School of Movies

The People's Joker

[School of Movies 2025]

After the harsh, oppressive atmosphere of I Saw the TV Glow we turn to an altogether funnier tale of trans discovery with Vera Drew's semiautobiographical, anarchic reshaping of DC's Clown Princess of Crime.

From the painfully normalising cornfields of Smallville, Kansas comes a child who asks their alarmed mother "Was in born in the wrong body?". The only possible response to this is of course sessions at Arkham Asylum with Doctor Crane and a prescription of Smilex to chase that depression and anxiety away.

We follow this confused young person to Gotham, where they find their calling in a thinly-veiled Saturday Night Live setup, doing stand-up comedy alongside The Penguin, Ra's al Ghul and a trans-masc chap named Mr J, riffing hard on both fallen Robin Jason Todd and Jared Leto's Joker. Our hero gives themselves the mantle of Joker the Harlequin... and comedy in Gotham will never be the same!

This movie was pulled together during lockdown, and thrives on a garage-punk, scrapbook style that energetically propels you through the troubled life of someone just trying to be themselves in a loud, chaotic world.

Guests

• Laura Kate Dale

• Alejandra Vargas

• Victoria Luna B. Grieve

I Saw the TV Glow

[School of Movies 2025]

As soon as we saw this thickly atmospheric, Lynchian lucid nightmare from 2024, Sharon and I knew we had to do a very particular show on it. Since the entire context is trans-anxiety which the majority of cisgender people may find impenetrably mystifying we needed an all-trans/enby/non-cis cast of guests to walk us through the significance.

On the surface it is a story about a chap named Owen who is lonely and isolated child of the mid-1990s, meeting lonely, isolated Maddy and bonding over a mutual obsession with a cheesy sci-fi TV show for teenagers called "The Pink Opaque". Beneath that surface there is a whole world of uncertainty, denial, distraction and pain. Strap in, because this one is hard, long and has no relief at the end, culminating in a cautionary tale about running from yourself.

Huge thanks to everyone involved with this quite astonishing endeavour. We buttoned our lips and let these good people talk for the majority of the three hour runtime of this thing.

Guests

• Laura Kate Dale

• Alejandra Vargas

• Aquila Edwards

• Victoria Luna B. Grieve

Plus we have a suite of audio submissions from...

• Austin Wilden

• Rosa Ysassi Serata Villarreal

• Holly Dotson

• and Hanna Peregrine

Do A Powerbomb

[School of Everything Else 2025]

This was an unexpected burst of sheer joy, and we urge you all to seek it out for yourselves. It's a graphic novel, comprising a 7-issue comic book miniseries about wrestling. We had never read a book written by Daniel Warren Johnson before, but now we're hooked and ready to guzzle down everything else this champ achieves.

Lona Steelrose was just a little girl when she witnessed her mother tragically perish in the ring. Now, because of this very tragedy that motivates her to fight, no other wrestler will touch her. This is until a literal demon necromancer offers her a chance in an intergalactic wrestling tournament. The twist; her tag team partner is Cobrasun, the masked luchador who was her mother's final opponent.

This thing is gloriously pulpy and plays out like the best Mortal Kombat you never knew you needed. It was a commissioned show for Tylor, and we are so glad to discover this treasure.

Empire Records

[School of Movies 2025]

A cult favourite hangout movie about working in a CD shop in the mid-90s. This one was directed by Allan Moyle, who previously helmed another music-centric, coming-of-age teen drama that should have been way more of a hit; Pump Up the Volume (1990).

Statistically almost none of you have seen this, as it's the kind of movie you need a good friend to sit you down with after hearing that you've never seen it, and immediately declared "We're watching this!" Well, we are that friend today, and we are going to detail why this one is worthy of love.

It's painfully white, extremely straight and concerns itself with the now-antiquated dichotomy of MTV marketability versus independent spirit, but considering Spotify Killed the Video Star, the themes are still relevant, and the ragtag cast of teens are quirky enough to make this a breezy, endlessly-quotable rewatch. Damn The Man, save The Empire.

A Space for the Unbound

[School of Everything Else 2025]

A charming 16-bit style indie adventure game, set in suburban Indonesia in the 1990s. This begins cosy, deliberately evoking the familiar, and swiftly becomes strange and mysterious with a story of loss and grief and loneliness at its core; an ache longing to be relieved.

The gameplay involves exploring the town and getting to know the locals, jumping inside their minds to find out what their abiding internal conflicts are and help them deal with these. There is an impressive, melodramatic sweep to this whole thing and we are gratified and edified to have played the whole story as a commission for Tylor.

Crow Country

[School of Everything Else 2025]

A marvellously authentic and creepy modern Survival Horror in the convincing style of a PlayStation One title from the mid-90s conversely featuring inflections of more contemporary scary games. This one is available on Steam and Switch and PS4 and Xbox Series X.

There is an abandoned theme park to explore and mysteries to uncover, as we structure this episode into three sections. GREEN FINE: Means you can hear about the basic setup and still go in completely fresh if you want to know none of the surprises. YELLOW CAUTION: Makes up the majority of the show as we discuss how it goes about itself and what the experience is like. RED DANGER: Is all the juicy endgame material, where we get to fully draw back the curtain.

This was a commissioned show from Maya Santandrea and Selfproclaimed, and we are so glad they chose to set it before us. You will be too.

Resident Evil 4

[School of Everything Else 2025]

One of the most beloved, instantly-transformative, replayed, re-released, and critically acclaimed games of all time... and would you believe until preparing for this show, that I wasn't massively fussed about it?

But this year I have been replaying all of the original games sequentially, and after the first era of fixed-camera tank controls transitioned into the action-spectacle of 4 I was blindsided by how many fresh aspects of the gameplay and world that I appreciated. The 2005 GameCube hit is, as it turns out deserving of the historical adulation that has been heaped upon it. Moreover, going back to the 2023 remake, it seems Capcom somehow accomplished the impossible, improving upon (almost) every aspect.

Here now is a hyper-focused discussion with three other lovers of this game. The discussion ran long and meandered, and I elected to divide this show into two, with the second part; 'Blue Medallions' being released on the Patreon bonus feed where you can also find an After School Club on Resident Evil Zero and Code Veronica.

Jason Slate is holding a three-day charity stream in support of Trans Lifeline, from March 21-23 2025 Noon to Midnight each day Eastern Time at Twitch.tv/themanapool There are over a thousand Steam games to give away from his backlog and every $10 donation to this worthy cause gets you a game. Go watch Chewie play and give generously.

Guests:

Jason "Chewie" Slate of The Mana Pool

James Perkins @Mijmeister

Derrick Ritchie @thenewdelboy

The Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Vol. 2

[School of Everything Else 2025]

All the way back in 2017 I put together an absolutely EPIC musical journey through the first eight years of the MCU, from Iron Man all the way up to Doctor Strange. So much time has passed since then (cue many gifs of Matt Damon drinking from the wrong Grail) and Marvel has not followed my sound advice about allowing each hero (and maybe a villain or two) to retain a theme that reprises with every subsequent appearance. However, that does not mean there haven't been some truly excellent scores composed, which got side-lined in the clickbaity rush to pronounce Marvel as being formulaic, failing or indeed signifying the baleful death of film.

Here for you now is a compendium of themes and sonic explorations as Phase 3 draws to its epic conclusion and Phases 4 and 5 wend their way from the small screen to the big and back again. I look forward to a third volume of these shows sometime in the early 2030s, when the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Secret Wars and whatever happens with Spider-Man and whatever inevitable soft reboot brings us to a new era of superhero cinema.

1.     The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (‘Louisiana Hero’ by Henry Jackman)

2.     Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (‘Dad’ by Tyler Bates)

3.     Spider-Man Homecoming (Michael Giacchino)

4.     Thor: Ragnarok (‘Main Title’ by Mark Mothersbourough)

5.     Black Panther (‘Wakanda’, ‘Warrior Falls’ and ‘Killmonger’ by Ludwig Goransson)

6.     Infinity War (Alan Silvestri)

7.     Captain Marvel (‘Main Theme’ and ‘All Fired Up’ by Pinar Toprak)

8.     Black Widow (‘Yelena Belova’ and ‘Natasha Soars’ by Lorne Balfe)

9.     WandaVision (‘Opening Themes: 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s’ and ‘End Cretids’ by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez and Christophe Beck)

10. Loki (Natalie Holt)

11. Shang Chi (Joel P. West)

12. Eternals (Ramin Djawadi)

13. Moon Knight (Hesham Nazih)

14. Ms. Marvel (Laura Karpman)

15. The Marvels (Laura Karpman)

16. Spider-Man: No Way Home (‘Forget-Me-Knots’ by Michael Giaccino)

17. Wakanda Forever (Ludwig Goransson)

18. Guardians Vol. 3 (‘Guardians vs Hallespawn’ / ‘Into the Light’ by John Murphy)

19. Thor Ragnarok Reprised (‘Twilight of the Gods’ & ‘What Heroes Do’ by Mark Mothersbourough)

20. Daredevil (John Paesano)

21. Jessica Jones (Sean Callery)

22. Luke Cage (Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad)

23. Iron Fist (Trevor Morris)

24. Werewolf by Night (Michael Giacchino)

25. Quantumania (Christophe Beck)

26. Agatha All Along (Christopher Beck)

27. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man (The Math Club)

28. Deadpool & Wolverine (‘Bye Bye Bye’ by NSYNC & ‘Like a Prayer Battle Royale Mix’ by Madonna)

29. Avengers: Endgame (‘Portals’, ‘The Real Hero’ and ‘Main on End’ by Alan Silvestri)

The Music of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Vol. 1

[School of Everything Else 2017]

NOTE: This is an archival episode from many years ago. 

Recently the excellent YouTube series Every Frame a Painting asked members of the public if they could hum any of the music from the Marvel films. Unsurprisingly they couldn't come up with anything. There are a few reasons for this, that I go into on the show, but this presentation right here is crafted to allow everyone to explore the music that has come so far. We laser-focus on the core melodies, the hero themes that were left by the wayside as the series evolved and we showcase the wide range of actually rather brilliant musical moments that have punctuated the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Join me for an epic, three hour musical journey, run through the filter of my brain. By the end, if I've done my job, you'll be able to hum at least one piece of Marvel music.

1.   Marvel Logo (Thor: The Dark World)
2.   Back in Black – AC/DC (Iron Man)
3.   Mark II/Driving With the Top Down/Gulmira - Ramin Djawadi (Iron Man)
4.   Iron Man - Black Sabbath (Iron Man)
5.   Main Titles - Craig Armstrong (The Incredible Hulk)
6.   Thunderstruck - AC/DC (Iron Man 2)
7.   Black Widow Kicks Ass/ I Am Iron Man – John Debney (Iron Man 2)
8.   Shoot to Thrill – AC/DC (Iron Man 2)
9.   Prologue/The Compound/Forgive Me/Thor Kills the Destroyer – Patrick Doyle (Thor)
10.   Walk – Foo Fighters (Thor)
11.   Main Titles/Farewell to Bucky/The Star Spangled Man/Triumphant Return/Captain America March – Alan Silvestri (Captain America: The First Avenger)
12.   Main Titles/Helicarrier/Avengers Assemble/A Promise/End Titles – Alan Silvestri (Avengers Assemble)
13.   Live to Rise – Chris Cornel (Avengers Assemble)
14.   Main Titles/Can You Dig It? – Brian Tyler (Iron Man 3)
15.   End Titles/Into Eternity – Brian Tyler (Thor: The Dark World)
16.   Lemurian Star/Project Insight/The Causeway/To the End of the Line/Taking a Stand – Henry Jackman (Captain America: The Winter Soldier)
17.   Soundtrack Medley (Guardians of the Galaxy)
18.   The Kyln Escape/Groot Spores/Groot Cocoon (Guardians of the Galaxy)
19.   Age of Ultron Theme – Danny Elfman (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
20.   Escape - Roger Ayer (Ant-Man)
21.   Ant Man Theme – Christophe Beck (Ant-Man)
22.   Plainsong – The Cure (Ant-Man)
23.   Siberian Overture/Ancestral Call/New Recruit/Closure/Cap’s Promise – Henry Jackman (Captain America: Civil War)
24.   Sharks Don’t Sleep – Dean Valentine (Civil War Trailer)
25.   New Marvel Fanfare
26.   Strange Days Ahead/The Master of the Mystic End Credits – Michael Giacchino (Doctor Strange)

Summer 2025 Commissions Season

Hello there folks, this is your official notification that the School of Movies Summer Commissions season window is now open. And it’s a special case this time around. Originally this run was meant to pay for our second family vacation, the last one being back in 2017. We’re going to Italy.

But the week after we booked it our landlord of nine years dropped the bomb on us that he needed to renovate our home, so we’re out by the end of March with all the moving costs and the sudden spike in rent that this is going to entail.

And upon hearing this my computer of nine years decided now was the time to begin a slow collapse. I have been having problems with it for a few years now, but I’m having to replace the whole thing with a brand new workstation that should hopefully last me the best part of a decade. Which means a huge amount of money is to be paid in a very short span of time.

Ergo this window wis open for the foreseeable future. I already have four shows lined up from the earliest of Discord community, but I want to leave this open in the hopes of repairing our shattered finances.

We’re going to be okay, we aren’t going to starve and we won’t be turfed into the street, but every commission will help us right now. So if you have a suggestion get in touch in the usual ways, email, Patreon message, Discord and I guess Bluesky and whatever fascist-platforming mutant helllbeast Twitter has become this week.

Each movie show is a standard of $150 via a single Paypal payment to help us sort and declare everything come tax season, TV and video games cost more, depending on the time and effort required to complete them. I will allow suggestions for anime and comics.

Wish us luck as at the time of publication we have less than a month to leave the only place that has ever felt like a real home and as yet we have no house to move to. What I want is stability and for the way to be clear for us to carry on recording School of Movies every week. That’s my goal for the year. What really should be the watchword for the 21st Century: Sustainability.