and he has seen fit to inflict the Friday the 13th franchise on us! However, he ended up just as quickly regretting it upon watching the films! Thankfully, Sean and Steven are old hats at this sort of crap; so there is plenty cheerful discussion to be had. So much so, that we have divided this up into three parts!

In part 1 we discuss the first four movies, from the Sean S. Cunningham original; Friday the 13th (1980), through to the rather inaccurately - and unfortunately - titled Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984). Enjoy!

63. Top 10 Brad Pitt Performances

Hi there movie lovers!

On this episode, Benjamin nominates award winning, mega-star actor William Bradley Pitt for another 'top 10 performances' discussion. Joining Benjamin is a woefully unprepared Sean and a patience-tested Steven as we discuss a bunch of Pitt's film (and TV) appearances over the years, highlighting each of our personal favourite performances from the man himself.

Expect to hear the likes of Thelma & Louise (1991), Kalifornia (1993), Se7en (1995), 12 Monkeys (1996), Meet Joe Black (1998) and Inglorious Basterds (2009) plus many more, including a few surprises!

The banter flies a little harder than usual in this episode, so we'd be remise not to declare a 'NSFW' notification. You have been warned!

62. More Guilty Pleasures!

Steven, Benjamin and Sean revisit a topic from way back in our first year of the Film Utopia Podcast to bring you another assortment of their go-to guilty pleasure movies. Apparently, there are a lot more embarrassing admissions than we all realised as there’s some right steaming tosh in this episode!

Expect cringe, hesitant declarations, and nervous laughter as the trio own up to a fondness for the likes of: The Three Musketeers (1993), The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Wayne’s World 2 (2003), Clash of the Titans (2010) and Dune – no, not THAT ‘Dune’, the earlier one – (1984) and a whole host more!

61. Comedy Picks - Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey, Michael Palin, Gene Wilder & John Candy!

Upon realising the shocking lack of Comedy coverage on The Film Utopia Podcast, Steven, Benjamin and Sean go some way to amend this glaring omission with an epic 160 minute episode about a slew of the films that tickle us the most!

The three of us each bring two comedic actor legends to the discussion; Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, Jim Carrey and Michael Palin, and Gene Wilder and John Candy, and have each picked a favourite film starring them, for a total of 18 films' worth of discussion (and excessive laughing and quoting).

But that’s not all! We’ve included some bonus comedy movie sub-genre picks to discuss, including a movie each for Black Comedy, Spoof Comedy, Romantic Comedy (for some atrocious reason) and Miscellaneous Comedy.

Expect to hear the likes of Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), Uncle Buck (1989), Coming to America (1988), Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), Young Frankenstein (1974), American Psycho (2000), Airplane! (1980), The Wedding Singer (1998), Clue (1985) and an absolute shed-load more!

60. John Carpenter Part 5 - Music Scores 1974 to 2022

Steven, Benjamin and Sean conclude their epic John Carpenter retrospective with a discussion on the legendary filmmaker’s music score work. Having composed music for the majority of his own films, starting with Dark Star (1974), Carpenter has become as recognisable and prolific for his scores as he has his movies.

With absolutely iconic title themes from the likes of Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Halloween (1978) and Escape From New York (1981), as well as a slew of incredibly underrated cues from scenes in films such as The Fog (1980), Big Trouble in Little China (1986) and Prince of Darkness (1987), this episode speculates on the particulars of Carpenters creative processes, technical practices and workflow as well as his collaboration with Alan Howarth, Ennio Morricone, Jim Long, Anthrax & many more across his career as a film composer.

59. John Carpenter Part 4 - 1996 to 2010

Steven, Benjamin and Sean close out their John Carpenter filmography retrospective with a look at the latter movies of his career and share their disappointment with the rather unfortunate diminishing returns on offer. With much of what made Carpenter’s earlier works awesome to behold now absent, and instead replaced with derivative stories and lacklustre film making, it’s a shame to end our retrospective on a sour note. But not all is lost, Film Utopia will be back next time with a look at Carpenter’s incredible music score work from the mid 70s right up till today!

On this episode, we discuss Escape From L.A. (1996), Vampires (1998), Ghosts of Mars (2001), and The Ward (2010).

58. John Carpenter Part 3 - 1988 to 1995

With the 1980s coming to an end and during the start of the 1990s, John Carpenter’s output makes a few left field turns in terms of quality compared to the tour-de-force of previous years. But the unmistakable and magical vibe of Carpenter’s idiosyncrasies are still very evident among this mixed bag, and there’s plenty for the Film Utopia hosts to unpack and disagree on!

In this episode, Steven, Benjamin and Sean discuss the cult classic They Live! (1988), the job-for-hire Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), the under-seen (and under-appreciated) In The Mouth of Madness (1994), and the missed opportunity Village of the Damned (1995).

57. John Carpenter Part 2 - 1982 to 1987

Welcome to Part 2 of our John Carpenter retrospective review series!

In this episode, we unpack and discuss the movies made during period of Carpenter’s filmography that most consider his absolute peak – and we completely agree! With one film in particular ranking tops among Carpenter’s work for all three of us, and for Sean in particular; his favourite film of all time.

In this episode, we discuss pressing matters like:

• If you’re a ‘Thing’, do you you know you’re a ‘Thing’?

• What happened to Fuchs?

• So, just who did get to Blair?

• Sweden.

• Why does it take over an hour for anyone to die in the horror film Christine?

• Where’s all the gore? I thought this was a horror film!

• Why is Dean Cundey such an incredible Cinematographer?

• Could you have done without seeing Jeff Bridges’ bare backside?

• Why is the character of Jack Burton so bloody funny?

• Big Trouble in Little China’s finest moments of sheer brilliance.

• What the hell was wrong with movie critics in the early 1980s?

• Aren’t those blokes a bit too old to be college students?

• A radio to talk with the future? The devil is a vat of green goo? Say what, now?

• Damn, is that Alice Cooper? I thought it was Harry Dean Stanton!

Yes sir! We’re absolutely over the moon to be talking The Thing (1982), Christine (1983), Starman (1984), Big Trouble in Little China (1986), and Prince of Darkness (1987)!

56. John Carpenter Part 1 - 1974 to 1981

Ahoy there, fellow film fanatics!

If you were to ask each of us for a list of our top 5 directors, all three of us would include John Carpenter! So, it doesn’t really matter that he is Sean’s pick for our latest multi-part director retrospective series, as Steven and Benjamin were both more than ready to dive in to a full filmography rewatch and likely would have picked John Carpenter anyway!

In Part 1, Steven, Benjamin and Sean have a natter about their mutual long-standing Carpenter addiction and discuss the early theatrical works of the influential filmmaker and ‘Master of Horror, including Dark Star (1974), Assault on Precinct 13 (1976), Halloween (1978) The Fog (1980) and Escape From New York (1981).

55. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Reaction! - Part 2

*NOTICE* There is a very slight delay between our three hosts' on this episode. Apologies in advance!

Steven, Benjamin, and Sean continue their review of Star Trek: Picard Season 3 with delight at just how unfathomably superior it is compared to any other Star Trek output of the last 20 years! With yet more returning fan favourite characters, a finale for the ages and, finally, a send off for the Next Generation crew that they deserve. The missing 5^th TNG movie indeed. Terry Matalas, sir, you have our respect; we are very happy bunnies!

54. Star Trek: Picard Season 3 Reaction! - Part 1

With latter Star Trek movies and shows leaving an awful taste in our collective mouths, Steven Benjamin and Sean were ready to leave their beloved franchise behind in the safe bosom of mother nostalgia, never to revisit it again on The Film Utopia Podcast! But with rumours abound of Season 3 of Star Trek: Picard being the return to form we all hoped Season 1 would be, we dust off our tricorders and phasers for one more away mission into the final frontier to see if the Terry Matalas ran season lives up to the hype!

53. Brian De Palma Part 2 - 1987 to 2019

Steven, Benjamin and Sean conclude their epic discussion of Brian De Palma’s filmography as well as ponder why so many legendary filmmakers end their careers with a series of such spectacular duds.

On Part 2, we examine The Untouchables (1987), Casualties of War (1989), The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Raising Cain (1992), Carlito’s Way (1993), Mission Impossible (1996), Snake Eyes (1998), Mission to Mars (2000), Femme Fatale (2002), The Black Dahlia (2006), Redacted (2007), Passion (2012), and Domino (2019).

52. Brian De Palma Part 1 - 1968 to 1986

As Steven’s director pick this year, the Film Utopia boys dive deep into the directorial filmography of Brian De Palma. With a career spanning 50+ years and encompassing a broad genre palette, from Hitchcock and Italian genre cinema-inspired Suspense, Crime, and Psychological Thriller and Slasher/Horror to Musical, Gangster, Spy/Espionage, Science Fiction and Comedy, De Palma has dipped his toes in many waters. Sean is green, having seen only two or three De Palma movies previously, despite his love of many of De Palma’s clear influences, from Hitchcock to Argento. Whereas Steven and Ben both bring a storied appreciation of the filmmaker’s body of work.

On Part 1 we discuss Murder a la Mod (1968), The Wedding Party (1969), Greetings (1968), Hi, Mom! (1970), Dionysus in ‘69 (1970),` Get to Know Your Rabbit (1970), Sisters (1972), The Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Obsession (1976), Carrie (1976), The Fury (1978), Home Movies (1979), Dressed to Kill (1980), Blow Out (1981), Scarface (1983), Body Double (1984) and Wise Guys (1986).