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Super in-depth analysis of movies (and occasionally TV, and video games). Hosted by veteran podcasters Alex & Sharon Shaw with different guests for round-table chats every week.
Episodes
Friday Jan 25, 2019
Friday Jan 25, 2019
[School of Everything Else 2019]
In an unusual turn we're bringing back the Sound of Gonzo format to examine the oeuvre of a comedy rap group. What started out as a series of scrappy Saturday Night Live sketches poking fun at self-serious hip-hop became a symphony of professionally produced music indistinguishable from the premier artists of the age, aside from the fact that the lyrics are all hilarious.
This trio is/was Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, and what we're about to play for you here has the unifying factor of exposing fragile, male egos and the psychosexual neurosis behind them.
If you've never heard of them, if you're well aware of them or if (most likely) you've heard a few of their songs, allow us to go in-depth as we explore the Lonely Island, culminating in their underseen gem of a glamorous mockumentary, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
1. My Mic Sounds Nice
2. Who Said We’re Whack?
3. Lazy Sunday
4. Dick in a Box
5. Cool Beans
6. Jizz in my Pants
7. Like a Boss
8. I’m on a Boat
9. We Like Sportz
10. I just Had Sex
11. Mama
12. Jack Sparrow
13. Motherlover
14. The Golden Rule
15. Shy Ronnie 2: Ronnie & Clyde
16. Threw it on the Ground
17. After Party
18. Great Day
19. Diaper Money
20. YOLO
21. Spring Break
22. I Run New York
23. Donkey Roll
24. Turn up the Beef
25. I’m so Humble
26. Equal Rights
27. Hunter the Hungry is Gon’ Eat
28. I’m a Weirdo
29. F**k Off
30. Things in my Jeep
31. Everything is Awesome
32. Incredible Thoughts
33. Semicolons
34. I Don’t Give a Honk
Friday Jan 18, 2019
Friday Jan 18, 2019
[School of Movies 2019]
Now that we've talked about Good Will Hunting and ensured you guys know how much we love seeing Robin Williams at his best we can take a more critical look at a mixed bag of his work with not one but four films on the slate.
1. Bicentennial Man
2. One Hour Photo
3. License to Wed
4. Mrs Doubtfire
One of them is really surprisingly good and has held up very well for us. One of them is a tonally mismatched mess with some thought-provoking moments, one of them is genuinely wrongheaded and disturbing and caused our greatest ever outburst in the history of this show, and one of them slaloms between having a good message and championing the antics of a madman.
One thing is certain though; we wish Robin was still here.
Friday Jan 11, 2019
Friday Jan 11, 2019
[School of Movies 2019]
Back in late 1997 while Titanic was tearing up the box office around the time it came to pick the nominees for awards season, this small, personal drama was impressing small, personal audiences everywhere.
It's kind of gut-churning to look at the way this was promoted, courting awards left right and centre, all to further Miramax and their manufactured prestige. One of the posters shunted the actors to the left to fill most of the sheet with proclamations of its many accolades. Uncomfortable because of who Miramax was run by but also inappropriate because this is arguably Gus Van Sant's best and most delicate film, it's the serious introduction of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to the world of cinema, and most of all it's debatably the finest dramatic performance in Robin Williams' illustrious career.
It's exceptionally well-played by a fantastic cast, contains at least four world-class dramatic scenes, and in our discussion of it, considering the subject matter of unseen parental abuse and the havoc it can wreak on developing minds, things got pretty heavy. So this might be a difficult show for some to get through, but I hope the end result is worthwhile.
Friday Jan 04, 2019
Friday Jan 04, 2019
[School of Movies 2019]
After eleven years of terrible Michael Bay Transformers movies, which America and then the rest of the world slowly checked out of, leaving the fifth (which actually isn't too bad) to perform below expectations Paramount and Hasbro reshuffled for an inexpensive prequel spin-off movie, which, due to its change in creative team and divorce from those earlier movies is way better.
But it's not just because it lacks the gross fratboy sensibilities of its predecessors, there's actually a really superb film in here which hearkens back to Amblin pictures in the 80s. We brought on a bunch of brains to get to the bottom of this, discovering some deep love for Transformers along the way.
Guests:
Brendan Agnew of Cinapse
Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse
Jesse Ferguson of Recorded Tomorrow