School Of Movies

[School of Movies 2021] Richard Curtis has only directed three films in his career. Usually he relegates himself to writing and producer roles, and you can always tell when you're watching one of his movies. Certain recurring character types and themes keep re-emerging. The first directed was Love Actually, the second The Boat That Rocked, but this third and reputedly final effort is genuinely a cut above everything that came before. It's not without its issues, as we will go into on the show. Painfully British, painfully white, painfully upper-middle-class, and imbued with an adoring yet patronising view of woman. But it has a huge heart. It's a time travel story that really gets how the philosophy underpinning its story can absolutely apply to our own lives, devoid of quantum physics. It also has one of cinemas all-time best Dads in it, in the shape of Bill Nighy. So we recruited the same time travel expert who helped me with my own book on that tricky subject, to help us discuss what about this film wor

[School of Everything Else 2021] This show was recorded back in 2020 not too long after the remake of the 1999 game was released, so there will be speculation regarding which direction Capcom will take the series, rather than a focus on Resident Evil VIII (which at the time of release was launched just days ago). This was to Resident Evil 3 (the sequel to one of my favourite games of the 1990s) in a way that its remake is to the remake of Resident Evil 2 (one of my favourites of the 2010s). And it was a pivotal moment for both the original and the remake, when Capcom took the series in a direction that began like the cautious survival horrors of the previous decade but then evolved into crazy action. And our discussion is about how that seems like an inevitable path once again, and why this cycle might not be that bad. This show is being released after well over a year of pandemic, though recorded at the beginning. It remains the biggest in my lifetime, and people are scared. So there's still a certain str

[School of Everything Else 2021] Marvel's second TV show directly tying in with the MCU. What are we calling this now? As I write these words cinema is in a chrysalis, having gone to hide in there the moment James Bond looked like he might get another mission. And yet Falcon as a TV show is legitimately "Cinematic" in its presentation. I mean the dictionary definition of the word.   But then, so is a lot of TV now. And WandaVision was the most Televisual a show could get, by design. And there's something frustrating for everyone who invested in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Defenders shows, or those three who liked the way Inhumans was done. All this TV that purported to be part of this universe but was in fact filmed in a sealed pocket, unable to have any ramifications upon the wider saga.  Whatever name gets conjured (still waiting on what that Lion King remake can be defined as) Falcon is an incredibly gripping six episode miniseries that retains the feel of the latter Captaon America films. But there's

[School of Movies 2021] Disney tries its hand at a South-Asian fantasy, and what do you know, we really like it. Daniel Floyd returns as we talk about the first of the animated classics series which was not launched exclusively to theatres, but also Disney+ for a preview for of $30 / £20 Quite apart from everything else that makes this a difficult sell for people living on their own, or in households where only one person likes Disney. However, so much of this being created at home by various Disney artists while on lockdown breaks all kinds of new precedents and makes this one rather special.  Stonespring Maidens can be had in paperback form The New Century Multiverse Podcast  Guest Daniel Floyd of New Frame Plus  @DanFloydPlus

[School of Movies 2021] The Disney series continues with two sequels.  In the first of these Ralph and Venelope travel to a version of the internet as reimagined by Disney. The little race driver then finds a newfound calling in the apocalyptic street combat of Slaughter Race, which sends Ralph into a spiral of separation anxiety.  And in the second, six years in the making, the follow-up to maybe their most beloved film of the modern era, the treasured characters are taken on a new adventure up North to discover things about themselves.  Next week we're back on track with their excellent latest instalment, Raya and the Last Dragon. Dan sat this episode out but will be back for Raya.  Stonespring Maidens can be had in paperback form, and the first episode of the audiodrama will air May 6th.   Guests: Hollywoo Actress  Maya Santandrea @Mayasantandrea

[School of Movies 2021] The fourth, and potentially final outing in the Warner Bros. Monsterverse series. Following Godzilla II: King of the Monsters (2019) which is magnificent and to many the pinnacle of this quartet, Kong: Skull Island (2017) which is most definitely worth seeing to acquaint yourself with *this* version of the giant gorilla, and finally Godzilla (2014) which was the most popular at the box office yet seems to be the least enthusiastically recalled.  In this show I come up with yet another food metaphor for each of these four, and we discuss what might have been left on the cutting room floor in the attempts to streamline this thing into a lean, fun, colourful, fast-paced series of spectacular wrestling matches.  Guests: Dan Hoeppner  @MightyMegatron0  of Leftover Army Monsters Brendan Agnew of Cinapse  @BLCAgnew

[School of Movies 2021] An elegant, haunting Spanish-style ghost story of obsession and loss. This Gothic chiller materialised in 2001, from director Alejandro Amenabar (who also composed the score, which flits from comforting flute and harp to clangourous and menacing cacophony). This was a commissioned show from Nicole-Kidman-appreciator Colin L. Dysart, and he picked one of our favourite performances of hers. This was the one that made us think she would be an ideal Marisa Coulter in His Dark Materials. She plays the whole thing with a brittle, fierce tenacity, clinging to what she believes is true, as her world unravels in this shadowy Jersey stately home. It's also got some terrific child-actor performances, as the two endangered kids start to cotton onto the possibility that there may be more going on with the intruders to their home. It is a ghost story where light is so much more threatening than darkness.

[School of Movies 2021] After the moderate box office takings and middling-to-negative critical responses to Man of Steel and Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Warner Bros. became increasingly worried that they had placed the DC Expanded Universe in the hands of a director who appealed to an increasingly niche crowd who would not make them the billions of dollars they wanted. Seeking to just get the third film finished quickly and cheaply in a way that would appeal to the middle, so that they could course-correct for later financial investments WB relieved Snyder of directorial duties (which coincided with family tragedy) and hired Joss Whedon to magic the footage they had into an Avengers-level success. The result delighted few (we covered it at the end of 2017). Then after years of online demands, and a pandemic which made traditional filmmaking extremely difficult, Warner invested a sizable additional chunk of change into the prospect of Snyder restoring his version. The resultant four-hour opus was ut

[School of Movies 2021] The Commissions Season continues with a show sponsored by Maya Santandrea. Much like last year's Labyrinth show, this is also a story about a girl who travels inward on her fantasy adventures and winds up uncovering certain key things about herself. It is based on two of the L. Frank Baum OZ novels, from which The Wonderful Wizard of OZ was also adapted in 1939. There have been other adaptations before and since, including Wicked and OZ: The Great and Powerful. This one, however, released by Disney in 1985 to critical derision and scared, offput audiences who seemed to want a bouncy musical rather than a dark fairytale, eventually became an obscure cult classic. Those who love it do so with a passion, and we are here to talk about why that may be. It should be available to view on Disney+. Guests: Hollywoo Actress  Maya Santandrea @Mayasantandrea Jason "Chewie" Slate @TheManaPool  From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22 and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300

[School of Everything Else 2021] This one gets HEAVY. But what did you expect from a podcast which has examined every one of the MCU movies and found the hurt and pain at the core of the characters, being presented with a show that is absolutely about that principle? Now all the rampant speculation has passed, we can sweep aside our assumptions regarding what this *might* have been about and focus on the melancholy story of its lonely antagonist. One of the core themes explored is that everyone's line for forgiveness falls in a different place. We hope that two hours of delving into how it handles grief, bringing along some deeply personal accounts of loss, might lend some perspective on the MTVU's first big show. Guests: Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch  From Sequentially Yours  Kaoru Negisa  @Moonpanther22 and Debbie Morse  @bastet8300 Taylor Nova of GameBurst @TaylorNova6  Mike Hearn @MikePHearn 

[School of Everything Else 2021] An absolutely phenomenal game which took 2020 by storm. We talk about, among other things, why being trapped inside for month after month just made a game where you're trying to escape the Underworld weirdly more resonant. There's an astonishing amount of story in there, astonishing art design and aesthetic, some of the most engrossing, multi-layered and sexy characters to ever grace a video game and action that's smoother than the downy fur on Cerberus' belly.  This was also a special session because we recorded with everyone on-camera and since Sharon has played ten times the amount I have, she hosts.  This was a commissioned episode from Nicholas Jaragosky, Jesse Ferguson, Chris Finik, Toby Jungius, Mackenzie Eastram, Maya Santandrea and Laureta Sela. And our guests are Victoria Luna B. Grieve, Laureta Sela, Maya Santandrea, Matt Wardle, Greg Downing and Toby Jungius.   Next week... WandaVision

[School of Movies 2021] This is a commissioned show by Alex Vargas and Joe G. Stephen Chow's cartoonishly absurd, occasionally brutal, breathtakingly elegant and frequently side-splitting opera of kung fu.  Back in the 1940s Shanghai The Axe Gang rule the streets, massacring those who stand in their way (with axes). One day a pair of inept conmen come calling at Pigsty Alley and try to grift slim pickings from the locals, only to find, (along with the Axe Gang) that they are guarded by martial arts masters. What follows is a war between plucky heroes and rotten villains, and some of the most stunning and hilarious fights you will ever see. Guest: Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch 

[School of Movies 2021] The Commissions Season continues with this classic, sponsored by Matthew A Seibert. It's a film made in 1978, set in 1958 meant for adults who were teens in that time period, now being watched more than 40 years later in 2021 by the children of those adults who grew up watching it and are now themselves adults. So this is going to be a kaleidoscope of shifting perspectives.  The premise is simple, a sweet-natured Australian girl meets a sweet guy at the beach in Chicago. Then when she later turns up in his high school he acts like a different person in front of his male buddies. The girl throws her lot in with an indimidating gaggle of punky ladies, and the two groups sniff around one another, preparing for the horrors of real life after they graduate.  It's a world where adults barely feature and teenagers clash, excitably, make fun of one another, and are sexually interested. This was made at a time when that sort of alchemy was new and thrilling, rather than a dead cert. Amid the

[School of Movies 2021] This is our 700th Podcast. I began in April of 2007, and through four generations of my show, myself and then Sharon have covered a hell of a lot of media. Fittingly, this episode is one of the very greatest.  On the twentieth anniversary of the 2001 Michael-Mann-directed biopic of maybe the greatest sportsman who ever lived, we finally go up against Ali in the ring. It's not just a fantastic film, this account of the real life events that took place between his fight with Sonny Liston in 1964 spanning all the way to the Rumble in the Jungle with Foreman in Zaire, '74 changed the way I saw the world. It did so, decades ago, drawing my attention sharply to the African-American experience, and the injustices it exposes in the heart of America. This informed upon the way I think, the way I speak, and it has definitely informed on how I write. It's also the performance of Will Smith's life (in case you needed any more excuses to track it down). Sharon and I move through the events, peop

[School of Movies 2021] This is a commissioned show by Kevin Veighy, who specifically wanted to make a kind gesture towards his friends and all of our listeners in the LGBTQ community. And what began as a desire to extend a sympathetic hand turned into something rather special, and a landmark episode. I haven't been entirely sure about this movie for several years. I know I loved it when I saw it in the 90s (make sure you listen to the end for my story on that), but I also know that there are troublesome elements that are less cool by the standards of the 2020s. Fortunately, we had the extremely enthusiastic Victoria Grieve, who always makes our show better, and provided a hell of a lot of perspective on the trans narrative. I am not the least bit sorry for all of my attempts at the Australian accent! I regret nothing! Stonespring Maidens is now available to buy from Amazon in paperback. Guest: Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch 

[School of Movies 2021] The trilogy of Time, Space and The Afterlife culminates in the best one yet. And while we've had loads of folks express delight with the first two episodes as they grew in complexity, this one is really special. There's a sizzling energy to our discussions as things get very meta and concerned with generational responsibility, and the music that flows throughout is some of my favourite editing in a long career of talking about movies, games, books and TV. I would say you must see this film to avoid us spoiling it, but it can't be spoiled. I would then say you must see this movie, because you should.    Tweet us @SchoolofMovies Guests: Rachel Schenk @IAMRachelQuirky from Screen Snark and Scott Thomas @OGScottieT from And the Winner Is BOTH also from The Infinity Podcast Jesse Ferguson @TheDapperDM from the Recorded Tomorrow Podcast

[School of Movies 2021] We got some real love for our Excellent Adventure show. It seems like you folks were responding to the pure joy threaded throughout, so let's see what we can do for the black sheep of the B&T Trilogy. This sequel turned up just two years after the first, having been hastily greenlit when executives got dollar signs in their eyes and saw franchise potential. The writers began with a re-tread of the original, where the duo went through great works of literature and dragged out the characters for yet another school report. Then when they got to Moses and company from religious texts, it was decided this should get more metaphysical. So it became "Bill & Ted Go to Hell" and the rest of the film was written around how that could have happened. Who killed them? Why a pair of evil, robot doubles from the future!  It did not delight audiences. But as we delve deeper than even Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson could have predicted we would like to present to you, some of the reasons why

[School of Movies 2021] We begin a trilogy of shows taking us through time, space and the afterlife that begins here with this abidingly enjoyable romp through history, pilfering various key figures to make the deadline on a school report. We talk about how the time travel seems utterly nonsensical at first, but actually remains consistent and makes an internally logical sense within the adventure itself. And also how Bill & Ted, with their affable approach to life often touch on a profound wisdom by accident. We also hear from a couple of air-guitarists who have travelled right the way through delusion to emerge the other side as rock gods, before going back in. Our guest for all three shows is Jesse Ferguson of the Recorded Tomorrow podcast, which is all about time travel. You might want to go back to Episode 6 and start with paradoxes, because I'm on that one. Jesse's co-host, Jonathan also joins us for this first outing. Guests: Jesse Ferguson @TheDapperDM and Jonathan H. Liu @jonathanhliu  fr

[School of Movies 2021] This follow-up to a fantastic debut in 2017 was long-awaited, much-anticipated and spent several years in production. At the end of a blockbuster-drought of a year, we were all looking forward to sinking back into the comfortable environs of an inspiring superhero story. Perhaps with some tactfully handled real-world symbolism in there, and a call to arms for women in particular. Unfortunately, this thing is a HUGE mess. It makes so many baffling decisions that it was actually tricky to keep up with. By the time we'd finished reacting to one moment, another had flown by. So we're giving this one the all-clear for you to listen to, whether you've seen the movie or not. Because we CANNOT spoil it any more than Warner Bros. have done.  The show ran long, so there is a 45-minute Cutting Class episode coming to Patreon with everything that didn't make the final cut. Because editing is important!  Stonespring Maidens is now available to buy from Amazon in paperback. Guests: Hollywoo Ac

[School of Movies 2021] We round off the year of Spielberg by going back to his roots as a filmmaker. And while this is a 2011 movie, directed by J.J. Abrams which Steve produced, I mean far more than  it simply evoking Close Encounters of the Third Kind and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. There's more cinematic alchemy at play here than even we realised, when we took on this project, and we are very happy to share our findings with you all. Suffice to say this is Abrams' most personal movie, and it feels odd that it was largely dismissed and overlooked at release, despite its qualities, while the similarly flavoured (and also fantastic) Stranger Things became a global phenomenon five years later. And I go into the fundamental differences in creator backgrounds there. This movie is fairly simple, and moves in broad strokes, but there are many subtleties and elements that it's easy to miss. We hope we can encourage you to open your eyes for a second look.