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On Episode 65 of The Film ’89 Podcast, Neil, Richie and Skye discuss a film that’s been miraculously resurrected from the realms of mediocrity and given a new lease of life. That film is of course 2017’s Justice League which, through a combination of ancient alien technology, dark magic and unprecedented fan pressure, has been brought back to life, rejuvenated in a new form, Zack Snyder’s Justice League. The guys give their usual in-depth take on not just the new cut of the film but also the controversy surrounding the the original theatrical version and the remarkable set of circumstances that led to Zack Snyder being given the opportunity to assemble the film as he originally intended.

On Episode 64 of The Film ’89 Podcast, Richie, Skye & Neil head to Westview, New Jersey to investigate the strange goings on in Marvel Studio’s first series for Disney+, WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany reprising their roles of Wanda Maximoff and Vision. The guys go in-depth in their analysis of this hugely successful foray into serialised television for Marvel Studios as the long-running franchise is taken into new territory, paving the way for the much anticipated slate of Marvel shows set to follow in its wake.

On Episode 63 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Haydn and Skye are joined by a very special guest host to discuss a double bill of two of their favourite films which share strong connective elements. Sofia Coppola won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Lost in Translation (2003) which was loosely inspired by her relationship with her then-husband Spike Jonze. Ten years later, Spike Jonze would win the same award for Her (2013), another film about relationships and loneliness, both films starring Scarlett Johansson. Joining Haydn and Skye is a very special guest host hailing all the way from California, the wonderful Becky D’Anna. Becky has worked in the film industry for over two decades and was integral to event marketing campaigns ranging from the X-Men franchise at Twentieth Century Fox to the Spider-Man franchise at Sony Pictures. She most recently worked on the Oscar-winning animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the global box office hit, Jumanji: The Next Level. When not at Sony Becky loves sharing her film knowledge by writing and podcasting about her favourite movies, TV shows, and filmmakers, from things like The Terminator franchise, to Star Trek, the films of Albert Brooks and the great Ingmar Bergman. In addition, she’s a guest instructor on film history and appreciation and most recently taught a lecture on the films of Ingmar Bergman at UC Riverside. Moreover she’s as knowledgeable and passionate a cinephile as you could ever hope to find and the perfect guest with whom to discuss these two modern masterpieces of cinema.

Episode 62 of The Film ’89 Podcast straddles both 2020 and 2021 like some bronze colossus and the big point of discussion this episode is our spoiler-filled review of director Patty Jenkins’ much delayed sequel to her smash hit 2017 entry into Warner Bros’ DCEU, Wonder Woman, a film that grossed a whopping $822 million worldwide. That film is of course Wonder Woman 1984, so join Neil & Skye as they give you their in-depth review as well as a look ahead to what 2021 might have in store for both Film ’89 and the film industry in general.

On Episode 61 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Neil and Skye are once again joined by their curmudgeonly mutual friend and fellow life-long Star Wars enthusiast, Jim Cottle, to give their spoiler-filled review of the second season of Lucasfilm/Disney’s The Mandalorian. The first season was a hit with the guys earning a collective score of 9/10 back on Episode 41. Show creators Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have pulled out all the stops in a second season that has had Star Wars fandom ablaze with discussion. Also the guys discuss the plethora of forthcoming content recently unveiled by Disney in their Investor Announcement event.

On Episode 60 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by two guest hosts who are both making their debut on the podcast. The first is fellow Welshman Leighton Winstone, who, as well as having written countless pieces for the site is a frequent co-host on The Undead Wookie Podcast. Our second guest is certainly not Welsh. Hailing all the way from the US of A, we’re very glad to be joined by a longtime friend of Film ‘89, filmmaker and fellow hardcore cinephile, Kyle Reardon. This episode the guys will be discussing not one but two of the all-time great crime dramas from one of the all-time great directors, Martin Scorsese. Those films are Goodfellas (1990) and it’s pseudo-spiritual sequel Casino (1995). They offer their insight into and detailed analysis of two films that are regarded by many as the pinnacle of the crime drama genre and two of the most authentic depictions of mobster life ever committed to the big screen.

The Film ’89 Podcast’s dynamic duo of comic book experts, Haydn Spurrell and John Arminio, return to discuss Watchmen, the beloved comic book creation of legendary writer Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons and colourist John Higgins. First published by DC Comics in September 1986, ending in October 1987, the 12 issue maxi-series was later collected as a single volume and would go on to become regarded as one of the all-time great comic book series’. It spawned follow-up series’ in comic form as well as prequels and in 2009 director Zack Snyder brought the story to the big screen, something many had previously thought impossible. In 2019 HBO launched the 9 episode Watchmen TV series, set 34 years after the original story, it was met with critical acclaim winning 11 Emmys. Haydn and John examine the themes of Moore’s original masterwork and give their appraisal of the various iterations of Watchmen that followed in its wake.

In Episode 58 of The Film ’89 Podcast, one of the Film ’89 writing team, Steven Saunders, makes his long-overdue debut on the Podcast. Steven is a lifelong cinephile and host of his own podcast, The Film Connection, and for this very special episode, he was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview actor Joey Cramer, star of the hit 1986 Disney sci-fi film, Flight of the Navigator. Joey is the subject of a new documentary from writer/director Lisa Downs, Life After the Navigator, that’s both a loving retrospective of Flight of the Navigator but also a biography of Joey’s life. A tale of absent fathers, substance addiction leading to criminality, and eventually incarceration, it’s also a tale of hope and redemption. Joey gives a fascinating and frank interview, discussing both his experience working on Flight of the Navigator and his remarkable life afterwards.

Episode 57 of The Film ’89 Podcast is ready to deliver a roundhouse kick to 2020 and propel you back to a better time, 1984 in fact and the cult classic martial arts drama, The Karate Kid. Rocky director John G. Avildsen’s beloved film stars Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Elisabeth Shue, Martin Kove and features an Oscar nominated turn from Pat Morita as the wise sensei, Mr Miyagi. It’s a firm favourite amongst the Film ’89 Team and Richie and Neil go all in on this deep dive analysis of The Karate Kid. Also discussed are the numerous sequels, the 2010 reboot, and the recent TV show, Cobra Kai, which reunites the stars of the original film to tremendous success. So finish trimming that Bonsai tree, waxing that car and painting that fence before you tie on that headband and meditate with your Film ’89 friends on this most beloved of ‘80s martial arts films.

On the 56th episode of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve, Haydn & Skye take a ghoulish trip to the haunted coastal town of Antonio Bay as they celebrate the 40th anniversary of John Carpenter’s tale of ghostly revenge, The Fog. Carpenter is a firm favourite director amongst the Film ‘89 team and following on from one of our earliest episodes where Carpenter’s seminal sci-fi/horror classic, The Thing was given the Film ‘89 treatment, this time we look at his 1980 cult classic, The Fog, a ghost story that underwent considerable post-production re-shooting after Carpenter felt that it lacked the requisite scares compared to its contemporaries. Carpenter and his producing/writing partner Debra Hill had a lot of expectation upon them to follow-up their 1978 smash-hit, Halloween, a film that was one of the most profitable films of all time and had firmly cemented Carpenter as a director to watch. The Fog is the perfect film for Halloween season, a classic campfire tale of revenge that features a cast that includes both Hollywood royalty and many recurring faces from Carpenter’s filmography.

On Episode 55 of The Film ’89 Podcast we’ve handed the reigns to one of our favourite guest-hosts from past episodes, Mr Jacob Rivera. As well as being a valued writer for film89.co.uk, Jacob’s a seasoned podcaster and having previously joined us for our Fight Club episode amongst others, Jacob returns to the work of director David Fincher as he and his guest-host celebrate the tenth anniversary of Fincher’s brilliant 2010 film, The Social Network. This hugely acclaimed film charts the genesis of social media giant Facebook and the legal wranglings that surrounded its early years and the possibly questionable business tactics of one of its founders, Mark Zuckerberg. Jacob is joined by another seasoned podcaster and writer on the subject of film, someone who’s been a valued friend of Film ’89 since we began, the wonderful Leanne Kubicz. Leanne brings her extensive knowledge of the work of Fincher to an episode that we’re sure our listeners will love as she and Jacob give their in-depth analysis of a film that’s earned an ever growing following and remains one of Fincher’s best works.

Episode 54 of The Film ‘89 Podcast is unique in that it’s presented in reverse in honour of our main review, Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-bending, time-inverted action/science- fiction film, Tenet. So starting off will be a raft of listener questions as Neil and Skye dig deep into the Film ‘89 mailbag to answer your film and television related queries. Then for our spoiler-filled review, the guys will be going in-depth to give their detailed breakdown of the film that’s marked their long awaited return to the cinema after months of lockdown. So check your watches and sit back for yet another time themed discussion with the Film ‘89 team. Index: Listener Questions - 0:02:50 Main Review - Tenet - 0:40:54

Synchronise your watches Film ‘89ers because in Episode 53, Richie and Skye (and their very special guest co-host) will be going in-depth as they discuss one of the all-time great movie trilogies, Back to the Future from 1985 and it’s two sequels filmed back to back and released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. They’ll be discussing the behind the scenes production of these amazing films as they always do when they cover the classics but also want to give our listeners their very personal analysis of what makes these films so special. But they’re not alone in this celebration of Back to the Future because they’re joined from New York by a very special guest. He’s a filmmaker, an artist, and is the producing partner of none other than actor Matthew Modine. He’s a rampant cinephile and has been a very good friend of ours since before Film ‘89 began, Mr Adam Rackoff. So sit back, rest your feet on your Hoverboard and enjoy this three hour celebration of the 35th anniversary of Back to the Future.

Episode 52 of The Film ‘89 Podcast is one the big ones for us, one of those special films that’s been on our dream list of films to cover since the podcast was just a pipe dream. That film is of course Steven Spielberg’s 1975 film, Jaws, and to coincide with the film’s 45th anniversary, we’re giving you, our loyal listeners, something which as far as we’re aware has never been done before, a Jaws audio commentary. It’s certainly not something that’s been done on Laserdisc, DVD or Blu-Ray. Now this is a special episode not just because Jaws is one of our all-time favourite films, but this is also the single most requested episode by you, our good listeners, and when we ran a poll in May 2018 for nominations for films to receive a Film ‘89 audio commentary, Jaws was the most requested film and has remained the film our listeners most want us to cover. So, you can either listen to us talk for 124 minutes about Jaws as you would a regular podcast episode or, for added enjoyment, you can pop in your Jaws DVD, Blu-Ray or put on your digital copy to watch along with us as Neil and Skye give their in-depth analysis of all aspects of this seminal film.

In Episode 51 of the Film ’89 Podcast, Haydn is joined by returning co-host John Arminio of Comix Connection to discuss the impact of two of the most revered animated superhero films ever made. Separated by 25 years, 1993’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse have considerable stylistic differences but what they have in common is that both are brilliant adaptations of their respective characters. One film portrays the dark and brooding Gotham City, the other a bright and colourful New York City but both films give proper dues to the heart of their respective characters and are both brilliantly written films with stellar vocal performances. Haydn and John go in-depth in this loving retrospective analysis of these two landmark animated comic book adaptations. *Editor’s Note: There was an unforeseen technical issue during the recording of this episode that rendered a significant portion of John’s audio unusable. Every effort was made to restore it to an acceptable level but we apologise for the general dip in sound quality on this episode and can assure you that any Gremlins have since been suitably expunged from John’s recording equipment.

Episode 50 of The Film ‘89 Podcast is a milestone not only for being our half century episode, but it’s also the first time that all five founding members of film89.co.uk have appeared together on an episode. As it’s a special episode we’ll be taking our listeners away from the woes of 2020 and back in time 30 years to the summer of 1990. That particular year in film is one that’s very special to us. The roster of films released theatrically in 1990 was huge with numerous films released which would go on to become all-time classics, films such as Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas, Kevin Costner’s revisionist western, Dances With Wolves and Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall. But aside from that, 1990 saw more sequels to mainstream films released than any other year. The summer season was particularly packed with sequels such as Back to the Future Part III, Gremlins 2: The New Batch, RoboCop 2, Die Hard 2, The Exorcist III and more. Later on that year we had Rocky V, Predator 2 and The Godfather Part III. These are but a few of the 50+ films that Haydn, Richie, Neil, Steve and Skye talk about in-depth in this packed episode, a nostalgic trip back in time to the Summer of Sequels.

In Episode 49 of the Film ’89 Podcast, our resident comic book creator Haydn Spurrell is joined by returning co-host and fellow comic book expert, John Arminio of Comix Connection, to discuss in-depth one of their favourite comic book creations, John Constantine. Star of DC Comics’ Hellblazer comic book series and the creation of legendary comic book writer, Alan Moore, John Constantine is a cynic with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons in their true form. He seeks salvation from eternal damnation in Hell for a suicide attempt in his youth. In 2005 the character became the focus of a big screen adaptation from director Francis Lawrence. A star vehicle for Keanu Reeves, the film featured brilliant turns from Peter Stormare as Lucifer, Tilda Swinton as the Archangel Gabriel and Djimon Hounsou as Papa Midnite and went on to gross over $230 million worldwide. The guys explore in-depth the origins of the character, his successful film adaptation and much more. Plus they give their overview of some of their favourite comic book creations, past and present.

Episode 48 of The Film ‘89 Podcast is released on the day of the 40th anniversary of the release of one of the Film ‘89 Team’s all-time favourite films, The Empire Strikes Back. This second instalment of George Lucas’ Star Wars saga is regarded by many as the best film in the long running film franchise. In an episode that’s been high on the Film ‘89 dream list of films to cover on the podcast since it began, Neil, Richie and Skye go in-depth in a huge episode dedicated solely to this remarkable film as they discuss the behind the scenes making-of Empire, as well as a detailed breakdown of the story and the coming together of some incredible filmmaking talent to create a sequel regarded by many as one of the greatest films ever made.

In Episode 47 of The Film ’89 Podcast, John Arminio and Bill Scurry are joined by friend of Film ’89 and established podcaster and hardcore cinephile, Matthias Van Der Roest making his guest-host debut as he and the guys dissect, discuss and celebrate director Michael Mann’s 1986 film, Manhunter. An adaptation of author Thomas Harris’ book, Red Dragon, Manhunter marks the first big screen appearance of Harris’ now legendary serial killer, Doctor Hannibal Lecktor, played brilliantly by Brian Cox. But Lecktor isn’t the main focus here as Former F.B.I. Profiler Will Graham tracks a brutal serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy, played to chilling effect by Tom Noonan. With a great supporting cast including Joan Allen, Dennis Farina and Stephen Lang, Manhunter is a prime exemplar of Mann’s taught direction and unique visual style.

In Episode 46 of The Film ‘89 Podcast, Steve and Skye are joined by guest co-host Stephen Simpson of the Pop Culture Gamers Podcast. Stephen is an expert in film scores and film composers and has amassed a huge collection of film score vinyl over the years so is the ideal guest to discuss a true legend of film and television, composer Jerry Goldsmith. Goldsmith’s work has been discussed more than that of any other film composer on Film ‘89 and his career spanned six decades before his passing in 2004. Throughout his career he composed iconic scores for countless television shows and films that are widely regarded as some of the all-time greats. His phenomenal body of work includes The Twilight Zone, The Man From Uncle, Planet of the Apes, Patton, The Omen, Alien, and numerous Star Trek films and television shows to name but a few. He’s composed scores for directors such as Robert Wise, Howard Hawks, Franklin J. Schaffner, Otto Preminger, Joe Dante, Richard Donner, Roman Polanski, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Paul Verhoeven, Sam Peckinpah and many more. Without doubt one of the true masters of his art, Goldsmith’s incredible legacy is celebrated in this bumper episode. And for lovers of film scores and vinyl, we’re offering 10% off all purchases valid for the next month from Psilowave Records who stock a huge range of highly collectible vinyl. Just go to www.psilowave.com and enter promo code FILM89 to save 10% on all purchases.