Four Favorites with Karen Han: Bonghive, Ping Pong, DePalma and Michael Shannon

Bonghive, rise! We have cinema disease and Karen Han has the cure. The cultural critic, scriptwriter and Bong Joon-ho expert joins hosts Slim and Gemma to talk about her four Letterboxd faves: Phantom of the Paradise; Take Shelter; Ping Pong and The Host. Karen’s new book, Bong Joon-ho: Dissident Cinema, is out in November from Abrams Books and Little White Lies.

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Also: Karen recalls the dawn of the #Bonghive, we discuss the sexual energy of songwriter Paul Williams, why rock operas should come back, the Meatloaf of it all, why one of Slim’s favorite pastimes is reading Letterboxd reviews aloud, living in the mystery, Jeff Nichols’ superlative relationship skills, Gemma’s rage at ambiguous sci-fi endings, cooking manga, and Michael Shannon, step on us, please. Use the code ‘PARADISE’ for an exclusive 20% discount on Pro and Patron memberships in the week of this episode’s release.

Credits: This episode was recorded in Auckland, Los Angeles and Pennsylvania, and edited by Slim. Facts by Jack. Booker: Brian Formo. Transcript by Sophie Shin. Theme: ‘Vampiros Dancoteque’ by Moniker.

Lists and links: The Letterboxd list of films mentioned; Anxiety-Inducing Cinema list by Jack; Simon Ramshaw’s They aren’t films; they’re experiences list; Essential Depressioncore list by Obsolete; Kermit chats to Paul Williams, Karen’s first #Bonghive tweet.

Reviews of Nope by Karen Han; Phantom of the Paradise by COBRARocky and feat. dante from the dmc series; Take Shelter by Lauren and Lucy; Ping Pong by Dan P and Ali; The Host by Hollie and Oppie.