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Shoot The Hostage · Today · 1 hr 11 min

The Host (2006) - S16 E124

Don’t be a bad host – grab some stolen squid legs and pull up a chair for the second instalment of our Size Doesn’t Matter season! This week, we’re hitting the Bong Joon-ho hard to discuss his 2006 South Korean movie masterpiece, The Host. Is it a monster movie? A family drama? A fearless satire on bureaucratic incompetence? It’s all the above, plus a healthy dose of anarchic slapstick and a very critical look at international relations. We dive into the murky waters of the McFarland Incident, the real-life catalyst where the US military decided the Han River was a great place for a formaldehyde dump. Featuring the legendary Song Kang-ho as a borderline narcoleptic hero, the film brings together a dysfunctional family including Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Ko Ah-sung to fight a creature that was apparently named Steve Buscemi on set. It’s a fearless juggling act of tones that will leave you wondering why American remakes always pull their punches. What to expect from this episode: We speculate whether the baby who played the sun from the Teletubbies is a Patreon subscriber. A look at the McFarland Incident, the real-life event that inspired The Host. We discuss why South Korean movies like The Chaser and I Saw the Devil respect the audience way more than western movies. Dan explains how Bong Joon-ho made him sympathise with a “CGI blob” and nudged him toward veganism. A fun coincidence involving Scott Wilson and a previous season. A critical look at the film’s anarchic family dynamics and why a Molotov cocktail is a great sibling-bonding tool. We discuss the fearless social commentary regarding “Agent Yellow” and the anti-American sentiment. A terrifying warning about next week’s film choice. This season has eight episodes, concluding September 21st Would you like to see the full lineup for season 16? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don't need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup. If you're a fan of the show and want more content, check out our £3.00 a month tier on Patreon where we release our end of season wrap shows and 2 reviews of brand new movies every month. Plus you'll get access to our back catalogue from 2023 onwards. Enjoy the show but can't support us financially? We get it. You could submit a review on the podcast player you're reading this on right now. Or if you listen on Spotify and you haven't given us a five-star rating yet, what are ye waiting for? It's easy. If you've done some or all of that and still want to do more, we would love it if you tell a friend about the show. Or come find us on social media: Instagram | TikTok | Threads | YouTube

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Don’t be a bad host – grab some stolen squid legs and pull up a chair for the second instalment of our Size Doesn’t Matter season! This week, we’re hitting the Bong Joon-ho hard to discuss his 2006 South Korean movie masterpiece, The Host.

Is it a monster movie? A family drama? A fearless satire on bureaucratic incompetence? It’s all the above, plus a healthy dose of anarchic slapstick and a very critical look at international relations. We dive into the murky waters of the McFarland Incident, the real-life catalyst where the US military decided the Han River was a great place for a formaldehyde dump.

Featuring the legendary Song Kang-ho as a borderline narcoleptic hero, the film brings together a dysfunctional family including Byun Hee-Bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Doona and Ko Ah-sung to fight a creature that was apparently named Steve Buscemi on set. It’s a fearless juggling act of tones that will leave you wondering why American remakes always pull their punches.

What to expect from this episode:

  • We speculate whether the baby who played the sun from the Teletubbies is a Patreon subscriber.
  • A look at the McFarland Incident, the real-life event that inspired The Host.
  • We discuss why South Korean movies like The Chaser and I Saw the Devil respect the audience way more than western movies.
  • Dan explains how Bong Joon-ho made him sympathise with a “CGI blob” and nudged him toward veganism.
  • A fun coincidence involving Scott Wilson and a previous season.
  • A critical look at the film’s anarchic family dynamics and why a Molotov cocktail is a great sibling-bonding tool.
  • We discuss the fearless social commentary regarding “Agent Yellow” and the anti-American sentiment.
  • A terrifying warning about next week’s film choice.

This season has eight episodes, concluding September 21st

Would you like to see the full lineup for season 16? The only place you can see it is on Patreon but you don't need to be a paying member. Sign up for a free membership and get access to the lineup.

If you're a fan of the show and want more content, check out our £3.00 a month tier on Patreon where we release our end of season wrap shows and 2 reviews of brand new movies every month. Plus you'll get access to our back catalogue from 2023 onwards.

Enjoy the show but can't support us financially? We get it. You could submit a review on the podcast player you're reading this on right now. Or if you listen on Spotify and you haven't given us a five-star rating yet, what are ye waiting for? It's easy.

If you've done some or all of that and still want to do more, we would love it if you tell a friend about the show.  

Or come find us on social media:

Instagram | TikTok | Threads | YouTube

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