School of Movies

Birds of Prey

[School of Movies 2021]

One of our very favourite DC universe movies, added to the towering collection of three dozen shows we've covered in the past (and yes I do list all of them).

Criminally underviewed and undervalued, and launched mere weeks before lockdown began in early 2020, this is a crazed cult crime caper for the ages. A collection of disparate, separate, embattled women all find that their aggressors lead to one place. 

It's filthy and violent and only one person has a superpower which gets used once. This was Margot Robbie's treasured project that couldn't be more different from 2016's Suicide Squad. 

[Next Week: Shazam!]

Guests:

Hollywoo Actress  Maya Souris @Mayasantandrea

Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch 

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst @JeromeMci

Loki (Season 1)

[School of Everything Else 2021]

A time-bending, space-bending, reality-bending miniseries about an unrepentant villain who did a colonialism on account of his upbringing in a society that was founded on precisely this principle.

And an introduction to yet another Marvel leading lady who has been kidnapped, gaslit and abused for most of her existence and definitely deserves better. 

Loki has been a frustrating watch for many and a source of relentless joy for others. The slew of fan art that has dotted our Twitter feeds suggest people are getting a great deal of spicy satisfaction from the chemistry. But the slew of hot negative takes, also suggests it once again disappointed fans. 

Our show on what we found out at the end was the first season is quite special for a number of reasons, so listen closely.

Guests:

Victoria Luna B. Grieve: @VixenVVitch 

Theo Leigh of The New Century Multiverse

Jerome McIntosh of GameBurst

Jesse Ferguson @TheDapperDM

from the Recorded Tomorrow Podcast

Black Widow

[School of Movies 2021]

Two years have passed since we were last in the cinema watching a Marvel movie. It feels like an astonishing amount of time, and a lot of you folks will have watched on Disney+ 

This one has been a long time coming, kicking off Phase 4, despite the core concept of Natasha Romanoff's solo outing being ideally placed in Phase 1, prior to Avengers (perhaps instead of Iron Man 2), or Phase 2 when Avengers proved she was big-screen dynamite (perhaps instead of Thor 2) or Phase 3 where after all the years of lollygagging DC beat Marvel to the leading lady post by almost two years (even though this could have been ideally placed instead of Ant-Man 2: Featuring The Wasp).

As it stands, Black Widow serves many masters, and is about more than simply Natasha herself. It's a fitting send-off and a welcome introduction all at once. 

Guests:

Brenden Agnew @BLCAgnew of Cinapse

Mackenzie Eastram @KenziePhoenix of Rainbow Connection @MuppetsPod

Pump up the Volume

[School of Movies 2021]

A movie nobody has seen, but we want to tell you about. A movie that was barely released in the cinema, on VHS, DVD and now Blu Ray. A movie unavailable to legitimately stream anywhere. A movie about a pirate radio station speaking truth to power and making silenced voices heard. 

This one came out in 1990, it's directed by Allan Moyle who was behind Times Square (1980) and Empire Records (1995). The three films, spread across fifteen years all speak of disaffected kids, cast aside by a society they aren't able to comfortably slot themselves into, and their subsequent means of rebellious self-expression. They're all worth watching (with Empire being the lightest and easiest to underestimate). 

You should absolutely listen if you haven't heard it, because we have effectively adapted the story for radio. And because this movie is so punk, once you've listened we did find a way you could then watch it Pump up the Volume at Archive.org 

The Shadow

[School of Movies 2021]

This might be the worst superhero ever. Not the movie, I'm sure there are a bunch out there more poorly constructed. Some of the sets and costumes and Jerry Goldsmith's score are great. I'm talking about The Shadow himself, especially now, and especially to me personally.

Welcome to a post--Burton-Batman world that might be the 1920s, 30s or 40s. A gangster-laden New York presided over by a millionaire who dresses up at night and prowls the streets with his guns and his mocking laugh. From the director of Highlander, and the star of The Cat in the Hat, Alec Baldwin embodies the worst qualities of Batman, the worst qualities of The Punisher and the ignorant racism of Golden Age comic books. 

For this episode we brought back on the folks from the Franchise Killer podcast, since this one definitely didn't get a sequel, for reasons we'll go into. Side note, as always it's okay to like this movie. It's entertaining as hell. The guy is just a massive tool!  

https://franchisekillerpod.podbean.com/

Guests:

From the Franchise Killer Podcast: @FK_Podcast

David Schmitzer

Irena Schmitzer

Rhys Paine